Posted on 04/26/2005 10:08:19 AM PDT by scripter
Colorado Springs - A national gay advocacy group plans to hold a picnic and rally outside Focus on the Family headquarters next week to protest what the group calls "hurtful rhetoric" from Focus and its founder, James Dobson.
Soulforce, headed by gay minister Mel White, expects 600 to 1,000 people from gay-friendly churches and advocacy groups in Denver and Colorado Springs to protest outside the ministry's north Colorado Springs campus.
Soulforce will have to share the streets with Westboro Baptist Church from Topeka, Kan. That group, led by Fred Phelps, accuses Focus on the Family of being gay-friendly because the ministry hosts "Love Won Out" conferences, which tries to help gays return to heterosexual lifestyles.
"We're getting simultaneous picketing to balance things out," said Paul Hetrick, spokesman for Focus on the Family. "Fred thinks we're soft on homosexuality, and the other group thinks we're too hard on homosexuality. I guess we're sort of in the middle. I know now what it feels like to be moderate."
Soulforce plans to ignore Phelps, but it would like to meet with Dobson, whom White calls the "primary enemy" of gays.
"Dobson has become the primary source of misinformation about gay and lesbian people in the world," White said. "He is single-handedly doing more damage to truth than anyone else, in our opinion.
"I say he's the most dangerous man in America right now."
White said that in leading the crusade for a federal marriage amendment, Dobson has misused statistics and made assumptions portraying gays as a threat to "everything, including the universe, families, children, the church, the country, the nation, the world."
Dobson will be in Washington all week for National Day of Prayer events.
The picnic and rally starts at 12:30 p.m. May 1.
On May 2, the group plans to deliver thousands of letters from people "who have suffered from his rhetoric," White said.
White said the group plans to get the letters to Dobson or Focus even if it requires an act of civil disobedience.
Hetrick said Soulforce's two-day effort is a media stunt.
Though Soulforce has asked to meet with Dobson, Hetrick said: "I kind of wonder what purpose a meeting would have. We offered to meet with them in a debate format a week before they're coming."
Soulforce has declined the invitation.
On Monday, Focus representatives and members of gay advocacy groups will meet at 6:30 p.m. at Vanguard Church in Colorado Springs to debate the Bible and homosexuality.
Gah! ..Yep, that's not what I call a church..
Uh, where are they planning on holding the picnic? FOTF campus is in a business park. I'm sure they can't hold the picnic on FOTF grounds ... where else could they have their gay picnic? I believe there is an empty field across the street, but memory fails me at the moment.
LOL, you are on your game today.
Here their church states: Homosexuality is not a sin.
I would make comments about the homosexuals not being able to figure out a calendar, but I suspect they really didn't want Dr. Dobson to be there.
Shalom.
Is the one that will come up with the gay-immoral-values. You'll see.. :)
BTW: What the heck is a gay minister?
Oh, nevermind. I probably don't want to know. Shalom
The Metropolitan Community Church in our area hit the local headlines when a child who went to one of their fairs came home with a sexually explicit lollypop.
The best the "church" could come up with was that it wasn't sold to her, she "stole" it.
I guess not all church fairs are quite the same...
Here's some additional truth - stories from former homosexuals.
Soulforce does not believe in freedom of religion, since they want to intimidate religions that don't agree with them on homosexuality into changing their beliefs.
I am wondering what the homosexual community thinks of "recovered" homosexuals? How about recovered, Christian homosexuals? I'm guessing there's not a whole lot of "tolerance" for the "recovered" types.
"Hurtful rhetoric"??
Would that be something like: "Dobson has become the primary source of misinformation about gay and lesbian people in the world,"
Or is it something more like this: "He is single-handedly doing more damage to truth than anyone else, in our opinion."?? "I say he's the most dangerous man in America right now."
An article of interest: Changing Minds.
Jim loves the attention.
Hang in there James Dobson! These queers will try to do to you what they did to Anita Bryant. Stand straight and tall!
1 Corinthians 6:9
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders...
----
"Homosexuality; Not A Sin, Not A Sickness;
What The Bible Does and Does Not Say"
by Rev. Elder Don Eastman
©Copyright 1990 Los Angeles Universal Fellowship Press
Homosexuality and The Church
The most beautiful word in the Gospel of Jesus Christ is "whosoever" . All of God's promises are intended for every human being. This includes gay men and lesbians. How tragic it is that the Christian Church has excluded and persecuted people who are homosexual!
We are all created with powerful needs for personal relationships. Our quality of life depends upon the love we share with others, whether family or friends, partners or peers. Yet, lesbians and gay men facing hostile attitudes in society often are denied access to healthy relationships. Jesus Christ calls us to find ultimate meaning in life through a personal relationship with our Creator. This important spiritual union can bring healing and strength to all of our human relationships.
Not a Sin_Not a Sickness
For many centuries, the Christian Church's attitude toward human sexuality was very negative: sex was for procreation, not for pleasure; women and slaves were considered property to be owned by males; and many expressions of heterosexuality, like homosexuality, were considered sinful. Such tradition often continues to influence churches today. Many teach that women should be subordinate to men, continue to permit forms of discrimination against peoples of color, and condemn homosexuals. They say that all homosexual acts are sinful, often referring to their interpretation of scripture.
Other churches today are influenced by a century of psychoanalytic thought promoted through a powerful minority in the field of medicine. They see homosexuality as some kind of sickness. Although this view has now been soundly discredited by the medical profession, some churches and clergy continue to be influenced by the idea. They say that homosexuals are "imperfect" and in need of "healing."
The Good News is that, since 1968, when Metropolitan Community Church was founded, the emergence of a strong lesbian and gay community, and the conclusions of new scientific studies on homosexuality have forced the Christian Church to reexamine these issues. A growing number of biblical and theological scholars now recognize that Scripture does not condemn loving, responsible homosexual relationships. Therefore, gay men and lesbians should be accepted - just as they are-in Christian churches, and homosexual relationships should be celebrated and affirmed!
About The Bible:
The Bible is a collection of writings which span more than a thousand years recounting the history of God's relationship with the Hebrew and Christian people. It was written in several languages, embraces many literary forms, and reflects cultures very different from our own. These are important considerations for properly understanding the Bible in its context. There are vast differences in doctrines between various Christian denominations, all of which use the same Bible. Such differences have led some Christians to claim that other Christians are not really Christians at all! Biblical interpretation and theology differ from church to church.
Biblical Interpretation and Theology also change from time to time. Approximately 150 years ago in the United States, some Christian teaching held that there was a two-fold moral order: black and white. Whites were thought to be superior to blacks, therefore blacks were to be subservient and slavery was an institution ordained by God. Clergy who supported such an abhorrent idea claimed the authority of the Bible. The conflict over slavery led to divisions which gave birth to some major Christian denominations. These same denominations, of course, do not support slavery today. Did the Bible change? No, their interpretation of the Bible did!
Dobson has become the primary source of misinformation about gay and lesbian people in the world...
A bald-faced lie. Homosexual activists excel at misinformation by using the medical 'professional' associations, the media, the public schools, and the courts to force their "homosexuality is 'normal'" propaganda on society:
Thought Reform And The Psychology of Homosexual Advocacy
The Homosexual Propaganda and Media Manipulation Game
The Overhauling of Straight America
And consider What Homosexuals Say About Homosexuals - Is This Gay Behavior Sick?
See also:
Dr. Dobson's Newsletter: June, 2002 - Can Homosexuality Be Treated and Prevented?
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