by Zach Kincaid
The Bible hosts inerrant truth, something dismissed, berated, belittled, or severely downgraded by so many church denominations. Inerrancy forces you to fall under the authority of God and his Word. You understand better that you are not special or unique; the law that accuses you of sin is the same for everyone. There are zero exceptions. Inerrancy also instructs you on the one and only way out: Jesus. One of my long-in-the-tooth seminary professors took me into his office one day and said this: “The only thing I learned – amid all this learning and studying and preparation – is Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Keep close to that because it’s the most important Truth.”
The community outside of devoted Christians abandoned the notion of inerrancy ages ago, or at least that’s the impression. They want to “color outside the lines” and “not keep things in a box” – all these slogans that promote what they really think they want – “you be you” and such nonsense. It’s really not what they want nor what they practice at all. Secular culture fills the void of God and his Scriptures with new dogmas.
God’s design in humans includes a want for lines that shouldn’t be crossed, truths that must be kept, and practices that need adherence to avoid consequences. The covenants, laws, instructions, and models in Scripture teach as much. The secular world simply bastardizes inerrancy and molds it into a disgusting new shape. We’ve seen this clearly in the last few years with the onslaught of COVID regulations – wearing a mask or two masks, not being admitted without a vaccine shot, etc. The Biden administration is pushing other dogmas now, namely if you’re MAGA, you are not invited to the party. Companies and universities have other dogmatic lines. They think it’s spot on to discriminate, exterminate, and excommunicate people who hold traditional views of personhood and marriage - that men are men and women, women, and marriage is between a man and woman. Period. These people are now bigots. I am a bigot in their eyes.
This new inerrancy is profoundly corrupt because it is based on trends, not truths. The pagan world uses these tests as gatekeepers to let inside the willing (or ignorant), and eradicate the “immoral” person who might try and knock on their door or slip inside another way. It celebrates tolerance and dismisses love (for love is patient and kind and does not rejoice in wrongdoing, aka, it has standards). It creates an illusion of truth - a veneer of substance - but it’s only a shallow pool of groupthink.
There are definite consequences for not subscribing. My film company has just experienced it with a platform called Wedding Wire. If you’re unfamiliar, Wedding Wire (and The Knot - same thing) hosts the largest online resource for brides to plan their weddings. The platform boasts 250,000 vendors from DJs to florists, photographers to wedding planners, dressmakers to videographers. Of course, as a film company that does a few weddings a year, we wanted to be part of their website. In 2017, I signed us up and began spending some money on visibility and other perks they offered. It worked. We began getting some leads that panned out into contracts. All well and good. Then came 2019 and a change in policy.
The policy looks somewhat benign at first glance because we’ve all seen similar statements when applying to a job, for example. However, the shocking and sinister part about Wedding Wire’s policy is that it blankets all 250,000 vendors and whatever beliefs they have about same-sex marriage into one big group of like-minded people. In my case, as a company that attempts to stay true to Christian truths and convictions, we will not accept wedding jobs for same-sex couples, so therefore we cannot accept the Wedding Wire policy.
Here’s the policy that all vendors had to agree to in 2019:
Nondiscrimination Policy. WeddingWire wants all couples and Vendors to feel welcome and included on its Web sites, applications, and tools (the "Properties"). Accordingly, WeddingWire prohibits discrimination against couples, guests, Vendors, or employees of WeddingWire based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, disability, marital, family, pregnancy status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, veteran or citizenship status, age, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, regional, state, or local law. Such discrimination includes, but is not limited to, refusing to provide or accept services or any other conduct that improperly takes into account these characteristics. As further addressed in our Terms of Use, this prohibition applies to the posting of discriminatory content, such as reviews or forum posts, on our Properties. WeddingWire will, at its discretion, take steps to enforce this policy, up to and including suspending Vendors and users who violate this policy from our Properties. If you experience discrimination with any user or Vendor, please contact support AT weddingwire DOT com, with the subject "Nondiscrimination Policy", so we can investigate and take appropriate measures.
As a result, I voluntarily outed myself at that time. I contacted my sales representative and explained why I had to exit the community. The sales rep was shocked and didn’t realize (or wanted me to ignore) what the policy clearly stated: you must not discriminate against same-sex unions or you will be investigated and appropriate measures would be taken.
Here’s the letter I sent to the corporate office in 2019:
I need to downgrade my subscription of advertising on Wedding Wire. In fact, please go ahead and delete my account altogether. I do not support the verbiage on https://go.weddingwire.com/nondiscrimination, and I was not made aware that adding my services and advertising dollars to your site was affiliating me with such a message. The way that you present it on this page versus the terms of agreement are not at all similar. Of course, I would never be offensive to anyone who contacts me, but I would also not oblige participating in a marriage that defies the definition that societies have kept for centuries (and only changed in the last 10 years), "the act of uniting a man and woman for life” (Webster).
Your nondiscriminatory policy discriminates against the majority view and against my view as a person and a company owner. To be philosophical, it dislocates love for the sake of tolerance. It also presumes on the ethics (or lack of ethics) of companies that you have no place to presume such overreaching statements. In short, I cannot believe the stupidity of Wedding Wire. Are you saying that all companies that associate with traditional marriage and seek to work with brides and grooms that define the classic definition are not upholding your policy? It sounds like it.
Please cancel my advertising, both because I can via the contract we signed, and because I can do nothing else, since your nondiscrimination policy makes me dishonest and immoral. I’ll be sure to pass along this word to others whom I know hold to similar lines of integrity. I am just upset that it was not at all clear from what I was signing in December, that I was instigating myself and my company to such a position. I would have never signed up. I am disgusted.
Fast forward to September 2022. I just hired my son - a new film graduate - to be a director of photography and begin to cultivate a few areas for potential growth, including the wedding business. In so doing, he contacted Wedding Wire to pursue some advertising. That same day, I received a call from a different representative who investigated our website and discovered that we (gasp) believed in traditional marriage. No, we don’t have a policy statement about such things. The headline simply reads “Your Day. When you become one. Man and wife.” It’s inerrant truth, no doubt, but it doesn’t meet up with the demands of their new so-called inerrancy. The conversation went on.
"You mean to say that you don't want my money," I said
"If you can't accept the policy, yes." Abigail at Wedding Wire responded.
"So, because I believe and my company believes that marriage is between a man and a woman, we cannot be on your platform?" I asked. "That is the craziest thing in the world. You're telling me that all the companies on your platform believe in gay marriage and service gay couples? I don't believe it."
"That's our policy."
"What you're saying is your policy has to become my policy even though I believe in the sacred union of man and woman in the bonds of marriage? Even though I believe it is a representation of Christ and his church."
"That's your personal feelings and if you can't change then..."
"It's not my personal feeling. It's the truth and I'm falling into it, not it into me. Let me ask this: You don't accept Muslims, conservative Jews, or Mormons on the website? None of them would participate in a gay marriage. Your slice is a very small secular slice if none of those groups are excluded as well as Christian companies."
"The policy reads, "we prohibit discrimination against... race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, ethnicity."
"You're painting me out to be a bigot here and I'm not. Homosexual marriage is not the same as race, color, and the rest. We're talking about something more here. I have accounts with Google and Apple and B&H and none of them share my values, but we still do business together! I just think this is totally crazy!"
I asked her to refer me to the policy team because it doesn't make any sense that they would even desire to intrude on the policies of individual companies to iron-fist them into one policy (theirs) to rule over all of them. I bet that request gets lost.
It didn’t get lost. Casey from Wedding Wire’s policy team sent me a standard reply. The first paragraph reads (ignore their typos):
In correspondence with The Knot Worldwide and it's affiliates, Redhill Town has acknowledged that it has refused to provide services to same-sex couples.. The Knot Worldwide and its affiliates understand that each business has the right to make their own decisions and the freedom to create a business that works best for them, but those decisions are subject to applicable laws, policies and contract terms and conditions.
I subsequently sent a reply, but before I mention that, I want to return to their policy because since 2019, it has actually become more dogmatic. The first part of their policy is the same so feel free to skip over that. The second part, bolded, is an addition.
We want all Users to feel welcome and included on our Services. Accordingly, we prohibit discrimination against Users, guests, or Our Representatives (as defined below) based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, immigration status, disability, marital, family, pregnancy status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, veteran or citizenship status, age, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, regional, state, or local law. Such discrimination includes, but is not limited to, refusing to provide or accept services or any other conduct that improperly takes into account these characteristics. This prohibition applies to the posting of discriminatory content, such as reviews or forum posts, on the Services. We will, at our discretion, take steps to enforce this policy, up to and including suspending from our Services those Vendors and Members who violate this policy. If you experience discrimination with any Member or Vendor, please contact support at policy@weddingwire.com, with the subject “Nondiscrimination Policy,” so we can investigate and take appropriate measures.
We reserve the right to suspend any User’s access to the Services and cancel the contract of any Vendor to violates these rules or who engages in offensive and detrimental behavior, including behavior that shocks, insults, or offends the community and public morals and decency, including through making racist, discriminatory or offensive comments on our properties and elsewhere or by taking actions that would tend to reflect poorly on us.
The addition makes the circle complete and normalized their ethics as inerrant. It’s a new inerrancy that no longer is unwavering and outside of us (the normal usage of inerrancy), but rather if you “offend the community and public morals and decency” you will not be tolerated. Now, who defines the public morals and decency? It’s an incredible overeach, but it’s totally predictable in the progression of pagan “ethics”.
I did respond to their letter of denial.
Casey,
Excuse me? What are you talking about? Are you stupid enough to think we were on your platform? We are not even on your platform. In a Nazi-like approach to business, one of your colleagues went to our website and because there was a photo of me and my wife of nearly 30 years with the heading “Your Day. When you become one. Man and wife.” you decided that that was enough to eliminate us, exterminate our meeting with a sales rep next week, to burn us and our website to the ground. That’s what is going on here.
As to your stated policy below, you are discriminating against me and the religion that I adhere to. That is in itself non-inclusive and creates an exclusiveness that is not in the spirit of your toleration claim. It is not moral. Amorality is not morality; it’s the exact opposite. You laundry list a whole sort distinguishing marks when really your policy is a fist-in-the-face bullying for everyone to agree with same-sex marriage. We both know that.
I would never be offensive to anyone who contacts me, but I would also not oblige participating in a marriage that defies the definition that societies have kept for centuries (and only changed in the last 10 years), "the act of uniting a man and woman for life” (Webster).
You are not making a warm and welcoming place for everyone because you’re forcing 250,000 vendors to adhere to your policy on same-sex marriage. How is that warm and welcoming? As a Christian, I cannot participate in that kind of union. And I am not alone. Why do you think your church list is so narrow? Why do you not have more Muslim or Mormon or Conservative Jewish companies on your site, let alone Christian ones? What you totally seem to miss is that marriage in the Christian world (and for nearly everyone up to the 2000s) is a sacred union, a sacrament, a vow before God Himself. What I can’t understand is why you want to bend everyone by force into your policy. Why? That is more narrow than what you think about my policy. And it’s much more obtrusive. You see, I’m willing to be on Wedding Wire even though you don’t believe the way I do, but for me to be part of you - and for all your vendors - we have to be in lockstep with you. That makes zero sense. I do business with Google, Apple, B&H, Amazon, etc., etc., and they never ask me to adhere to a policy that would cut at any core principle. Why Wedding Wire?
I think the question, “Why Wedding Wire?” is key. The reason you are so sensitive about same-sex marriage is that you know all of your 250,000 do not adhere to such policy claims. Haven’t we learned from companies like yours, with people like yourselves making policies like the Nazi one below, that if someone is silent they are complicit? You surveyed my website and because I had one line - not a whole diatribe or weird misplaced policy - but one line about a man and wife becoming one, you decided to use your mighty arm and not allow my services to be represented on your site. I trust that you are doing the same surveying and oath-taking test for all your 250,000 vendors? If not, I believe I have a case against you. I am already contacting many of your vendors to ask that very question. And as I pull together a list of those less than adherent to your standards (which are no standards at all, mind you), then you will have to exterminate them as well. Isn’t that right?
So go ahead and remove my storefront and all the other gibberish you put in this formulaic email response because none of it even exists. It’s a hollow “victory” for you in that way.
And not to worry about our business. You are not the king on any mountain as your policy and your forcefulness seem to think. There is another king. Perhaps you’ve heard about him? I hope so because I don’t write the above paragraphs in anger, but in maddening frustration that you are far from acting on the ethics or morality that makes America the place of freedom and prosperity. Rather, you are playing into the hands of a militancy that allows only one way. That is not kind nor welcoming nor inclusive nor American. None of that.
I had asked that my discussion with Abigail be graduated up to the Policy Committee. Is this email that graduation? I hope not. I trust that you are thoughtful people who might have delved into this deep nonsense too quickly and that you are willing to have discussions that won’t include cloned responses. Yes? If so, I would still be open to graduating this disagreement to whomever the policy people might be.
Thank you.
Revelation says that the beast will rise out of the earth, that he will deceive and will force everyone to receive a mark, “so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark” (13:11-18). I’m not saying this is any sort of mark (since it’s not by definition). However, these types of exclusions because of a traditional moral stance must be grooming the public to reject Truth for the sake of a new inerrancy, one solely based in shifting sand where no one stands up for long.