Quote:
Originally Posted by heero_yuy
Religious beliefs are no excuse to break the laws of this land. If they cannot accept that then they have no business running a guest house. I for one welcome their absence.
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Countless believers in different places, right down through history, would disagree with you.
There are tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of Christians in China right now who are breaking the law by attending underground churches that are not sanctioned by the Communist party. They do this because they find the Chinese state's restrictions on the full expression of their faith to be intolerable. A similar situation existed in the Soviet Union.
Christians have been breaking the law for their faith for as long as there have been Christians, and the further our own society travels from its broadly Christian outlook, the more it will happen here too.
As it happens, I believe this couple's actions to have been wrongheaded, even if they were sincere. It is possible to welcome someone who you believe to be living in an immoral way, without condoning the way they live. Jesus did so frequently, always welcoming, never compromising. Nevertheless, I think our lawmakers have overstepped a mark, in that they have seen fit to over-rule a homeowner's own rules of conduct for their guests (guest houses very often are still private homes).