Archive for category: Release

Sam Rohrer States: First Amendment Rights of Bible-Believing Christians Utterly Disregarded–Why Not Respect Christians’ Beliefs?

Aug 20, 2013

PHILADELPHIA – Sam Rohrer, president of the Pennsylvania Pastor’s Network (PPN,http://www.papastors.net ), is urging pastors to be bold and courageous and to speak out against the tyranny of President Obama’s administration. The looming employer mandate that the Health and Human Services Department has issued across the board to corporations, ignores the religious beliefs of millions of Americans who claim to be Christians and hold fast to the tenets of the Bible. These millions believe that abortion, or anything that supports or makes abortion easier, is forbidden. The mandate causes grave concern for many faith-based employers and Rohrer is calling on the Church to step up and actively oppose what the government is trying to impose.

Rohrer reminds pastors, “In I Kings 18, King Ahab accused Elijah the Prophet of being the source of trouble for Israel. Elijah boldly confronted the King with the Truth when he declared that it was not him or God that was the problem, rather it was the wickedness and the evil of the King and his administration that was troubling the nation. So it is today when the Obama administration seeks to advance laws that directly attack the commands of God and then attacks those who oppose these laws. The HHS mandate that forces all employer-based insurance plans, including religious businesses and universities, charities, and non-profits, to provide abortion-inducing drug coverage in their group health insurance plans, regardless of their own religious convictions on the issue of the sanctity of human life is one such egregious law that not only fits the definition of tyranny but demands a response from those who trust in God and believe that no man or government can usurp the moral Law of God.” 

Rohrer continues, “There are a lot of issues in policy-making that can be classified as gray areas, where people can simply disagree about what is best or right for themselves and each other. The sanctity of life is not one of them. Life is from God the Creator. It is a gift and a leading purpose of government is to protect life – all life. When any government rejects their God-given duty and uses their power to take life, they have crossed the line. When they use their power to force Christians and others to violate God’s commands this is tyranny and must be opposed. By forcing what Christians believe to be an evil on all Christians who fear God and hold to a Biblical worldview, and especially to Christian employers, by trying to force them to provide something that violates God’s commands and their very conscience, President Obama is guilty of calling ‘evil good, and good evil.’ The fact that few people in the mainstream media or this administration seem to care about the severity of this issue in the mind and heart of Christians with Biblical worldviews is creating trouble in our land. They may as well be telling us to kill a full-grown adult – that would be unthinkable to anyone and that is how offensive abortion is to us. To be coerced to violate God’s law and our Constitutionally-guaranteed First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution cannot be taken lightly.”

Rohrer urges pastors to not shy away from this issue. “The insurgence of tyranny and the stripping away of our religious freedoms and rights in this country is not going to stop unless Christians, and in particular, pastors, stand up and start demanding moral duty to God and Constitutional accountability from our Congressional leaders. Too many of us have been sitting back and quietly watching the steady encroachment of tyrannical evil upon us, and then we wonder why our culture is unraveling at the seams. It’s unraveling because those who call themselves Bible-believing pastors are not leading with boldness and courage on these issues.”

A growing number of activists and policy-makers are joining forces in an attempt to defund President Obama’s signature law, Obamacare, which would force taxpayers to fund abortion coverage across the board. However, even if those efforts are successful, the HHS mandate would not be affected because it is part of an executive order administered under the department of Health and Human Services, and is not a direct part of Obamacare.

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 a state chapter affiliate of the American Pastors’ Network. The American Pastors’ Network is a Ministry Program Affiliate of Capstone Legacy Foundation (a 501 C3 non-profit organization). To contact them visit.http://www.papastors.net or call 610-584.1225.

PHILADELPHIA – Pennsylvania Pastors’ Network (PPN, www.papastors.net) is encouraged that the Corbett administration has taken action in Commonwealth Court to halt the official breaking of Pennsylvania state law, that recognizes marriage law between one man and one woman, by the Montgomery County register of wills who was issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Since mid-July, when Attorney General Kathleen Kane called the state’s law banning homosexual marriage unconstitutional, Register of Wills D. Bruce Hanes has illegally issued 34 licenses to homosexual couples.

Sam Rohrer, President of the Pennsylvania Pastors’ Network says, “I am encouraged by Governor Corbett’s decision to use his authority to stop the intentional breaking of law by a local elected official. As I and others stated in our July 17 press conference at the Pennsylvania State Capitol, Attorney General Kane’s public refusal to uphold her oath of office and defend the State’s Marriage Law would encourage greater lawlessness. The actions of Register of Wills, Hanes is but the first example. Governor Corbett is justified to use his authority to seek the compliance with the law as the Constitution demands and he is appropriately and lawfully also defending natural marriage between one man and one woman.

“Pennsylvania’s DOMA clearly states that marriage in Pennsylvania is the union of one man and one woman. When two elected officials (Kane and Hanes) or any other, think that they can act above the law, demonstrate political tyranny and encourage lawlessness, it is critical that the citizens know that they will be held accountable to the law by others in elected office who share the responsibility to ensure that law is upheld by all in public office. We are encouraging all elected officials to heed the example, in this instance that Governor Corbett has displayed. The Pennsylvania Pastors’ Network urges pastors to earnestly preach the Absolute Truth of God’s Word and to teach that civil freedom can only survive when people self-govern their own actions according to the Commands of God.”

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 a state chapter affiliate of the American Pastors’ Network. The American Pastors’ Network is a Ministry Program Affiliate of Capstone Legacy Foundation (a 501 C3 non-profit organization). 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.

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.

PHILADELPHIA – Last Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and also caused Proposition 8 to be invalidated, thereby ruling against the majority of California voters.

While Wednesday’s rulings did not impose the sweeping redefinition of marriage that gay activists were seeking, it did fling the doors wide open to a whole new wave of lawsuits seeking to do just that. Caught in the crosshairs of the national debate over marriage laws are the religious freedoms of all Americans, but particularly those who hold to a Biblical worldview.

Many Christians and conservatives believe that the decision, while not unexpected, is nonetheless highly troublesome for America, feeling that the form of government which was established to undergird and guard Americans’ rights and freedoms will not survive much longer if acts like last week’s continue unchecked. They summarize the Court’s decision as nothing less than judicial tyranny.

According to Sam Rohrer, President of the Pennsylvania Pastor’s Network, the Court committed three major acts of defiance. He states, “First, five Supreme Court Justices defiled their Constitutional oath by declaring supremacy over the Executive and Legislative Branch by ruling null and void a legitimate and lawful act of Congress (DOMA) signed by President Clinton. By so doing, they have challenged the authority of Congress and violated the Separation of Powers. If Congress does not swiftly respond, they will condone this act of tyranny and become complicit in it. Secondly, they defied the Constitutional concept of state sovereignty, the citizens of California and all American citizens by declaring unconstitutional a legitimate act of the people through constitutional referendum. By recognizing the illegitimate actions of the California court, they sidestepped creating an immediate constitutional crisis by attacking the 10th Amendment directly, but accomplished the same thing. Finally, they denounced God Himself by declaring that God’s definition of marriage is not absolute. As such, the Court, just like shifting tectonic plates underneath the ocean, have set in motion a series of tsunamis that could destroy our Constitutional republic.”

Although some claim that the Court simply returned the issue of defining marriage to the states, this is up for critical debate. What many say is that the Supreme Court actually ruled that the people of any individual state have no power to create and enact their own laws. This ruling can be described as nothing less than judicial tyranny, and should enrage all Americans who cherish their right to vote, regardless of religion, race, or creed.

Also, in striking down DOMA, which many say did nothing to hamper or govern the individual states in their laws concerning marriage, but simply defined, for federal purposes, what marriage means when written into federal statues, the Court essentially ruled that Congress does not possess the ability to define for itself the terms within the laws it creates, yet every governing body at every level of society does exactly that. This ruling creates a precedent that grants the Court unlimited power to randomly create and define whichever words it wants in whatever way it wants, regardless of the intent of Congress or any other governing body when it seeks to define its own terms. When combined with the refusal of the Federal Executive Branch to defend DOMA and the California Executive branch to defend Prop 8, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision should awaken all Americans to the threat that exists to their most cherished freedoms and the strength of any current law they look to protect.

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 610.584.1096.

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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.