Dear Critic,

«I see two opposing arguments here.

The first is the Christian bakery being asked to make a penis-shaped rainbow wedding cake with two men embracing on top.»

Interesting: I was more thinking along the lines of trying to force an orthodox Jew to attend court (say as a witness) on the Sabbath (when they are not allowed to travel), or a Muslim to drink alcohol, or both to have a vaccine that contains pig ingredients.

In your example, it is difficult to ascertain whether the baker's motive for refusing is religious or otherwise (that would indeed take a prophet to tell), which is why I would err on the conservative side to give everyone the benefit of the doubt and allow anyone to set their own limits over what decorations they are willing to produce.

Same for cab drivers and dogs. The [negative] freedom to abstain from actions counter to one's religion or conscience must always trump any [positive] "right" to have certain desires fulfilled.

(notwithstanding, the state could still theoretically deny extra privileges from those who do not accept its standards of service, e.g. exclusive fast lanes and cab-only parking spaces)

«The answer is, your religious beliefs are your own.»

Please do not change the subject: we are discussing actions and more so non-actions, not beliefs.

«And you can't discriminate against people in a business environment.
You can't refuse service on the basis of religious, racial or political beliefs etc.»

While I don't recommend either behaviour or think it wise, you should be able to do both, on whatever grounds, so long as this is your private business (not publicly funded or supported), your own premises and all is in the open.

«If your religious beliefs prevent you from acting in a non-discriminatory way, then...»

If indeed God wants you to act in a discriminatory way, then whatever be the consequences you must follow God, not any human laws, but does He? Quite unlikely, but let God handle those who make false claims in His name, He can do it much better than any state!

Hi Yuyutsu,

I didn't think I was wrong, but you made your arguments well.
- And I can see your point of view, from a 'believers' perspective, if you will.

I don't necessarily think your wrong in the arguments you made.
Does that mean I'm wrong?
I don't know.

Dear Critic,

I would never say that you are wrong.

It can happen that we entertain a thought which is not comprehensive enough, not so much "wrong" as just being too small to encompass all circumstances. Regardless, even if you had a wrong thought, then it was the thought which was wrong, not you!

Daffy Duck,

<<The sky is falling, the sky is falling!
Typical right wing hysterical rant but what else could you expect from a member of the pretentious "gospel" coalition.

The authors name has distinct similarities to the Balrog from the Lord of the Rings.>>

When will you quit using logical fallacies like this one? Not once did you deal with the content of the article but put him down because of his associations. You committed the genetic fallacy when you engaged in such erroneous reasoning of blaming Akos's views on his membership in 'the pretentious "gospel" coalition', https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/logicalfallacies/Genetic-Fallacy

Take a read of his biographical details where you'll discover he 'was born overseas in Budapest, Hungary, and migrated with my family when I was four years old. I grew up in Sydney, and upon finishing high school, I joined the Australian Army (as a Combat Engineer). After the army, I completed a degree in Aerospace Engineering at the University of NSW (in Sydney), and worked in the Royal Australian Air Force as an Aerospace Engineering Officer for 5 years.'

He's a refugee and his family knows what it is like to live under a Communist regime where religious freedom is restricted.