March de Triomphe!
Whoever said the marriage debate was over must not have been anywhere
near the U.S. Capitol this morning. After months of hearing the courts’
opinion on marriage, today America heard from the voters those courts
trampled. Thousands of people from states all across the country
descended on Washington, D.C. to show the nation that we care about
protecting marriage and will do anything to stand up and fight for it.
Pro-family groups like FRC, churches, state activists, and cultural
leaders gathered on the lawn of the most powerful Congress in the world
and sent one resounding message: the fight for marriage is not over.More than 150 buses, filled with the marriage supporters the media insists do not exist, cheered through the passionate speeches of Republicans and Democrats, blacks and Hispanics, and the young and old -- all united in the belief that marriage is “our very nature. No law can change it.” Senator Rick Santorum, Governor Mike Huckabee, the Catholic Church’s Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, and leaders from across the Hispanic and African American communities rallied the crowd with the reminder that we are not marching for a cause that’s lost. “You want a social program that cannot fail?” asked Reverend Eugene Rivers, “Support traditional marriage and the family.”
Others pushed back on the notion that the pro-marriage majority in America are somehow on the wrong side of history. “History doesn’t have sides,” said one young leader, “but truth does.” And, explained Bishop Cordileone, “it is a foundational truth, and one to which we must witness by lives lived in conformity to it, and which we must proclaim with love.”
FRC’s own Leanna Baumer spoke on behalf of a generation of millennials, who’ve borne the brunt of the breakdown of the family. Telling the story of Zelmyra and Herbert, who last year celebrated 86 years together, she honored the values and commitment that only come through the marriage of a man and woman. “We’re here to remind our lawmakers and fellow citizens that public policy and the law help shape culture just as they reflect culture. We’re here to urge our elected leaders to recognize the truth of marriage in the public realm while we also uphold it in our private lives. As we march for that truth today, let’s also march for marriage back home, knowing that what our world needs to see are more stories like Zelmyra’s and Herbert’s.”
Even after a series of courtroom setbacks, one thing was clear: there is no quit in our movement. Today, we marched for children who deserve a mom and dad, for the bakers, educators, sportscasters, and photographers who deserve to live according to their faith, and for America, which without marriage cannot stand. For more on today’s March for Marriage, check out the website here. Also, click over to this Washington Times interview with FRC’s own Chase Jennings.
Jesus, Scripture, and the Myth of New Arguments on Homosexuality
Family Research Council has had many distinguished speakers participate in our Policy Lectures series, but not always can we claim to have the world’s leading expert in his field as our guest. It’s no exaggeration, however, to say that yesterday’s guest, Dr. Robert A. J. Gagnon of the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, is probably the leading evangelical expert in the biblical teaching on the subject of homosexuality. His 2001 book, The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics, is the definitive and (at 500+ pages) encyclopedic work on this issue.
Yesterday, we were honored to have him speak at FRC for the first time, delivering a lecture on “Jesus, Scripture, and the Myth of New Knowledge: Arguments about Homosexual Unions.” Professor Gagnon referred to the “The Key Jesus Sex Test” in Mark 10 and Matthew 19, chapters in which Jesus rejects both polygamy and a revolving door of divorce and remarriage, instead affirming marriage as the union of one man and one woman. He also provided a thorough analysis of Romans 1, the key New Testament text on homosexuality itself, which declares that both idolatry and same-sex intercourse constitute a frontal assault on the work of the Creator in nature.
I urge to you also check out his interview with FRC’s Peter Sprigg and Chris Gacek on Washington Watch Radio, and visit his website at www.robgagnon.net.
Call 2 Fall: An Urgent Response to God
On Sunday, June 29, 2014, faithful Americans in churches and homes in all 50 states will be on their knees, praying for our nation, observing the 6th annual Call2Fall. In 1775, the second Continental Congress called citizens of the 13 colonies to gather in their churches in united prayer for our fledgling nation, then facing war with the most powerful nation on earth. Massachusetts Delegate John Adams wrote: “We have appointed a Continental fast.
Millions will be on their knees at once before their great Creator, imploring His forgiveness and blessing; His smiles on American Council and arms.” History tells us millions did. Their prayers were heard; the colonies united; prevailed against all odds, and went on to establish the most God-blessed nation on earth.
But today, America is in trouble. We face formidable enemies: the greatest, our own moral and spiritual decline. God’s answer is humble, repentant, united prayer like that offered in 1775 and outlined in 2 Chronicles 7:14. Let’s unite to confess our national dependence on God, Sunday, June 29th, before we celebrate independence on the 4th of July! It’s not too late for your church to participate. If not, your family can still join in. Watch our short video; forward it to your pastor; visit Call2Fall.com and click "I'm in."
** Hillary Clinton is getting plenty of publicity -- including from FRC’s own! Don’t miss Rob Schwarzwalder’s new Townhall.com piece, “Hillary Clinton Gets an Offer She Can’t Refuse.” Also check out Ken Blackwell’s must read in the American Thinker, “Hillary’s Juggar-Not.”
Tony Perkins' Washington Update is written with the aid of FRC senior writers.
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