Monday, February 09, 2009

Keeping an eye ...

... on "the other side."


I'm off to Chicago tomorrow for a meeting with The Chicago Consultation at Seabury Western. Good work with great people toward important General Convention goals. (Film, as they say, at eleven.)

But before taking off, I wanted to point interested parties to what the American Family Association is up to now. They've got a "Family Values Survey" up online along with a video entitled "Speechless: Silencing The Christians."

Click here to see the video (take your Dramamine -- it'll make you queasy) and to fill out the survey.

Why bother? Because if we're going to rebut the lies we have to know what they are. If we're going to reframe the debate we have to do our homework. If we're going to preach the love that casts out fear, we have to contend fearlessly with the phobia being preached on the other side of the aisle.

Come, labor on!
The enemy is watching night and day,
To sow the tares, to snatch the seed away;
While we in sleep our duty have forgot,
They slumbered not.

Come, labor on!
Away with gloomy doubts and faithless fear!
No arm so weak but may do service here:
By feeblest agents may our God fulfill
God's righteous will.
.

8 comments:

Brian R said...

Filled in the survey. Am sure it was not the answers they want. The only thing they would agree is I do not think Religious organisations should be forced to employ homosexuals.
I guess when they see my email with .au on the end, they can disregard me as an evil foreigner :-)
The film would not load, thankfully.

JimB said...

While you are there, fill in the survey. They wont like your answers!

FWIW
jimB

Brother David said...

Two pieces of advice on taking the survey.

Use a Spam email address, meaning one you do not really care about because this may produce Spam later, instead of your normal address when you take the survey.

Read "special rights" as "equal rights" and then go ahead and answer the questions honestly. The questions are grossly biased as worded.

Lorian said...

Okay, I'm watching this big, huge, disgusting pack of lies, but I can't promise not to puke while I do it. :(

Thanks for bringing it to our attention, Susan. It takes guts to wade through the s***.

Lorian said...

Phew! I have seldom felt the compulsion to burst forth with words describing intestinal functions so many times within the space of a single hour.

It's amazing to me that people who claim to be morally motivated experience so little compunction about spouting bald-faced lies.

I'm reluctant to forward the survey to anyone because it is written with such an intense slant and with so many misrepresentations of issues against which the surveyor plainly wishes to elicit responses.

Yuck. 'Scuze me while I go take a shower so I can feel clean again.

I especially like the final dig against the Antichr...er...President Obama. :rolleyes:

IT said...

Actually, I agree that religious organizations should be free to hire whoever they want....as long as they are using their own money to do it.

It's when they use public money, or step out of their church to affect my rights, that we have the problem.

IT

Bruce said...

I want to know who was able to watch it for almost an hour. Not me. I agree with Jim, however, they won't like my answers. Geez, and I'm "conservative."

LisaDiane said...

Wow. I am with Bruce. I could not watch the full hour. I know they won't like my answers, but I guess that is fair. I do not like their questions, seem very leading and slanted!