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Which is how we would want it, isn't it?

As "Do not judge" is a frequent refrain here,it is not the businesses that make a public judgmental display. There isn't any indication they are the ones running to the media. How is it you know that instead of being a privately held religious conviction by those refusing it is hypocrisy using religion as the fall guy. That sounds a lot like judging from the Thou shalt not judge crowd

One thing at our (very small) church that has young people coming back - our sermons are interactive (kinda like at the Boulder Church; in that people from the congregation are allowed to ask questions or challenge (but NOT confront) the speaker and each other. The younger folks appreciate being able to speak out without fear of reprisal or denigration. They have more insight into the practical meaning of scripture than many of us old folks have! Of course, this might be difficult (if not impossible) in a larger church.

The baker should do whatever he/she feels is right, no matter what color his/her skin is. An African American Christian full of the love of Jesus might just feel like making the best cake ever for the Klan as an act of love towards their enemies. Maybe not. Who am I to judge or make that call?

Perhaps a better approach would be http://tenthousandplaces.org/2015/04/01/bake-for-them-two/

Yesterday I was visiting at a church gathering. A man walked up to me, introduced himself, and asked how I was doing. NOTE: I did not remember him, but I had preached a couple of times at a church that he attends when I lived nearby. As we talked, I asked him if he knew a person who is considered by some to be a controversial figure in Adventism. I am not a supporter of the ministry of that person, but I thought that this person likely would be. The man speaking to me promptly told me that he knew this person personally, which I thought he would. He then asked me if I knew this person's children. I told him that I did not. He responded by telling me that all of them had turned out quite well. He went on to tell me how they differed from their Father. I am still thinking about this: Imagine someone suggesting that my children had turned out well due to the fact that they were not like me! All of my children are adults. But that is not what I would want said of me. How about you?

I would not be so quick to judge and condemn this. The One we follow, said "Love your enemies... Do good to those who wrong you... GO the second mile..." He also was greatly upset at the temple when the one temple courtyard reserved for gentiles to worship and pray was filled up with temple merchants. His proclamation was that His Father's House was to be a place of prayer for ALL people. Not just those who believed in Him, not just for the Jews, but ALL people.

A few years ago I preached a sermon on the subject of dress, wearing a suit and with jeans and a t-shirt underneath. Half way through I took my suit off. I should have videoed the reactions. I guess some were worried about how much I was going to take off! It was fun to do and I think it made a point. I dress depending on the group and the setting. I spoke at a camp a couple of years ago. I wore shirt, dress pants and bow tie. I spoke at the same same camp the next year. I wore jeans and an Nigerian traditional shirt. Same setting two different groups. Once in a while I like to scare my congregation so I'll wear something many of them might feel is inappropriate just for the sake of it! It's good to make church folk uncomfortable sometimes. God is primarily concerned with the condition of the heart. Too often we are concerned with the condition of the clothing. In my few years in church work I have seen all too often the devil come to church in a nice suit.

Yes it would. A Jewish baker should be forced to make a cake honoring a Nazi wedding as well. Making a cake with the emblem of the Confederate flag shouldn't be a problem for them either. They make many for the 4th of July with the national flag

Thanks Kevin. I've watched enough recent online webpages about enemy infiltration into the body of believers, I'm very convinced of the Truth of the Word. 1Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God;…1 John 4 8Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world....1 Peter 5 God is Love! Jesus saves!

I wonder if people will cook delectable dishes out of that wonderful fruit

It must vary from church to church. Clear back to the 60's, the young people in my home church were given a number of Sabbaths every year where they were wholly responsible for everything. And if they had ideas to do things, I can't remember any time when the "adults" refused... And I remember when my best friend and I were called on by the Nominating Committee to take positions in the church when we were teenagers. Sad to hear that such things weren't on a church-wide basis...

It depends upon who you talk to. I am well aquainted with Lutherans and Baptists who do not believe that we are a cult. On the other hand, some of our members may relate to others as a cult.

These things are social signals, so it depends on the social context. I'd hope in general that your clothes wouldn't cross your mind at church. So they should be physically comfortable, and similar enough to those of others that you don't feel as though you stick out like a sore thumb. Jeans at a suit church or suit at a jeans church won't work so well. God doesn't care, I don't think: "man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart". That is to say, the clothes are relevant only as they are reflections of the heart... and hypocrisy before God is impossible.