Update 10/2/08:
The iProtect.com rally was a truly awesome event. Awesome speakers, music and the content of course, informative and spiritually uplifting!
Although I nearly missed it with a blown tire as I was exiting the I-5 freeway ramp to the church, I was still able to make the event. My tire had shredded and I came to a halt right before the protective banisters design to keep people from hitting the concrete wall.
As I was on the phone calling my roadside assistance, the highway patrol came and checked on me since I was near a very dangerous part of the freeway. They called their freeway support that came to my aid (I canceled mine) about 30 minutes later. Fortunately, since I was working for the event and had to be there two hours before, I was still able to get to church in decent time with decent parking especially. The place was nearly filled already!
Anyways, here is a review of what I got out of this event, summarizing what the speakers talked about. This whole event can be seen through mp3′s and on the iProtect link below.
The event started (now, this is only my synopsis and with me working, I missed bits and pieces of it all) with great music by the Katina’s (who ROCKED the church!) and a great sermon by Pastor Miles on marriage. He touched on Genesis 2:18 how the Lord had to find a helper suitable for his creation called “man.” He broke this down superbly and if anyone had a question on God’s intent for marriage after this, then they truly do hate God!
Next came the panel of guests who took on questions that were taken from people and produced electronically on big screens. Here are the questions that were presented and a background on the answers. Again, iProtect.com will have mp3s and other media for last night’s presentation.
The Questions posed to the panel experts:
- “Same-sex marriage doesn’t affect me so why should I be against it?”
Sean McDowell tackled that question by stressing that if Proposition 8 doesn’t pass, the whole nation will be affected! He said: “If same-sex marriage stands in California, we will see a domino affect throughout the country and the social re-engineering of marriage will have profound implications for every single one of our lives!” (more on website) - “You’re trying to impose your religion, what about separation of church and state?”
Greg Koukl tackled that question by starting off with: “The phrase separation of church and state never appears in the constitution at all.” Greg goes on to explain how the first amendment had been taken completely out of context. - “Heterosexuals have the right to get married according to their orientation, but homosexuals – why shouldn’t they have the same right?”
Yvette Schneider responded to that question by saying, “If sexual orientation were the basis of which we can get married, then it becomes wide open to any sexual orientation of any type of relationship.” (not exact words) - “Half of marriages end up in divorce, so why not allow same-sex marriages? Maybe they’ll do better statistically.”
Pastor Miles was quick to chastise us heterosexuals for failing our marriages and extended the challenge for us to work on our marriages. “Shame on us!” he said. Sean McDowell added that we don’t fix bad marriages by creating even badder marriages (my translation.) He said we don’t socially re-engineer and change the nature of marriage just because heterosexuals are failing at theirs! Greg Koukl added that “Marriage isn’t broken, people are broken!” - “Isn’t it true that kids need a loving family regardless whether its a mother or father?”
Greg Koukl responded by explaining the merits of having a mother AND a father. - “If you care about your gay friends, you would want them to be happy and that might mean being able to marry the person they love. So telling them they can’t be married isn’t very loving is it?”
Sean McDowell presented an accurate view on truly loving your friends. Pastor Miles shares also about true friendship.
Well, this was just a very brief summary of what I heard at the Fine Line event last night. I urge you all if you haven’t already to get the mp3 and whatever else iProtectmarriage has available of this event! And especially if you want to make comments about it below. You are fair game if you make a comment about the event and didn’t listen or watch it at all!
So check it out and come on back so we can talk about it!
10/1/08: This is the rally in favor of Proposition 8 being hosted by Pastor Miles McPherson of the Rock Church San Diego today at 7pm. Livestreaming can be found by clicking on this link: The Fine Line – iProtectMarriage.com
I’ll be working at the rally but thankfully I don’t have a pic of myself anywhere so NO ONE will be able to see me! Whoo Hoo! But this should be great and I’ll have my response to the rally posted here afterwards.
Here is a line up of some of the participants along with a special message by Pastor Miles:
Special Guests:
* Rock groups the Katinas and Stellar Kart
* Ron Luce of Teen Mania, a youth outreach organization
* Sean McDowell, a youth oriented Christian apologist (son of the great apologist Josh McDowell)
* Greg Koukl of Stand to Reason, an organization that trains Christians to think clearly about their faith
* Yvette Schneider of Exodus International, a nonprofit, interdenominational Christian organization promoting the message of freedom from homosexuality through the power of Jesus Christ
* Brian Sumner and Christian Hosoi, skate pros; and
* Kyle Loza, pro freestyle motocross rider and X Games gold medalist
© 2008, Carlotta Morrow. All rights reserved.
Twitter: christocentric
says:
Eric, much wrong has been done in the name of “religion” including Christianity. But all things must be measured to the word of God and that alone things will either disappear or stand.
God’s laws against homosexuality are clear in both the Old Testament and New Testament. There is no way around it.
Homosexuality is a sin. Premarital sex is a sin. Adultery is sin. And of course the list goes on and on. Christians don’t support sin period. Does that make us bigots toward adulterers? Toward sexual fornicators? No, not at all!
The true bigotry is from many who practice homosexuality and support homosexuals who hate anything considered “religious.” God-haters is what I call you all and that’s the true bigotry.
Homosexuality is one of the few sins (the only one I can think of) whose participants insist that their sinful lifestyles must be accepted as GOOD and MORAL. A sin turned into an agenda.
That’s the problem most of us have against homosexuals – the forcing of this group to have everyone accept them as morally upright people.
Whether prop 8 passes or not, it will never change the fact that homosexuality is a sin which practiced until death, will result in unfavorable judgement from God.
Here’s what is going to happen with Prop 8 – in all likelihood, it will go down in defeat. And if not? It will be knocked down by the courts as unconstitutional AGAIN.
Now think about all the millions of dollars that have been spent trying to pass it.
How many people do you think you could have fed with that money? How many people do you think you could have inoculated against communicable diseases? How many life-saving operations could have been paid for?
Now ask yourself this – what do you think Jesus would have preferred you to do?
Make no mistake about it Carlotta, you and the people who support prop 8 are bigots.
I can think of few institutions as murderous, as contemptuous of humanity and science as organized religion. Further, it is hard to imagine anything more patently disrespectful to an all-powerful god than to pretend to understand what such a god thinks.
The religiously devout should practice the humility they demand of others.
Religious faith is morally and intellectually bankrupt.
So let’s see if I’ve got this right – one third of the world is starving, millions day every year from completely curable diseases … and God spends “his” time worrying about gays and lesbians getting married.
Do any of you ever hold your churches to any sort of moral standard? Does it trouble you IN THE LEAST that the religious arguments you employ against gay marriage have been used throughout history to justify slavery, sexism, classism, racism and genocide?
Open your minds, I beg you. Visit a library. Go to school. Believe what you want, but try to educate yourselves. Find out what your religion has done to your fellow human beings. And then hold these institutions to account for their crimes.
That is, if you really care about your fellow human beings. Unfortunately, organized religion has a pretty brutal history, especially with regard to scientific discovery.
Twitter: christocentric
says:
Phil, for the evangelical Christian, everyone’s belief’s is measured to the word of God, the Bible. For example, if someone is from a non-Christian religion and tells me that Jesus was a prophet and not the son of God, then I put their statement to the test with the Bible. The Bible overrules anyone’s belief on anything.
Hope you understand what I’m saying and if you don’t, then unfortunately, this is the end of THIS conversation because it’s turning into an endless argument.