LOS ANGELES – Up to 175,000 people took part in Los Angeles’ annual gay pride parade in West Hollywood Sunday, capping three days of flamboyant celebration.
Among those honored at this year’s event were Robin Tyler and Troy Perry, two plaintiffs in the lawsuit that led to last month's hotly contested Supreme Court ruling which made California the second state in the nation to legalize same-sex “marriage.”
As expected, only a few protestors were present throughout the parade, which has been held in Los Angeles every year since 1970, except for 1973, when infighting over crude displays the previous two years left the organizers in disarray. Pro-family advocates have been mindful of the liberal bias of most secular news agencies and their tendency to demonize those with conservative or biblical views.
"The major media would love to see us engage in fierce protests and hostile demonstrations of outrage against the licensing of same-sex 'marriages,'" Ronald Prentice, chairman of the ProtectMarriage.com coalition, told The Associated Press in an interview last month.
He pointed out, however, that the "battle is not against the same-sex couples who are pursuing the opportunity to `marry' granted them by the activist judges on the California Supreme Court."
Instead of platforms such as the L.A. Gay Pride Parade, pro-family advocates are taking their message to where it matters most – conservative California voters.
Throughout California, efforts are being made to help amplify the concerns of more than half of Californians who reject the state Supreme Court's decision to allow same-sex “marriages” and back the proposed constitutional amendment to protect marriage.
According to a recent Los Angeles Times/KTLA poll, 29 percent of Californians surveyed strongly approved the Supreme Court’s decision while 12 percent somewhat approved. On the other side, 42 percent of Californians surveyed strongly disapproved of the decision while 10 percent somewhat disapproved.
And pastors and their churches are playing a very significant role in rallying Californians to make a difference in November.
“[T]he Church cannot approve of redefining marriage, which has a unique place in God’s creation, joining a man and a woman in a committed relationship in order to nurture and support the new life for which marriage is intended,” bishops of the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles had expressed in a statement last month.
“The meaning of marriage is deeply rooted in history and culture, and has been shaped considerably by Christian tradition,” they said. “Its meaning is given, not constructed.
“‘When marriage is redefined so as to make other relationships equivalent to it, the institution of marriage is devalued and further weakened,’” the bishops stated, citing a 2003 document on marriage and same-sex unions issued by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
While some religious leaders, particularly Catholics, were involved in passing Proposition 22, the 2000 initiative that defined marriage as between a man and a woman, strategists predicted a much greater involvement by evangelical churches in this election.
"We are working with all the churches who are willing to work with us," Frank Schubert, the campaign manager for the initiative, told the L.A. Times last month. "It's woven together to form what we hope will be the largest grassroots campaign in California history."
According to the Times, political analyst Tony Quinn said the involvement of the pastors could be significant, especially because many conservatives are relatively disengaged by the election this year.
"This ... could bring people to the polls that would not otherwise vote. The churches can do that," he said.
Conservative leaders are hoping for a massive Christian outpouring of support for the proposed amendment – one that will dwarf the crowds that took to the streets of West Hollywood over the weekend.
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Comments
believer,
Yeah, that comment was supposed to be tongue in cheek. LOL.
prophet, your response to my fair fight idea, but I did think your response was funny, but I'm thinking kama thought we were fighting, but I guess we'll never know!
These last couple posts - this is what I'm talking about. I do not want to become *that* kind of Christian, the kind who who harbors self-righteousness then (ironically) justifies it with Bible quotes. God gave me a conscience for a reason, and I intend to use it. Goodbye folks, this forum is not for me.
believer,
To which post are you refering?
prophet, what you talking about!!!!
I think the Christian is obliged to point out sin, particularly in Christians. We need to help each other recognize it and then help them to come out of it. If they fail to recognize the sin or admit it and ultimately fail to repent, We need to separate from them them until such time as they repent.
Jesus did not say to not judge, he said to not be a hypocrite. If you judge, you will be judged by the same standard. We are to be merciful, and not consider others less or more than ourselves, but we are to judge between right and wrong. Matthew 7:1-5. Jesus said we are to judge what is right or wrong, Luke 12:57. In fact, Jesus said to call sinners on their behavior:
Luke 17:3 So watch yourselves. âIf your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.
Paul said to not be a hypocrite, Romans 2:1.
But we are to discern what is right and wrong and avoid wrong.
Romans 12:9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.
1 Corinthians 5:12 What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?
So Christians should judge their own actions first and deal with sin in their own lives. But we are to judge the sins of those inside the church. Even so, this does not mean we are to judge someone as being better or worse than ourselves. If someone outside the church does bad things I still have the responsibility to judge whether that thing is good or bad. Whether someone does something good or bad does not necessarily indicate a person is good or bad. Judging something to be a sin is a good thing. Judging someone is not. There is a distinct difference that people who are doing things that others call wrong do not make.
I Corinthians 6:1-2
"Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?
2Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? "
A wise man said "If you find yourself in a fair fight, you obviously aren't doing it right."
kama, thanks for the clarification. I do enjoy a good fight as long as everybody agrees to fight fair. I agree that some who come to site on both sides can get very mean spirited. I know on several occassions I have been guilty myself. I tend to get very intense on some issues and sometimes post without thinking. But to me this is a good forum to discuss differing points of view on subjects. I personally have learned much about both sides of various issues and appreciate the fact that there is a place where I can come and be heard. I've enjoyed our exchanges on different issues and I do agree we need to be always sensitive to the feelings of others and present our differences of opinions in a way that speaks to the issue and does not discount the person making the opposite point of view.
My refernces to fighting stem from the original post here that said "the battle cry has sounded" and "onward Christian soldiers." Those have stuck with me, and not in a pleasant way.
The way I was raised, the Christian principles learned throughout my life are for my guidance in the way I conduct myself, and where I turn when I need strength or courage. Neither my parents nor my priest have ever advocated evaluating others' lives and becoming a "Christian soldier" to "fight" people I personally deem to have sinned.
The way I was taught, it is not for me to judge. God is our only judge.
Here on this site people are advocating to fight others in the name of God (which I think is wrong) and seem to be more interested in the sins of others than the sins of themselves. The tone is disturbing. It is reminiscent of the extremists who become suicide bombers and think they're doing it for the glory of God. That's what I meant with my martyrdom comment. How can one person fighting another so vehemently over religious disagreements possibly be for the glory of God? And how are the attitudes of some of the people on this blog any different than other religious extremists in the world? I see little difference.
These attitudes are nothing like the Chrstians I have always known as my friends and family, nor what I ever want to become myself. I just can't believe I stumbled on to a website where people harbor these attitudes. I didn't realize the Christian Post was that kind of publication.
I volunteered and enlisted myself in the military as soon as I was 17. God bless our troops who fought for our right to serve God without fear.
Its not just patriotism. The Centurion was not told to leave the service when he showed faith (Matthew 8:5-13; Luke 7:1-10 - especially Acts 10).
God choses rulers and gives them the responsibility to manage and protect the people under his charge (Romans 13:1-7). David was a man after God's own heart who did everything God wanted (Acts 13:22), and still he did terrible things (2 Samuel 11) that God called sin (2 Samuel 12). None of us are perfect.
Paul exercised his rights as a citizen (Acts 22:23-30). We have the responsibility to be good citizens (Romans 13), as such, we should pray (Ephesians 6:18), and become who God wants us to be (Collossians 3:1-17; 1 Timothy 4:6-8). Some of us need to be fighters for our country - be it with the police or with the military.
You are right in that or attitudes must not be hate filled. But, we ARE to be sincere in our love, hate what is evil, and cling to what is good (Romans 12:9).
kama, by fighting do you mean verbally disagreeing or actual physical fighting? Because you appeared to say you had a hard time with Christians being soldiers which sounded like you didn't believe Christians should be in the military. And please help me understand what you mean by marytrdom being un-Christian, thanks?
believer, I think you misunderstand me. I lack nothing in the patriotism department, and I'm sure the same can be said of you. It's not fighting that I object to. I would fight for my freedom and for yours without hesitation. What I'm talking about has nothing to do with the military. My objection is to this notion that Christian civilians should battle fellow civilians who disagree, and think God commands it. That smells of self-righteousness and martyrdom and to me is very un-Christian.
kama, then thank God you live in a country with men and women who are willing to join the military and fight for and defend their country in order to protect your freedom so you can choose not to go into the military. May I suggest your buy or rent the movie "Sgt. York" with Gary Cooper, it sounds to me you could use a good dose of good old American patriotism.