The Satanic Temple is not happy about a Christian bakery rejecting an LGBTQ cake request in 2012. As a result, they are trying to force the bakery to make a cake for Satan, in order to create a loophole of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The leader of the Satanic Temple, Lucien Greaves, shared his thoughts on a guest post via Patheos. As a result of sexual preference not being a part of the 1964 act, Greaves is encouraging the LGBTQ community to “Request your homophobic baker make a cake for Satan.”
Moreover, he added, “Because religion is a protected class, a baker may refuse service to LGBTQ people, but they may not refuse service based upon someone’s religion. If they aren’t willing to make a cake for same-sex unions, let’s have them make a cake to honor Satan instead.”
In the act, Section 201 (a) states, “All persons shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, and privileges, advantages, and accommodations of any place of public accommodation, as defined in this section, without discrimination or segregation on the ground of race, color, religion, or national origin.”
To extend the level of acceptance that Greaves has for the LGBTQ community, he stated that The Satanic Temple will hold a party and praise Satan for victory from the “offending discriminatory ‘religious liberty’ enthusiast.”
Greaves told the Daily Caller News Foundation that either religion should lose its status as a protected class, or the LGBTQ community should gain its status as a protective class. He also mentioned to the DCNF that he has received a very positive response for making this bold move, and many members of The Satanic Temple are LGBTQ, due to the notion that Satan is tolerant towards any sexual preference, and this community often does not feel accepted by other religious worldviews.
The owner of the bakery, Jack Phillips, was recently interviewed by The View to defend his stance on refusing to make the cake for the same-sex couple. Phillips stated that he would have sold them anything else in the store, but he would not sell them a wedding cake due to his convictions. Although he was amid a panel of opposers, Phillips and his attorney from the Alliance Defending Freedom extended a perspective for the hosts to reflect on, which is the fact that forcing him to make a cake, in turn, violates his freedom of expression.
Although the convictions of Phillips has resulted in losing a large amount of business, he is willing to stand by this decision, even to the point of taking this case to the Supreme Court, which has shown enough interest to accept his proposal and review the case.
Despite hearing opinions on The View regarding the Bible being written “thousands of years ago” and transcribed “sixty-something times,” as well as the belief that “faith is evolving,” Phillips and his ADF attorney, Kristen Waggoner, remained firm in their defense of Jesus not contradicting His own Word. In addition, the Hebrews 4:12 declaration, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
Phillips has also challenged a Colorado law that says he was wrong for refusing the order, which is why he wants to take this further than the lower courts. Greaves has also heavily encouraged members of The Satanic Temple to order desserts from the bakery in order to exercise the religious protection element of the Civil Rights Act. Feeling hopeful, Phillips believes that “I can trust Him and rely that God is doing what he’s going to do. And if He’s chosen us to be a part of that, that’s quite an honor.”
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