Berkeley CSUA MOTD:Entry 38407
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2025/07/15 [General] UID:1000 Activity:popular
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2005/7/4-5 [Politics/Domestic/Gay] UID:38407 Activity:nil
7/4     Stupid LIBERALS, here's proof that Conservatism != Pro-Christianity:
        http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/afplifestyleusreligion
        Also Christrianity != Anti-Gay. Hope you learn something, LIBERALS:
        http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/united_church_gays
        \_ Mmmm...  idiocy is rampant over holidays.
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news.yahoo.com/s/afp/afplifestyleusreligion
AFP 'Reclaim our faith': America's pulpit politics take a left turn Sun Jul 3, 4:31 PM ET WASHINGTON (AFP) - America's moderate and progressive evangelists, outgun ned for years by the mighty "religious right," are demanding their own s hare of the political action. President George W Bush , is: "Since when was God pro-war, and pro-rich? "There is a silent majority of moderate and progressive Christians out th ere and other people of faith who have felt completely left out of the c onversation," Jim Wallis, a leading evangelical activist, told AFP. Iraq , and tax cuts which they claim favor the rich, do not square with a fait h which teaches followers to love their neighbor. "We can no longer stand by and watch people speak hatred, division, war a nd greed in the name of our faith," said Patrick Mrotek, founder of the new Christian Alliance for Progress. Left-leaning Christians shudder at the prominence of conservative televan gelists like Reverend Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, who preside over vast political empires. They are seething over comments Robertson made on the ABC News Show "This Week" in May, which implied "liberal" judges were more of a threat to A merica than "a few bearded terrorists who fly into buildings." But Republicans say their politics are deeply rooted in faith. "We are called by our Creator to use this gift of freedom to build a more compassionate society -- where families are strong, life is valued and the poor and the sick can count on the love and help of their neighbors, " Bush said in a satellite address in June to the Southern Baptist Conve ntion, one of the most influential conservative evangelical groups. Nomination battles could turn on issues like the separation of church and state and the fight over whether abortion should remain legal. Religion and politics are perhaps more intertwined in the intensely relig ious United States than in any other developed Western nation. "Religion has enormous political power -- it is very loud, it gets access to the press and to government power," said Marci Hamilton, author of t he book "Religion and the Rule of Law." A Newsweek poll in December 2004 found that 79 percent of Americans belie ved the Virgin birth was literal truth. A national exit poll after the election found that 59 percent of Protesta nts and 52 percent of Roman Catholics voted for Bush, along with 78 perc ent of evangelicals and 61 percent of people who go to church weekly. Each constituency was carefully courted by Bush in his first term, and Re publicans have been far more proficient than Democrats at God talk. But activists like Wallis, who heads the Sojourners national faith-based group, see a huge silent majority that could benefit Democrats in future elections. "If Democrats just talk policy and don't talk about moral issues, they ar e going to keep on losing," warned Wallis, whose book "God's Politics" c amped out in The New York Times bestseller list for 16 weeks. But can a fledgling "religious left" movement take on the conservative Ch ristian establishment, which boasts television stations, newswires and a direct line to the White House? The religious right's allies in the powerful conservative talk radio sect or are ready to smother any progressive Christian movement at birth. "The religious left in this country hates and despises the God of Christi anity and Catholicism and whatever else," the high priest of conservativ e talk radio, Rush Limbaugh, said on his show April 27. "They despise it because they fear it and it's a threat, because that God has moral abso lutes, that God has right and wrong, that God doesn't deal in nuance." The infor mation contained in the AFP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Agenc e France Presse.
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news.yahoo.com/s/ap/united_church_gays
AP United Church of Christ Backs Gay Marriage By DOUG GROSS, Associated Press Writer 14 minutes ago ATLANTA - The United Church of Christ's rule-making body voted overwhelmi ngly Monday to approve a resolution endorsing same-sex marriage, making it the largest Christian denomination to do so. The vote is not binding on individual churches, but could cause some cong regations to leave the fold. Roughly 80 percent of the representatives on the church's 884-member Gene ral Synod voted to approve the resolution Monday, a day after a smaller committee recommended it. John H Thomas, president of the United Church of Christ, said w ith the vote on Independence Day, the rule-making body "acted courageous ly to declare freedom." The resolution calls on member churches of the liberal denomination of 1 3 million to consider wedding policies "that do not discriminate against couples based on gender." It also asks churches to consider supporting legislation granting equal m arriage rights to gay and lesbian couples and to work against laws banni ng gay marriage. A small group of conservative congregations had proposed an alternative r esolution defining marriage as between a man and a woman, and suggested that supporting gay marriage could lead to the church's collapse. Brett Becker, who represents a group of the UCC's more conservat ive churches, said it's possible his congregation at St. Paul United Chu rch of Christ in Cibolo, Texas, will leave the church over the resolutio n "I would like to see us stay in the denomination and network for positive change," said Becker. "However, many of my members have expressed very clearly that this decision would cause great consternation and that, if this happened, they would want to see us leave." UCC leaders said individual churches have not been polled about their vie ws. Formed in 1957 and traditionally strong in New England, the United Church of Christ has a tradition of support for gays and lesbians. It is disti nct from the more conservative Churches of Christ, which has some 2 mill ion members in the US The UCC was criticized last year for its television advertising campaign featuring a gay couple, among others, being excluded from a church. In the early 1970s, the UCC became the first major Christian church to or dain an openly gay minister. The church declared itself to be "open and affirming" of gays and lesbians 20 years ago. Rebecca Voelkel, of Clevela nd, coordinator of a church coalition addressing gay and lesbian issues. She said the decision emphasizes that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transg ender people are "spiritual people who love and are loved by God." But Becker said he doesn't think Monday's vote was representative of the wishes of most church members. "If we had put it to a vote of the people in the pews, it would have fail ed overwhelmingly," he said. "This is truly Independence Day for the UCC we have declared ourselves independent from the teachings of Jesus an d the clear teachings of Scripture." UCC churches are autonomous, meaning the General Synod does not create po licy for its more than 5,700 congregations. Some opponents of the resolution preferred alternative language endorsing same-sex "covenanted relationships." "I will find it much easier to sell back home, and quite frankly, to live with personally, if we replace 'marriage' with 'covenanted relationship ,'" said Harlan Hall, a synod member from Wisconsin. An amendment that would have made that change in language was overwhelmin gly voted down, as were efforts to postpone a vote until next year. In last fall's elections, gay marriage bans were handily approved in all 11 states that held referendums, including Georgia. Homosexuality has also been a divisive issue for a number of churches. The Anglican Communion has been divided since its US branch, the Episco pal Church, consecrated an openly gay bishop in 2003. The United Methodi st Church is also debating a panel's decision to reinstate a gay ministe r who had been defrocked. SA) is set to finish its report about how to overcome severe disagreements on g ay relationships and other issues. No hard data exist on how many gays and lesbians are in the UCC. Voelkel said about 2,000 people are on her group's mailing list and about 1,000 clergy or seminarians are gay. John H Thomas, the United Church of Christ's general minist er and president, listens during a session of the church's General Snyod in Atlanta Sunday, July 3, 2005. The 13-million member UCC could becom e the first mainline Christian denomination to endorse full marriage equ ality, regardless of gender, if a proposed resolution is approved by the church's General Synod. The informati on contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewr itten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associ ated Press.