Home
/
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
/
A Testimony of Conscience and Conviction in the Workplace
A Testimony of Conscience and Conviction in the Workplace
Jan 12, 2026 9:34 PM

Hands On Originals is a small pany in Lexington, Kentucky, that, up until recently, had very few problems when they declined to print a certain message.

Last year, however, the owner, Blaine Adamson, was found guilty of discrimination by a Lexington human mission for refusing to print T-shirts for a local gay pride festival. missioners ordered that Adamson must violate his conscience, and further, must participate in diversity training to be conducted by mission.

Fortunately, this story has a happier ending than that of the baker and florist, as the Fayette Circuit Court ended up reversing mission’s decision. “It is their constitutional right to hold dearly and to not pelled to be part of an advocacy message opposed to their sincerely held Christian beliefs,” Judge James Ishmael wrote in his decision.

Watch below for more of Blaine’s testimony:

When this first happened and it hit the papers, businesses began to pull their business from us. Right and left we were losing customers. There came a point where I was so broken. I went home, I just laid in bed with lights out and began to cry out to the Lord, and just say, “God, I will stand no matter what the cost will be.” Because we are the ones at the end of the day that have to print that on a shirt, and it speaks a message the second es off the press. And for me, I’m accountable to that. I’m accountable to that first to God —of what I put on a shirt to promote.

But we did wrestle with the reality in this that we may lose our business…Why would I as a business owner —who, our business has grown year after year — want to bring this on pany? If anything, I would want to stay as far away from it as possible. But there is a cost. There is something that calls out to me that says, “I’ve got to speak truth.”

HT Joseph Williams

Comments
Welcome to mreligion comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
Video: Wayne Schmidt On Vitality In Pastoral Ministry
For the past few years, the Acton Institute has hosted a Pastor Appreciation event for clergy in and around the Grand Rapids, Michigan area.This year’s Pastor Appreciation Day here at Acton took place last week Thursday, October 15th, in the Mark Murray Auditorium, and featured an address by Wayne Schmidt, Vice President of Wesley Seminary and former pastor of Kentwood Community Church. Schmidt focused his remarks on the dangers of pastoral burnout, and on the essential elements of pastoral vitality....
Family in Decline: How Should Christians Respond?
As Christianity loses influence in the West, and as culture corresponds by taking itscues from the idols of hedonism, it can be easy to forget that most of these challenges are not new. In an article for Leadership Journal, Ryan Hoselton highlights theserecurring “crises,” pondering whatlessons we might learn from Christian responses of ages past. On the topic of family, and more specifically, family in decline, Hoselton points to Herman Bavinck’s The Christian Family,whichtakes aim attherange of threats tothe family...
Who Protects Us From Government Polluters?
“The rules don’t apply to me,” is a favorite maxim of toddlers, narcissists, and government officials. This is especially true of the legislative branch, which frequently exempts itself—and its 30,000 employees—from federal laws that apply to the rest of us. But just as often government at all levels simply ignores laws it finds too burdensome ply with. A recent study published last month in the American Journal of Political Science titled “When Governments Regulate Governments” found that pared with private...
How Foreign Aid Can Keep Poor Countries in Poverty
Giving foreign aid directly to poor countries may end up keeping those countries poor. For most readers of this blog and others associated with the Acton Institute this claim will be neither surprising nor controversial. Indeed, it’s been a core assumption behind our work on PovertyCure. But until recently, many Americans would have found the idea to be counter-intuitive, if not obviously wrong. But thanks to the work of the Angus Deaton, the recent winner of the Nobel prize in...
Bernie Sanders Loves to Decry ‘Casino Capitalism,’ But What About Economic Freedom?
Inlast Tuesday’sDemocratic debate, Senator Bernie Sanders stayed true to his famed aversion to capitalism, proclaiming the fanciful virtues of “democratic socialism.” Yet when prodded by Anderson Cooper — who asked, “you don’t consider yourself a capitalist?” — Sanders responded not by attacking free markets, but by targeting a more popular target of discontent: Wall Street and the banks. “Do I consider myself part of the casino capitalist process by which so few have so much and so many have so...
What’s the Real Problem with Payday Loans?
Since its inception in the 1990s, the payday lending industry has grown at an astonishing pace. Currently, there are about 22,000 payday lending locations—more than two for every Starbucks—that originate an estimated $27 billion in annual loan volume. Christians and others worriedabout the poor tend to be very fortable with this industry. While there may be forms of payday lending that are ethical, the concern is that most such lending is predatory, and that the industry takes advantage of the...
Samuel Gregg: Why Does The Left Keep Winning?
In today’s American Spectator, Acton’s Director of Research Samuel Gregg notes that left-wing politicians, supporters of socialism, and social engineers seem to have taken over – not just in American politics, but globally. Why? Gregg suggests three reasons: One abiding cause of the left’s on-going ascendency, I’d suggest, is that the visible weakening of orthodox religion throughout the West. As the 20th century Jesuit theologian Henri de Lubac observed, liberalized forms of Judaism and Christianity don’t involve abandonment of a...
Life in Exile: Bringing Peace and Prosperity to Rural New York
The Acton Institute’s latest film series is having a profound influence on churches munities of all kinds. Hearts are being stirred and inspired, mindsare connecting mission withculture, and as a result, the church is unlocking a bigger-picture vision of God’s plan for creation. Over at the Letters to the Exiles blog, Evan Koons piling letters and testimonials from viewers of the series, sharing how For the Life of the World is transforming their lives munities. In the latest letter, we...
Leftist Shareholders’ GMO Crusade Runs Aground on Science
Ahhhh, the Left! So often passionate, so obstinately assured of the rightness of their secular crusades mounted under the variety of flags and anthems espousing “social justice” and “environmental sustainability.” And, unfortunately, so often just plain wrong. Such is the case with As You Sow, the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility and other shareholder activist groups that each year apply their supposed religious authority to the proxy resolutions they submit to panies. Certainly, AYS and ICCR investors believe from the...
Audio: Samuel Gregg On Conscience And The Catholic Church
Acton Institute Director of Research Samuel Gregg joins host Drew Mariani on Relevant Radio’s The Drew Mariani Showto discuss the important issue of conscience: what is it, and how should Roman Catholics in particular approach difficult moral issues in their day to day life? You can listen to the interview via the audio player below. ...
Related Classification
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.mreligion.com All Rights Reserved