A judge in Belfast has found that a bakery discriminated against a homosexual by refusing to bake a cake with a slogan supporting same-sex marriage.
Ashers Baking Company, which is owned and run by the McArthur family, who are Christians, declined an order from a gay rights activist asking for a cake featuring the Sesame Street puppets Bert and Ernie with a slogan saying ‘Support Gay Marriage’.
Marriage between people of the same sex is illegal in Northern Ireland. In April 2014 the Stormont Assembly rejected a Sinn Fein motion to change the definition of marriage for the third time in eighteen months. In April 2015 the Assembly rejected yet another Sinn Fein motion for ‘gay marriage’.
Despite that, the judge found Ashers Bakery had discriminated against one Gareth Lee on the grounds of sexual orientation as well as his political beliefs.
The cake was baked and iced by another firm. Cllr Andrew Muir (Alliance Party) cut the cake in an event held by ‘QueerSpace’ last year.
Damages of £500 have already been agreed between the law firms representing Ashers and Mr Lee.
The case was brought by Northern Ireland’s Equality Commission.
Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuiness tweeted: “Asher’s bakery judgement a good result for equality, gay people have for far too long been discriminated against. We and the law on their side.”
But unionist politicians disagreed.
DUP MLA Paul Givan, who has proposed that lawmakers in the Northern Ireland Assembly introduce a “conscience clause” as a result of the Ashers case, said many Christians would view the ruling as “an attack” on their religious convictions.
“What we cannot have is a hierarchy of rights, and today there’s a clear hierarchy being established that gay rights are more important than the rights of people to hold religious beliefs,” Mr Givan added.
His party colleague David McIlveen tweeted: “Utterly sickened that a Christian owned business has been hauled over the coals for refusing to promote something that is not legal in NI.”
Traditional Unionist Voice leader Jim Allister said it was “a dark day for justice and religious freedom in Northern Ireland”.
Speaking outside Belfast County Court ahead of the ruling, Ashers general manager Daniel McArthur said: “We happily serve everyone but we cannot promote a cause that goes against what the Bible says about marriage.
“We have tried to be guided in our actions by our Christian beliefs.”
Christian campaigners will be looking not just to the Stormont Assembly but also to the UK Government to ensure business peoples’ Christian conscience is supported.
See 11th July 2014: Ashers Baking ‘Discriminated’
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Again, is anyone really surprised?
The new secular morality of “diversity and equality” (which here proves it wants neither diversity nor equality: gay rights have trumped religious rights) must utterly vanquish and destroy the old Biblical morality: as such, anyone who dares to question the new morality must be made an example of, and squashed.
btw, would anyone else just LOVE to see the day when a muslim printer will be obliged to print a cartoon of mohammed? Or a lesbian T-shirt printer is forced to print T-shirts promoting traditional marriage?(!)
Of course, there are few muslim printers, or muslim entrepreneurs or businessmen, of any kind. It is haram to work for a kuffar, and a lot of muslim men are unemployed, far more than the national average. They would rather claim “Jihadi Seekers Allowance”. If they ARE employed, they make a thorough nuisance of themselves claiming special privileges (prayer rooms, muslim nurses refusing to wash their hands, etc etc), and they get away with it under our confused “equality” laws, etc. The purpose of all this trouble-making, which, as I say, generally succeeeds, is to rub our noses in their islamic supremacism, and to confirm our dhimmitude.
And would this judge have found for somebody asking a muslim baker, who refuses, to ice the words “Allah Is Lucifer” ?
So, now a Christian individual may approach a homosexual baker and ask him to produce a cake saying that homosexuality is an abomination; he has no right to refuse.
Yes, this is very true, but then we are dealing with unprincipled people and this is an issue concerning principles. They would probably comply without any compunction. What about all these ‘gay’ only bars, hotels and cruises: as Christians, we can now legitimately approach any of these establishments and demand entry – but a) would we want to? and b) wouldn’t we just be feeding ourselves into their game? Our discomfiture would only occasion mirth to them, whereas to us this is a real and deep cause of grief. I think the real test will come when a Christian approaches a Muslim business and requires a product saying “Jesus is Lord” or similar.
I agree. Christians, out of principle, would not ask someone to do something in the full knowledge that to do so would cause offence.
Which is why the real test will not come – a Christian who asks a Muslim to say ‘Jesus is Lord’ is not acting in a true Christian spirit and will not have God on his side.
I love your comment Busy Mum and agree with it. I wonder would it have such an outcry as Ashers have had. It’s a disgrace that a judge has deemed them to be at fault I can’t get over that, God’s word ignored again.
There wouldn’t have been an outcry because a) Christians wouldn’t have been so discriminatory as to wilfully demand someone do something which would be contrary to their beliefs and because b) if a Christian did do so, the Equalities Commission would never fight on a Christian’s behalf and because c) the judiciary is no longer impartial……
Truth is fallen in our streets and equity CANNOT enter. Isaiah 41, I think!
Romans 13:1-7 states, “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.”
This passage makes it abundantly clear that we are to obey the government God places over us. God created government to establish order, punish evil, and promote justice (Genesis 9:6; 1 Corinthians 14:33; Romans 12:8). We are to obey the government in everything—paying taxes, obeying rules and laws, and showing respect. If we do not, we are ultimately showing disrespect towards God, for He is the One who placed that government over us. When the apostle Paul wrote to the Romans, he was under the government of Rome during the reign of Nero, perhaps the most evil of all the Roman emperors. Paul still recognized the Roman government’s rule over him.
Up to a point. The rulers, note, are ministers of God (God’s servants). They should observe and carry out God’s laws. When Paul wrote these words, Caesar thought he was a god and that there was none higher than him. So Paul’s words were fighting talk. It is now our duty to remind rulers everywhere that there is one higher than they, Jesus the King of kings. And his laws take precedence in the affairs of men.
Even under the reign of a ruthless and godless emperor, Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, tells his readers to be in subjection to the government. Moreover, he states that no authority exists other than that established by God, and that rulers are serving God in their political office.
Peter writes nearly the same thing in one of this two New Testament letters:
“Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God. Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king” (1 Peter 2:13–17).
Both Paul’s and Peter’s teachings have led to quite a few questions from Christians where civil disobedience is concerned. Do Paul and Peter mean that Christians are always to submit to whatever the government commands, no matter what is asked of them?
We have two major Biblical examples of civil disobedience, the midwives in Egypt and the Apostles before the Sanhedrin. So we conclude that there is such a thing as an unlawful order, which no superior can enforce.
Notwithstanding all that, if the civil ruler is the minister of God, then each of us is also to keep reminding him of that fact. That is the church’s prophetic duty.
But in the Ashers case, no-one was advocating civil disobedience, nor are they now, as far as they know.
This subject came up because Bowie1982 raised Romans 13 to suggest we should always do what the elite tell us to.
When ‘gay marriage’ was brought in, did the government not give assurances that cases like the Ashers case would not happen? What assurances did the government give?
It looks as though a large part of the population of Ireland has considerable sympathy with homosexuals. This is presumably a reaction against the Republic having been dominated for so long by the Roman Catholic church, and all the scandals which have been exposed about that period.
Theirs also the case of Daniel refusing to worship false gods and in fact flagrantly flouting what we could call a law today by praying to YAWEH where everyone could see (facing Jerusalem) him. On a national scale as in the recent referendum in Ireland I don’t think we should be silent at all. We should be shouting from the roof tops wrong wrong wrong. The loving reaction should be to warn people of the wrath to come. Remember these are the end of days we’re talking about here. Pluck souls from the fire before it’s too dark to work.
Sorry, Darryl, I for one don’t see the connection between this cake in Northern Ireland and Daniel praying to Yaweh facing Jerusalem. Could you explain, please ?
How long will it be before Judgement falls? Every day it seems there is a new example of spitting in God’s face.
Some believe, eg David Pawson, that God will hand us over to the muslims, that is certainly the way things are going, like He handed ancient Israel over tto the Assyrians/Babylonians.
By the way, I see that the US Supreme Court is due to rule soon on the legality of same-sex marriage. Anyone here care to take a wild guess on how that one is going to go?(!)
Hi Mark,
I don’t think we need to take a wild guess. With Barry Sotero in charge it can only be a Yes.
Yes, agreed, Tick Tok.
Also, I think I am right in saying that there is at least one lesbian on the SCOTUS.
Looking at the way people are actually adversely affected by these things and have cause for complaint, I was moved by a BBC report today about a woman in prison in South America who has to share a cell with two lesbian lovers. That must be horrible. There is probably no law and no biblical text which deals with this, but she ought to be moved simply for humane reasons.
I suppose, logically, if men and women don’t share cells, then homosexuals shouldn’t share cells either. It’s no good saying “You mustn’t be homosexuals”.