[Faith-talk] Fw: BreakPoint: So Much for Tolerance, 11/13/08

Thu Nov 13 21:31:57 UTC 2008

Unfortunately, some of you seem to have misunderstood
what was forwarded.  Please read again, and read
slowly, with some attention to the details.  The bit
about the two mormons visiting and forcing themselves
into the home of the "lesbian couple," was a political
*advertisement* against Prop 8.  It was not real.  What
was real, however, and was the reason I forwarded it,
was to show that the hatred and (although minor, thus
far, compared to other countries) persecution of
Christians is here and alive in the USA.

Strive On,
Everett

----- Original Message ----- 
that's weird -- I doubt the 2 young men in the report
were really mormon
missionaries as while the mormons campaign vigorously
against same sex
marriage, they wouldn't have committed a crime
(stealing rings and
ransacking a house). Must have been a front used by 2
guys looking for
trouble.
My church is adamantly against same sex unions, but I
personally wonder
about the justification for banning them as the people
involved would be
living a gay lifestyle to begin with and changing the
legal status wouldn't
affect anyone else -- I understand wanting the name to
be different: "civil
union" as opposed to marriage.  My friends at church
say they oppose any
kind of union as that would put them in a contract that
would be harder to
get out of should they change their mindset, even if
the contract was not
deemed a "marriage".
Is this a can of worms that we don't want to open on
this list?
I have to teach a lesson on marriage this coming sunday
so am thinking about
it in case one of the kids brings it up...
Take care.
--le

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "BreakPoint" <prison_fellowship at informz.net>
Subject: BreakPoint: So Much for Tolerance, 11/13/08

***************************
BREAKPOINT DAILY TRANSCRIPT
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So Much for Tolerance
The Aftermath of Prop 8

November 13, 2008

The ad ran all over California on Election Day -- and
surely sets a record for anti-religious bigotry. Two
clean-cut young men knock at the door of a lesbian
couple. The men identify themselves as Mormon
missionaries. "We're here to take away your rights,"
they announce.

They snatch the women's wedding rings off their fingers
and ransack their home. When they find the couple's
marriage license, they rip it in half. "Say no to a
church taking over your government," the voiceover
says. "Vote 'no' on Proposition 8."

Despite such vicious attacks, California's Proposition
8, which defined marriage as between one man and one
woman, passed. But the assaults on churches have just
begun.

Two days after the election, 2,000 homosexual
protesters surrounded a Mormon temple in Los Angeles
chanting "Mormon scum." Protesters picketed Rick
Warren's Saddleback Church, holding signs reading
"Purpose-Driven Hate." Calvary Chapel in Chino Hills
was spray painted. Church members' cars have been
vandalized, and at least two Christians were assaulted.
Protesters even hurled racial epithets at
African-Americans because African-Americans voted
overwhelmingly in favor of traditional marriage.

This is an outrage. What hypocrisy from those who spend
all of their time preaching tolerance to the rest of
us!  How dare they threaten and attack political
opponents? We live a democratic country, not a banana
republic ruled by thugs.

Clearly, Christians need to redouble their efforts to
help people understand what marriage is all about. In
Los Angeles, when protesters gathered at the Cathedral
of Our Lady of the Angels, they chanted, "What Would
Jesus say?"

That's a good question, and the Church should not
hesitate to answer it. What would Jesus say about
same-sex "marriage?"

To get to the answer, let's first understand the
meaning and purpose of marriage. In his book THE CLASH
OF ORTHODOXIES, Princeton philosopher Robert George
writes that matrimonial law reflects a moral
judgment -- that marriage is inherently heterosexual,
monogamous, and permanent -- a union of one man and one
woman.

This view reflects the biblical and natural law
understanding that marriage is a two-in-one-flesh
communion of persons. This communion is consummated by
sexual acts that are reproductive in nature. They unite
the spouses as a single procreative unit -- an organic
unity achieved even by infertile couples. Only a mated
pair can be a complete organism capable of human
procreation.

Since homosexual acts have no relationship to
procreation and cannot unite persons organically, these
acts cannot be marital -- which means relationships
integrated around them cannot be marriages.

We've got a winsome case, but we've got to get better
equipped to explain it to our neighbors. You could
start by reading THE CLASH OF ORTHODOXIES and other
material available on our website. And then, start
discussing these issues in your small groups, Sunday
school classes, and youth groups.

By protecting traditional marriage, we aren't taking
away anybody's rights. We are simply upholding the
framework of society's most basic institution, the loss
of which would irreparably damage our families and our
society.

Get links to further information on today's topic
(http://www.breakpoint.org/listingarticle.asp?ID=10520)

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