Conservative Christian attorneys offer free legal advice in church-culture clashes.
By Daniel Burke
Published Oct 20, 2005 13:33
Advocates for gay rights have been described as “trailblazing,” Wenger said.
“But I don’t think that’s the right metaphor,” he said. “I would say ‘quickly going to hell.’”
The remark drew chuckles from the audience of ministers and alumni at Lebanon County’s Evangelical School of Theology.
They were assembled in the Myerstown school’s Christ Hall for a conference called “When Christians and Cultures Clash.”
The Wednesday conference starred representatives of the Pennsylvania Family Institute and lawyers, like Wenger, affiliated with the Alliance Defense Fund, a team of conservative Christian attorneys.
Throughout the daylong event, the roughly 50 ministers and alumni were constantly encouraged to call on the advocates for aid in the “culture wars,” presumed to be raging across America.
Taking the group through quick lessons about the First Amendment, religion in public schools, and gay marriage, the day seemed a combination of civics lessons and political rally.
Lancaster attorney Leonard Brown showed a movie about the Alliance Defense Fund, in which the Arizona-based group acclaimed its “army of Christian lawyers.”
“There will be no stopping us,” said one man in the movie. “In the next few years we will turn this country around.”
As speaker after speaker rose, it seemed the only obstacle to the ADF’s new path is the American Civil Liberties Union.
In recent years, the ACLU and ADF have gone head-to-head in constitutional battles over school prayer, gay marriage and discrimination.
Last month Alan Sears, ADF’s president, published a book titled “The ACLU vs. America: Exposing the Agenda to Redefine Moral Values.”
Wednesday, the ADF asked ministers and alumni to bring them legal issues to continue that fight. They offered free legal advice and representation to any person or municipality with “a good case.”
Pennsylvania Family Institute President Michael Geer said conservative Christian advocates may hear people calling them “opinionated zealots.”
But it’s up to them, he said “to rescue our society from corruption should the Lord tarry.”
But even with God’s blessing, it’s helpful to consult a lawyer before joining the battle, the speakers said.
For instance, the Dover area school board might have had a better case for the intelligent design disclaimer they inserted into high school biology classes had they not mentioned a religious motivation at their meetings, Wenger said.
“Give us a call before you do something controversial like that,” he said.
“I think we need to do a better job at being clever as serpents,” Wenger added.
