Christians Called to Be Confrontational, Attorney Who Argued Supreme Court Christian Baker Case Says

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Monday, May 21, 2018

An attorney who represented Colorado baker Jack Phillips before the United States Supreme Court has stated that she believes that being confrontational is part of the Christian calling.

Kristen Waggoner, attorney with the Alliance Defending Freedom, gave arguments before the high court on behalf of Phillips, who refused for religious reasons to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.

In a speech at the Wilberforce Weekend conference on Saturday, Waggoner explained that while not everyone in the audience was "called to engage a hostile CNN anchor or to argue in a court of law," she still believed that "confrontation is a part of every Christian's calling."

Get Our Latest News for FREE

Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know.

Subscribe

"As the Apostle Paul wrote to the Church of Corinth, 'Christians are called to be ambassadors,' and to be an ambassador means we do more than silently observe or assimilate to the culture around us," said Waggoner.

"It also means that our duel citizenship is not an excuse to settle in and do nothing. No, it is to fulfill the great and cultural commissions. We must actively advocate for eternal principles. Which means, we're advocating for the common good."

Waggoner also told those gathered at the conference last weekend that a Christian's "allegiance to God" calls a believer to "not only requires us to confront sin in our own lives, but also to love our neighbor, by confronting the devastating lies that are being told about human sexuality, identity, dignity, and true freedom."

Waggoner warned that while she recognizes that Christian persecution is far worse abroad, American Christians are nevertheless "seeing the escalation of marginalization of believers in the United States."

Examples of this, explained Waggoner, included anti-discrimination laws that punished Christian businessmen who believed in traditional marriage and the sanctity of life.

Waggoner's comments came as the nation waits for a decision in the Supreme Court case Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission.

The court heard oral arguments last December, wherein Waggoner argued on behalf of Phillips, owner of Masterpiece, for his right to refuse services that conflict with his Christian beliefs.

Jonathan Scruggs, an ADF attorney who helped with the case, told The Christian Post in an interview right after oral arguments that he felt they "went well" and that the judges, including notable swing vote Justice Anthony Kennedy, "seemed very open to many of our arguments."

"Kennedy seemed to really hit the nail on the head talking about the importance of tolerance being essential in a free society and tolerance is most meaningful when its mutual," said Scruggs at the time.

"It did not seem to him that the state was being tolerant of Mr. Phillips' religious beliefs. That is a pretty compelling statement."

An annual event held by the Colson Center, Wilberforce Weekend took place May 18-20 at the Hyatt Regency Washington in the District of Columbia.

In addition to Waggoner, other notable speakers included author Eric Metaxas, radio host and Evangel Ministries Senior Pastor Chris Brooks, Colson Center for Christian Worldview President John Stonestreet, and Acton Institute President the Reverend Robert A. Sirico, among others.