Taught by Deaconess Edyth Nicholson on Sunday October 2, 2016

1. The Attack on the
Family
HOW THINGS HAVE CHANGED IN JUST 5 YEARS?

2. Gods’ Design for Marriage
 Gen 2: 21-24 (NLT)
 21-So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep.
While man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs
and closed up the opening.
 22-Then the Lord God made a woman from the rob, and he
brought her to the man.
 23-At last! The man exclaimed. “This one is bone from my
bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman’
because she was taken from ‘man.’”
 24-This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is
joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.

3. Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)
 The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) (Pub. L. 104-199, Sept. 21,
1996, 110 Stat. 2419) is a federal law that denies federal
recognition of same-sex marriages and authorizes states to
refuse to recognize same-sex marriages licensed in other states.
DOMA was passed out of the fear that a lawsuit in Hawaii would
force that state to recognize same-sex marriages. Under the U.S.
Constitution's Full Faith and Credit Clause (Article IV, Section 1),
states are expected to recognize the public acts, records, and
judicial proceedings of every other state. Therefore, Congress
was alarmed at the prospect of a gay or lesbian couple being
married in Hawaii and then going to another state and expecting
that state to recognize them as legally married. In addition,
Congress did not want to grant same-sex couples the same
federal benefits that are given to heterosexual couples who are
legally married.

4. The Whitehouse no longer defends
DOMA
 A report from CBS news February 24, 2011.
 President Obama has instructed the Justice Department to no
longer defend the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage
Act, or DOMA, the legal prohibition on federal recognition of
same-sex marriages.
 Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement that
the department will stop defending the policy because it has
now been challenged in the Second Circuit, "which has no
established or binding standard for how laws concerning
sexual orientation should be treated."

5. Supreme Court Decision on DOMA
2013
 Los Angeles Times article June 2013
 WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court struck down a key part
of the federal Defense of Marriage Act on Wednesday and
declared that same-sex couples who are legally married
deserve equal rights to the benefits under federal law that go
to all other married couples.
 The decision is a landmark win for the gay rights movement. It
voids a section of the law known as DOMA, which was
adopted with bipartisan support in Congress in 1996 to deny
all benefits and recognition to same-sex couples.
 At that time, no state permitted gays and lesbians to marry.
Now, 12 states and the District of Columbia authorize same-
sex marriages.

6. What is Don’t Ask Don’t Tell?
 According to Wikipedia
 "Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) was the official United States policy on
military service by gays, bisexuals, and lesbians, instituted by the Clinton
Administration on February 28, 1994, when Department of Defense
Directive 1304.26 issued on December 21, 1993, took effect,[1] lasting until
September 20, 2011. The policy prohibited military personnel from
discriminating against or harassing closeted homosexual or bisexual
service members or applicants, while barring openly gay, lesbian, or
bisexual persons from military service. This relaxation of legal restrictions
on service by gays and lesbians in the armed forces was mandated by
United States federal law Pub.L. 103–160 (10 U.S.C. § 654), which was
signed November 30, 1993.[2] The policy prohibited people who
"demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts" from
serving in the armed forces of the United States, because their presence
"would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good
order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military
capability".[3]

7. Don’t ask Don’t tell repealed 2011
 Article July 22, 2011 New York Times article.
 WASHINGTON — President Obama formally certified on Friday that the
American military is ready for the repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy
as Pentagon officials said that nearly two million service members had
been trained in preparation for gay men and women serving openly in
their ranks.
 Enactment of the repeal will come in 60 days, on Sept. 20. The two-month
waiting period is called for in the legislation passed late last year that
ended “don’t ask, don’t tell,” the 17-year-old law that banned openly gay
men, lesbians and bisexuals from military service.
 “As of Sept. 20, service members will no longer be forced to hide who they
are in order to serve our country,” Mr. Obama said in a statement. He
signed the certification, along with Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and
Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, about 3:30
p.m. in the Oval Office.

8. From the Whitehouse
 May 9, 2012 during an interview with ABC News, President Obama
said, “I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.”
 WASHINGTON, June 26, 2015 (Reuters) - The Supreme Court ruled
on Friday that the U.S. Constitution provides same-sex couples the
right to marry, handing a historic triumph to the American gay
rights movement.
 The court ruled 5-4 that the Constitution's guarantees of due
process and equal protection under the law mean that states cannot
ban same-sex marriages. With the landmark ruling, gay marriage
becomes legal in all 50 states.
 Immediately after the decision, same-sex couples in many of states
where gay marriage had been banned headed to county clerks'
offices for marriage licenses as state officials issued statements
saying they would respect the ruling.

9. The Whitehouse celebrated support of
Supreme Court decision by displaying
colors of the rainbow

10. The Rainbow
 QUESTION: What is the meaning of a rainbow in the Bible?
What do colors such as red, blue, and purple mean?
 Genesis 9:12:13 (NLT)
 12-Then God said, “I am giving you a sign of my covenant
with you and with all living creatures, for all generations to
come.
 13-I have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of
my covenant with you and with all the earth.

11. Homosexuality Is Not an Acceptable
Lifestyle
 Gen 19:1-9 (NLT)-Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed
 Lev. 18:22 (NLT)
 Detestable-Deserving intense dislike
 What are some other words that could be used in place of it?
 Rom. 1:24-32 (NLT)
 What are the biggest challenges to sexual purity in our
society?

12. God gave them over to????
 Fill in the blanks below.
 God gave them over to _______________ (v.24)
 God gave them over to _______________ (v. 26-27)
 God gave them over to _______________ (v. 28-31)

13. Homosexuality Is Unnatural
 Romans 1:26-28 (NLT)
 What are the potential consequences of living a homosexual
lifestyle?
 How does it affect a persons body? Values? Mind and
emotions? Family? Career? Soul? Future? Etc.

14. Christ Provides a Way Out of
Homosexuality
 1 Cor. 6:9-11 (NLT)
 What is the hope offered in these verses for the homosexual?
 What is necessary for forgiveness and “cleansing from
unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9)?

15. How can we help?
 How should the work of Jesus (to wash, sanctify, and justify)
affect and motivate believers to love and care about
homosexuals?
 What Will Help Someone Not Fall Back into a
Homosexual Lifestyle?
 1 Cor. 6:18-20
 To win victory over homosexuality requires changing both
thinking and habits. Christians can reject homosexuality yet
still love and respect the homosexual as a person.

16. What is the North Carolina bathroom
law according to CNN?
 An article from CNN on Thursday March 24, 2016
 Washington (CNN)North Carolina's governor on Wednesday
signed a controversial bill blocking cities from allowing
transgender individuals to use public bathrooms for the sex
they identify as -- as well as restricting cities from passing
nondiscrimination laws more broadly.
 House Bill 2, the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, puts in
place a statewide policy that bans individuals from using
public bathrooms that do not correspond to their biological
sex. The bill also reserves the right to pass nondiscrimination
legislation to the state government, saying state laws preempt
any local ordinances.

17. The Facts about the North Carolina
bathroom law
 The city of North Carolina issued a decree that all public and
private institutions must allow transgender students (i.e. I
identify as a man or a woman) to use the bathroom of the sex
they identify with.
 The North Carolina law states that if you want to allow this
you can but you are not forced to.
 So now several high profile revenue generating events (NBA,
concerts, Apple, etc..) are now being cancelled due to this law.

18. Transgender bathrooms
 An article in CNN on May 14, 2016-
 (CNN)The Obama administration issued guidance Friday
directing public schools to allow transgender students to use
bathrooms matching their gender identity.
 A joint letter from the Departments of Education and Justice
went to schools Friday with guidelines to ensure that
"transgender students enjoy a supportive and
nondiscriminatory school environment," the Obama
administration said.

19. Transgenderism in the Military
 According to an article by CNN June 30, 2016
 Washington (CNN)The Pentagon said Thursday it was ending
the ban on transgender people being able to serve openly in
the U.S. military.
 The announcement -- which removes one of the last barriers
to military service by any individual -- was made by Defense
Secretary Ash Carter, who had been studying the issue for
almost a year.
 The decision comes as the military has witnessed major
changes in the role of women and the inclusion of gays,
lesbians and bisexual service members in recent years.