It was a story that captured national attention last week: a Colorado baker claimed that a civil rights complaint was filed against her after she refused to make a cake that included the words "God hates gays." But now the Christian activist who she accused of making that request is speaking out, claiming that he never asked for that specific message to be written on the cake.
Bill Jack, founder of Worldview Academy, a Christian organization, told the Christian Post that the words "God hates gays" were never part of his request of Azucar Bakery in Denver, Colorado, and that he, instead, had asked for two Bible-shaped cakes that included references to Psalm 45:7 and Leviticus 18:22, among other Bible verses.
It is true, however, that the cakes were to include an image representing his opposition to gay marriage as well as a statement that "Homosexuality is a detestable sin."
"I requested two cakes each in the shape of an open Bible. On the first cake I requested on one page, 'God hates sin – Psalm 45:7,' and on the facing page, 'Homosexuality is a detestable sin – Leviticus 18:22'," Jack told the Christian Post. "On the second cake I requested on one page, 'God loves sinners,' and on the facing page, 'While we were yet sinners Christ died for us – Romans 5:8.'"
Photo Credit: AP
The Christian activist also said that he wanted a decoration that included two men holding hands. He also wanted a cross along with the a symbol behind it — which he called the "ghostbusters symbol" — denoting his belief that same-sex unions are not biblically sound.
Jack also told the Post that he had requested the cake and filed the subsequent complaint with Colorado's Civil Rights Division in an effort to expose how anti-discrimination laws — which typically place Christian bakers and business providers in the crosshairs for refusing to provide services to same-sex couples — are not equally applied across the board.
The activist even said that he believes Azucar Bakery owner Marjorie Silva had the right to decline him service when he approached her last year, but that the current law in Colorado does not permit her that right.
"This statute is being applied inequitably; it so far is only being applied against Christians, such as Jack Phillips and Masterpiece Bakery," Jack said, referring to a Christian business owner in Colorado who has faced controversy and legal ramifications after refusing to bake a same-sex wedding cake. "If we do not have liberty for all, then we have liberty for none."
As World Magazine reported, Jack wanted to see "if those charging discrimination against gays would care about discrimination against Christians."
As TheBlaze previously reported, Silva recently told USA Today that Jack's initial request was for the words "God hates gays," which he has since denied. Silva said that she declined to include the anti-gay wording or the image of the men that Jack had requested, instead offering to make the Bible-shaped cakes without those elements.
In this March 10, 2014 photo, Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips decorates a cake inside his store, in Lakewood, Colo. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)
“After I read it, I was like ‘No way,’” Silva told USA Today. “‘We’re not doing this. This is just very discriminatory and hateful.’”
It is possible that Silva was paraphrasing when she said that the cake was to read "God hates gays," as she said that Jack wouldn't allow her to make a copy of the paper on which his order request was originally written — the order which reportedly asked, instead, for "Homosexuality is a detestable sin" to be written on the cakes.
As TheBlaze has reported, the free speech debate surrounding business owners' rights to defend their conscience often attracts unexpected bedfellows. Consider Kathy Trautvetter, a lesbian who founded printing company BMP T-Shirts in 2003 with her partner, Kathy. She told TheBlaze last year that both women believe that businesses shouldn’t be forced by the government to violate their religious conscience.
Trautvetter has been vocal about her views surrounding an ongoing debate involving Blaine Adamson, owner of Hands on Originals, a Kentucky-based T-shirt company, that refused to print shirts for a gay pride festival in 2012, offering support to the printer, despite disagreeing with his views on homosexuality.
“The idea is that when you own your own business, it’s your own art and creation — it’s very personal … it takes a long time to build a business,” she said at the time. “When someone wants to force you to go against it — that’s what stuck me right in the heart. I really felt for Blaine.”
(H/T: Christian Post)
