Sam Rohrer, President, PA Pastors’ Network: Pennsylvania Must Stand Firm to Uphold the Law and Protect Marriage

PHILADELPHIA – Sam Rohrer, president of the Pennsylvania Pastor’s Network (PPN, www.papastors.net), is urging Bible-believing pastors and lay people who honor natural marriage in the state of Pennsylvania to stand firm for marriage, family, and freedom. Rohrer and members of the PPN Leadership Council, accompanied by State Representatives Gordon Denlinger (R-Lancaster) and Tim Krieger (R-Westmoreland), held a press conference last week at the State Capitol to denounce Pennsylvania’s Attorney General Kathleen Kane and her recent announcement to refuse to defend the Pennsylvania law that protects marriage between one man and one woman.

Rohrer warns that Kane’s refusal to defend the PA marriage law she is sworn to uphold because she feels that law is ‘wholly unconstitutional,’ is a violation of her Constitutional oath and cannot be overlooked.

Rohrer states, “Upon the adoption of the US Constitution, Ben Franklin said, “…we’ve given you a republic – if you can keep it.” Freedom is often lost because the people grow lazy and give it up, or those in office forsake their oath and attempt to usurp civil liberty by placing themselves above the law. This current action by the AG while encouraged by some should be abhorred by all since it fits the definition of tyranny and threatens the liberty of all. If there is no change to this decision and other similar refusals by Executive Branch officials around the nation, our freedom and our very Republic are threatened.”

In 1996, the Pennsylvania legislature enacted, by large margins, the state’s own Defense of Marriage Act, which declares that marriage in Pennsylvania is the legally enacted union between one man and one woman. Rohrer went on to say, “In addition to violating her oath, AG Kane stated that she cannot ‘ethically’ defend the lawful and historical definition of marriage as being between one man and one woman. If one cannot ethically defend the biblical and historical definition of marriage as being between one man and one woman then it is legitimate to question the source of these ‘ethics.’ The definition of ethics means, ‘a system of moral principles.’ By definition, moral refers to ‘what is right and wrong … and has reference to the law of God as the standard.’ Therefore, one’s view of right and wrong determines how a person thinks, acts, and chooses. The common view in our culture is that there is no absolute truth, that right and wrong are relative, that there is no more moral compass and therefore no God to whom we will give an account. It is this view that is in conflict with and is undermining the Rule of Law, our Constitution, self-discipline and our very freedoms and threatens William Penn’s Holy Experiment. I believe that unless this distinction is acknowledged and there is a return to the concept of ethics and morality as defined by God in His Word, we will lose the freedoms we have so long enjoyed and which are reflected in our Declaration of Independence and our PA and US Constitutions.
Kane is an open supporter of gay marriage, and as the lawsuit filed by the ACLU on behalf of 23 people is brought before the state, Kane is clearly at odds with state law and would be posing a clear conflict of interest if she were to represent the state of PA.

Her announcement is just one more in a recent string of examples of public officials who are actively refuting their sworn responsibilities as public servants. Instead, they are seeing their political offices as platforms from which they can impose their personal beliefs on the public at large as they attempt to side-step due Constitutional process. That Pennsylvania’s Attorney General Kathleen Kane openly supports gay marriage is no surprise; what is troubling is that she has found the recent SCOTUS decision a convenient ally and scapegoat for her decision to abandon her constitutional duty to uphold and defend the laws of the Commonwealth state.

Rohrer adds to his concerns, “When elected officials, whether state or federal, are no longer held accountable to the respective Constitutions to which they are sworn, and under which their very offices are created, then political anarchy and lawlessness are guaranteed. The question which remains is, how long will it take before complete anarchy ensues? We are encouraging pastors everywhere to earnestly preach the Truth of God’s Word and that freedom can only survive – when people do as William Penn made clear right here in Pennsylvania – ‘Self govern their own actions according to the Commands of God.’ The answers to our problems are not political. They are in every way spiritual and that starts with recognizing the Absolute Truth of God’s Word.”

The Pennsylvania Pastors’ Network is a group of biblically faithful clergy and church liaisons whose objective is to build a permanent infrastructure of like-minded clergy who affirm the authority of Scripture, take seriously Jesus’ command to be the “salt and light” to the culture, encourage informed Christian thinking about contemporary social issues; examine public policy issues without politicizing their pulpits and engage their congregations in taking part in our political process on a non-partisan basis.

The Pennsylvania Pastors’ Network website continues to offer a wealth of resources to pastors to help them equip their congregations to live a Christian life, from sermon notes to corporate prayers for our nation, to resources for laypeople, covering everything from preparation to finances.

The Pennsylvania Pastors’ Network is an affiliate of the American Pastors’ Network. To contact them visit. www.papastors.net or call 610-584.1225.

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To schedule interviews with Sam Rohrer, President of the Pa. Pastors’ Network, contact Deborah Hamilton at dhamilton@hamiltonstrategies.com, 215-815-7716 or 610-584-1096.