Pastors alliance: We feel 'deeply betrayed' by RFRA fix

Here's the text of a letter the Indiana Pastors Alliance is sending to Gov. Mike Pence and other state leaders in protest of the changes made earlier this month to the "religious freedom" law.

Changes to the initial Religious Freedom Restoration Act made it clear that it could not be used to dilute local ordinances that prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Churches were divided on the issue — with many mainline denominations supporting the change and many evangelicals opposing it

Here's the letter, written by the Rev. Ron Johnson, Jr., executive director of the Alliance, opposing the changes.

Open Letter to Leaders

Posted on April 23, 2015

Author: Dr. Ron Johnson

Dear Governor Pence and the State Legislature of Indiana:

We are writing on behalf of the Indiana Pastors Alliance and the millions of Christians we represent across this state who feel deeply betrayed by your leadership. As pastors, we recognize the recent legislative debacle surrounding the Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) is not the sole responsibility of any one individual. We recognize that when political activity occurs there can be a variety of culprits and innocents in what has turned out to be one of the worst legislative decisions in recent history. That being the case, it does not absolve your actions nor does it remove your responsibility in the final legislative outcome.

We are acquainted with, and tired of, the increasingly used excuses that compare the ugliness of legislation with "sausage-making". We are aware of the "back-room deals" that make finding culpability nearly impossible as blame is shifted from person to person or simply allowed to taint the whole legislature. But one thing remains clear, this "fixed" RFRA legislation has opened the door to a trampling of our liberties, and we are deeply concerned. We longed to see our leaders demonstrate moral courage in protecting the religious liberty of all Hoosiers and they capitulated, despite all well-crafted protestations to the contrary. There are few ways this could be interpreted besides betrayal. We are grieved more than you could possibly know.

Governor Pence, we are hurt and disappointed. As the Chief Executive of the state of Indiana, you were the "face" of this RFRA legislation and someone we trusted as a friend and defender of religious liberty. Your desk was the final stop for the bill that purportedly "fixed" this piece of legislation. You received godly counsel from strong and knowledgeable leaders from across our nation who encouraged you to stand strong and to veto this legislation. You failed. In doing so, you betrayed the trust of millions of Hoosiers who elected you to protect the liberties we hold dear.

Representative Bosma and Senator Long, it is clear that your actions were the driving force behind this cowardly capitulation. During your press conference, you continued to repeat a narrative that is both deceptive and dangerous. You state that you are committed to an Indiana where religious rights and individual rights coexist in harmony. While this sounds wonderful, we all know that the demands of the LGBT lobby make this untenable with those who profess faith in Christ and faithfulness to the Scriptures. It was clear from the press conference that the next "discussion" will involve the creation of sexual orientation and gender identity as a special protected class in Indiana. Leadership from the gay community told all who were listening that this will become a reality in Indiana.

As Christians, we have no problem demonstrating tolerance for others. Tolerance exists and is valued because of our Christian values, not in spite of them. But the LGBT community is anything but tolerant. They are not content to practice tolerance, demanding instead that people of faith celebrate a lifestyle which is expressly forbidden by God in the Scriptures. When Christian business owners refuse to participate in homosexual weddings, something most Christians consider to be a mockery of the sacred institution of marriage, they are not extended tolerance. To the contrary, they are vilified, threatened, attacked, and fined into submission by a sympathetic state that has foolishly exchanged our God-given, First Amendment rights for sexual license.

We need to be abundantly clear. The coming together of religious liberty and sexual license is not a peaceful coexistence, but a violent collision. For the Christian, God is the ultimate authority. This is why our forefathers acknowledged that the consciences of men were outside of the authority of human governments. God's Word is very clear about the proper expression of human sexuality, and homosexuality is one of a variety of sexual behaviors God expressly condemns. For Christians, therefore, sexual sins can never be treated as civil rights. God's view on marriage is equally clear. These beliefs are non-negotiable for Christians. So how can those with diametrically opposed worldviews live in the political utopia you have foolishly portrayed?

You speak of a state where discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated, yet you and the other legislators invest your lives in passing laws. Each law makes a discrimination. Laws tell us the right or legal way to behave and what is the wrong way to proceed. Every law is a reflection of someone's morality. So it's clear we all make discriminations. Concerning sexual behavior, most Hoosiers would agree that it is wrong to allow a sexual offender to run a daycare facility. We all draw moral lines of distinction somewhere. So living in a state that "does not tolerate discrimination of any kind" is yet another false, misleading narrative. We'd have to shut down our statehouse and our courts if we really believed that.

Your press conference to "fix" a piece of legislation which required no fix made it abundantly clear that you have sold out the religious liberties of Christians to momentarily quell the cries of special interest groups and alleviate the financial fears of big business. Conspicuously absent from the discussion were spiritual leaders from the Christian community. We will no longer sit passively and allow cowardly political leadership to remove religious liberties from the marketplace. If we do, it's only a matter of time before these same liberties are removed from the Church. We are here to remind our leaders that our liberties come from God, not the state. When you fail to honor God, when you attempt to turn moral wrongs into civil rights, you forfeit your God-delegated privilege to rule and must be stridently resisted.

American pastors have historically served as the moral and cultural conscience of the nation. When government forgets God and promotes policies in direct opposition to God's Word, the Church has a God-given mandate to speak up. It is with this in mind that the Indiana Pastors' Alliance feels compelled to bring to the Indiana Legislature an open, public rebuke. Psalm 105:14 reminds us that when God's people are put in an oppressive place by civil authority, that authority is to be rebuked. Scripture goes on to say, "Open rebuke is better than love carefully concealed. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful." (Proverbs 27:5-6)

The state leadership of Indiana has not only been remiss in their duties, but they have opened a door of oppression upon the community of which many of them say they are a part. Our job as spiritual shepherds is to do our part in protecting the sheep from those who do such things. The Scripture plainly teaches us that we are to evaluate leaders based upon the fruit of their actions and not only the confession of their lips (Matthew 7:16-20). Politicians are not exempt. Your actions have demonstrated that when the heat is turned up, your "deeply held principles" become easily negotiable. If increased pressure changes one's principles, then one could rightfully question the reality of those principles.

In conclusion, we understand that in most politicians' minds, moments like this will soon pass. The electorate, so we are told, has a short memory. No doubt that has been illustrated abundantly through the years. All we can say is that as pastors we will do our best to "mark those" who bring oppression and offense to our faith (Romans 16:17-18). It is with a profound sense of sorrow we issue this rebuke. Our hope is that those who have been entrusted with governmental authority will remember that they remain God's ministers (Romans 13:4) and as such, will must redress this egregious attack on our God-given liberties.

With Great Respect for both the Office and the Officeholders,

Dr. Ron Johnson Jr.

Executive Director

Indiana Pastors Alliance

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are solely those of the Indiana Pastors Alliance and are not intended to represent the views of other organizations who have spoken out on behalf of Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Call Robert King at (317) 444-6089. Follow him on Twitter at @RbtKing.