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A Christian pro-life group was ejected from a Seattle coffee shop by it's homosexual owner.
The reason?
The owner, Ben Borgman, told the Christians, "I'm gay. You have to leave."
One of the Christians said, "Are you denying us service?"
Borgman said, "Yeah, I am."
An interesting message from the City of Tolerance.
The Christians are part of a pro-life group called, "Abolish Human Abortion" (AHA).
They refer to themselves as Christian abolitionists.
They are peaceful and had been out on the streets of Seattle for a couple of days passing out anti-abortion materials and sharing Christ with people on the street.
The kids decided to take a break and go into the "Bedlam Coffee" shop in downtown Seattle.
According to all I have read, the kids did not engage anyone in the coffee shop.
They say, "We had nothing on us, we weren't distributing anything. We bought coffee and went upstairs."
Within minutes of their arrival, the barista ran up the stairs and into the back room to alert the owner the pro-life kids were in the shop.
A moment later the owner, Borgman, burst into the room shouting, "You have to leave."
Caytie Davis, one of the pro-life young people, says, "We were all taken aback because we had no idea what he was talking about."
The owner then showed them a pamphlet he said he had found and demanded to know if it belonged to them.
The pamphlet, shown in this link features an image of an aborted child, as well as rainbow-colored imagery with the words, "Love Hasn't Won Yet," along with an explanation of what the rainbow means according to Scripture--a symbol of God's longsuffering mercy toward sinners.
Davis says, "None of us dropped the pamphlet in his store. But we told him, yes, it was one that we had been handing out in the city and asked where he'd found it. He told us he found it outside."
When the pro-life kids asked why they had to leave, the owner told them, "This offends me."
Jonathan Sutherland, one of the pro-lifers, says he pointed out that the piece of literature had been found outside on public property, not inside his store, but the owner repeatedly kept cutting him off saying, "Shut up! Shut up!"
Sutherland than said, "So you're not willing to tolerate our presence?"
The owner replied, "Will you tolerate my presence?" Sutherland assured him they would...adding, "We're actually in your coffee shop."
The owner responded, "Really? "If I go get my boyfriend and..."
At that point, the outrage and words of the owner became so vile and descriptive that I am not going to include them in this article. They not only include acts with his "boyfriend" but some of his remarks are directed at Jesus Himself.
By this time the pro-lifers had gotten out their phones and turned on the video.
Caleb Head, one of the pro-life group, says, "Well, we don't want to watch that," to which the owner replies, "Well then I don't have to**** tolerate this. Leave! All of you! Tell all your ****** friends, don't ***come here."
The pro-life Christians said they would leave, however as they left, Caytie Davis took the opportunity to share the gospel with the owner. She said, "Just know that Christ can save you from that lifestyle."
To which the owner replied (with profanities), "I'm not going to be saved by anything."
After they left, Davis said, "They had pretty good coffee, but the service sucked."
Sutherland commented, "Seattle has proved itself to not be tolerant."
However, they all said the treatment was hypocritical in light of recent public discrimination cases involving Christian business owners who have had to fight lawsuits over graciously declining---without all the profanities and rage, I would add--- baking a cake or arranging flowers for a so-called same-sex "wedding."
As you likely know, this incident comes as the Supreme Court is preparing to hear the case of Jack Phillips, the Christian baker who was ordered by the Colorado Civil Rights Commission to create a wedding cake for a homosexual couple.
The Court will hear the case this fall.
The video taken by the pro-life kids, as you can imagine, has gone viral.
The Bedlam coffee shop, Seattle's bastion of tolerance, has gone on defense.
They are all over social media explaining that the incident was taken out of context, claiming the pro-life kids came into the coffee shop with the intent to create a confrontation on video, and that the kids are "working for Satan," while the owner, Mr. Borgman, is reminding everyone he was raised Catholic.
Dave Ross, KIRO radio's so-called voice of tolerance in Seattle, was on the air yesterday with a commentary trying to somehow create "equity"---"both were wrong. Can't we just get along."
Sure Dave, now that the "Bedlam" owner has made a fool of himself and the other apostles of tolerance, let's just forget about all this.
State Attorney General Bob Ferguson has spent...how much taxpayer money?..going after a Richland grandmother---Barronnel Stutzman--the florist who graciously declined to arrange flowers for a homosexual "wedding" several years ago because of her deeply held religious beliefs.
Will he go after this guy for refusing to serve a Christian group of pro-life activists...and berating them because of their religious beliefs, while blaspheming Jesus?
Even if these young Christians file a lawsuit---and from what I hear they aren't planning to do so---I seriously doubt that Ferguson would show the same passion in prosecuting them as he has Mrs. Stutzman and other "intolerant" "bigoted" Christians.
Besides, the laws are written to honor the homosexual's behavior, not those of the Christian.
Ben Crenshaw, with Ryan T. Anderson's "Witherspoon Institute" has written an article titled, "Shut Up, Bigot!: The Intolerance of Tolerance."
His premise is "Conservatives are called bigots because those who embrace the new sexual mores are beholden to the new tolerance as a plausibility structure. Postmodern liberals cannot comprehend the idea that one could simultaneously reject a belief and accept the person who holds it."
Christians can and do hate the sin, while not hating the sinner because all of us are sinners---Christians are sinners saved by the grace of God through acceptance His Son Jesus Christ as our personal Savior.
Bigotry is defined as "intolerance toward those who hold different opinions from oneself."
The emergent "new tolerance" of the last two generations has fostered the notion that all views are seen as equally valid and equally true---there is no absolute truth--- and to reject someone's view of, say sin, even on the basis of biblical teaching, is to reject the person and to be an intolerant bigot.
This is why the rejection of same-sex "marriage," homosexual practice, and transgenderism is said to be an attack on the dignity of the people who practice those lifestyles.
Consequently, laws are written to punish those who hold different views, including deeply held religious biblical views.
This episode at the "Bedlam Coffee" shop is a clear example.
Crenshaw says, "The larger question is what will the future of American society and culture be? Will it be a place for true tolerance, where competing ideas and visions of human flourishing are openly and respectfully debated in the public square? Or will the new tolerance create a totalitarian regime that controls both private thought and public engagement through accusations of bigotry while masquerading as enlightenment and progress?"
He says, "It's up to American citizens to decide. We must not be intimidated, and we must not be silenced, for freedom and flourishing of an entire culture and her people are at stake."
Be informed. Be Discerning. Be Bold. Be Faithful Be Prayerful. Be Free.