Will He Show??

An LA Pastor has invited Rick Warren to a debate on Gay Marriage. So far, there has been no response from Rick Warren and Saddleback other than "A spokeswoman for Warren said that the Saddleback pastor is focused on President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration, in which he will deliver the invocation, and is not making any comments prior to it."

So now that is over - will Rick show up for a debate on gay marriage? My guess is he will not. He tries really hard to be a friend to everyone and that would damage his image. Did you notice he didn't even mention Jesus in his invocation aside from the Spanish pronunciation? He's good at appealing to the masses which is why so many are drawn to his church.

I'm also tired of the "Rick has done so many good things in Africa" comments. Yes - he has done some good things - I do not dispute that. But doing good in one area does not excuse comparing others to pedophiles. The Christians in the Crusades probably did some good too - but they certainly did a lot of harm. Since when is doing going in one area an excuse for causing harm in another?

So Rick Warren - are you going to respond to Rev. Eric Lee's multiple requests for a debate or aren't you?

Drop Rick Warren

As the inauguration nears - so does the Saddleback Protest set to take place on Sunday. I wish whoever started it did so earlier in the day but hey - at least someone is in charge! It's going to be fairly large. If you haven't seen the site yet that Californians Agaist Hate started, you should check it out.

Also interesting is a narrative on Rick Warren's "accomplishments" fighting HIV/AIDS in Africa, of which include associations with people who support abstinence only programs in Africa, burning condoms, and lobbying for imprisonment of homosexuals.

Read it here.

Pastor Dr. Kenneth Samuel supports protest against Rick Warren

I read that 85% of evangelical Christians voted Yes on Prop 8. Or something like that. That means 15 out of every 100 Evangelical Christians actually have some sense and understanding of Jesus' message of love and acceptance. Pastor Kenneth Samuel is one of them. He says that protests against Rick Warren in regards to the invocation at Obama's inauguration are justified.

Read about it in the Daily Voice.

Boycotts & Protests

Remember when we were called bullies for boycotting and protesting businesses that supported Prop 8? As if the pro-prop8 side had never done that? Of course they are at it again. This time with Pepsi.

Remember all - it's Do as I Say - not as I do :)

New Protest Update

Here's an update from the Protest Organizer:


First, we had an amazingly productive and supportive meeting with a representative
from the OC Sheriff's Department. I was nervous before about safety, but we got
wonderful advice and they are going to be very helpful. I'll say it again, but on
the day, PLEASE thank them repeatedly!

Second, I want to ask everyone who is attending YOUR thoughts on how to make this a
positive, peaceful and pro-active rally. ...

Third, I have a few really wonderful and artistic sign examples on the website at
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://www.allornotatall.org%2F%3Fpage_id%3D144%2C
but does anyone have any other sites or artwork to use? Again, email me at
info@allornotatall.org if you do.

There will be an email closer to the date including information about parking,
carpooling and safety and so on.

Happy New Year!
Josh

P.S. PLEASE invite more people to come. I hear there might be a bus-load coming from
San Jose and we want to make sure we have at least 500 people ther

Protest Jan 18th

I didn't start this one, someone on Facebook did. The event has almost 300 people who say they are coming. You can go too, even if you aren't on Facebook to see the event. Details from the Facebook page:

Date: Sunday, January 18, 2009
Time: 11:00am - 2:00pm
Location: Saddleback Church in Lake Forest

Evangelical Pastor Rick Warren has been invited by President-Elect Obama to deliver the invocation at the Presidential Inauguration. Rick Warren is one of the most unabashed anti-gay religious leaders in the country. He has compared same-sex couples that wanted to get married to child molesters and polygamists, and he has a congregation of over 20,000 people who listen to his message. He is quoted as saying that "there is no reason to change the universal, historical definition of marriage to appease 2 percent of our population."

We are going to hold a peaceful protest outside his church the Sunday before he delivers the invocation in D.C. to let him know that we are not some radical, crazy fringe group that is merely looking to be appeased! It is time for us to go stand outside his homophobic bubble and show him the harm that he is causing. Show him that he cannot use religion and the Bible as a weapon. Show him that we are not child molesters and we don't believe in incest. Show him that we are also kind, decent humans who deserve the same treatment in the eyes of the law as every member of his congregation!

There will be more details to come as we get closer, but please spread the word to all of your friends who live in the Southern California area. This isn't going to be an angry protest where we scream at an empty church in the middle of the week. This is a peaceful event where we will stand there and make all the congregants see that we are completely worthy of equality and respect!

Just to be clear, this is not a protest against all Evangelicals at all. This is a protest in front of one man's congregation to let him know that his views and his pulpit are causing great harm to his fellow humans.

P.S. We will talk more about transportation as things move closer to the date.

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The Facebook page is here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=40182104481