CHRISTIANS in Maine are hoping that a combination of cash and prayer will overturn the state’s recently enacted gay marriage law.
According to this Youtube report, Catholics dug deep into their pockets at recent church services to help fund a Stand for Marriage Maine campaign that aims to reverse the law.
Said SFMM campaign director Marc Mutty:
Until this point, our opponents have presented a rose-colored glasses view of homosexual marriage. Starting today, Mainers across the state will hear about the real cost to society should traditional marriage be replaced by genderless contracts whose sole focus is the adults involved in the relationship.
Outside groups are getting in the mix, too, according to this report. Ron Prentice, executive director of California’s ProtectMarriage.com, the group that backed Prop 8 in California, sent out an e-mail on Tuesday urging supporters of Prop 8 to donate money to help the anti-gay marriage amendment.
The stakes are high, because a victory in Maine by gay marriage activists will be trumpeted as a sign that the mood of the country has changed. Despite losing all 30 prior campaigns around the nation, same-sex advocates have been able to convince the media that it is ‘inevitable’ that homosexual marriage will soon be the law of the land. A victory in Maine would give them the ‘proof’ they have been seeking and will encourage the media and our opponents to write marriage off as a relic of history.
Although funding certainly is critical, Joey Marshall, pastor of Living Stone Community Church in Standish, Maine, says same-sex union opponents must not forget the importance of prayer. It’s vital to inform the people in the state of Maine of the dangers of same-sex marriage, he said, but it’s more important to pray.
We are not going to win this battle with big rallies and public persuasion. This is a God-sized task and we can only win this one on our knees …. We must pray that God will reveal truth to those who are deceived. I pray that God finds righteous men and women in the state of Maine fervently praying and standing for the truth in God’s Word.
The Freethinker was founded in 1881 by GW Foote, an outspoken critic of religion. After the publication of 
September 16th, 2009 at 8:45 pm
Traditional marriages are not being REPLACED by same-sex marriage you sanctimonious cretin.
'Rose tinted glasses'? The usual complete lack of self-awareness in accusing others of being blinkered for refusing to share their bigotry. Yes, lets all cast off these distorting, thought-shackling lenses at once and be dictated to by an ancient text written when almost nothing was known about the human race and planet Earth compared to now.
September 16th, 2009 at 8:46 pm
For crying out loud.
It makes you doubt your humanism, it really does. How can these people be so vindictively stupid?
September 16th, 2009 at 8:46 pm
I think they should concentrate more on prayer.
September 16th, 2009 at 8:52 pm
tax the church!
September 16th, 2009 at 8:54 pm
My marriage is not "genderless". I am a woman and my wife is a woman. Some marriages consist of a man and a man, and others of a woman and a man. Sadly some people are such idiots that if their on it which one of them is which, they themselves don't know.
September 16th, 2009 at 8:55 pm
My marriage is not "genderless". I am a woman and my wife is a woman. Some marriages consist of a man and a man, and others of a woman and a man. Sadly some people are such idiots that if their on it which one of them is which , they can't seem to figure it out.
September 16th, 2009 at 10:18 pm
Hear! Hear!
September 16th, 2009 at 10:20 pm
I believe some hapless Muslims have found themselves married to a postbox, Buffy!
September 16th, 2009 at 10:28 pm
Why is the Christian Taliban pussyfooting around, trying to overthrow such trivialities as laws giving same-sex couples the same rights demanded by opposite-sex couples, giving women sovereignty over their own bodies, and giving medical researchers the right to use discarded stem cells to find cures for deadly diseases? Why don't they pool their resources and campaign together for the achievement of their ultimate goal: the restoration of heretic burning?
September 16th, 2009 at 10:52 pm
LOL.
September 16th, 2009 at 10:57 pm
I find the idea of men lining up on their knees to combat homosexuality immensely hilarious, and I'm not ashamed to admit it.
September 16th, 2009 at 11:08 pm
The Cracker Cult should show real faith by giving up the cash collecting and going with prayer alone. A god that needs cash all the time doesn't–in my opinion–have much in the way of powerful magic.
The Brick Testament "On Faith": http://www.thebricktestament.c.....hings_of...
September 17th, 2009 at 2:16 am
The "…truth in God's Word" he claims. Such hypocrites. Never have I seen the Department of Agriculture under assault for allowing fields to be planted in the 7th year, or law enforcement denigrated for working on the Sabbath, and as for medical services…well, God promised He would do all the healing. If Christians weren't such frauds, the healthcare problem would be solved overnight as only the secular would seek medical attention.
September 17th, 2009 at 3:52 am
"It’s vital to inform the people in the state of Maine of the dangers of same-sex marriage, he said, but it’s more important to pray."
I actually live in Maine, and I can only encourage EVERY single one of those people, Christian or otherwise, to stay in their homes all day on 3 November (voting day), clasp their hands tightly together, and pray VERY hard. Remember, if you go and vote, it just means you don't trust your god to "fix" the outcome.
September 17th, 2009 at 7:33 am
One of my parents was a man and the other a woman. Is it any wonder I'm confused?
September 17th, 2009 at 8:04 am
Ho! Hum! Here we go again! (My sincere apologies.) I have many former friends among the evangelical community here in England who steadfastly refuse to vote in any sort of election whatsoever, or to get involved in politics, or to join any secular organization (eg trades unions or even professional bodies), on the basis that this world is "not the Christian's home", and that it is the Christian's duty to PRAY that "the Lord" will sort everything out according to His impeccable will! All I can say is that He doesn't seem to be doing a very good job of things, and if everything that happens does so "according to His will", why the hell are they complaining – do they think they know better than Him?!!
September 17th, 2009 at 8:05 am
So have these imbeciles defined exactly what the "dangers of same sex marriage" are? I doubt if any of them have even thought about it but just repeat the bigoted lies of their preachers. As we know, the prayer thing won't work but the catlickers do have large amounts of cash to bribe/bully/market their dark-age ideas.
September 17th, 2009 at 8:51 am
Or three!
September 17th, 2009 at 9:02 am
In a great bit of standup, Robin Ince gleefully points out the similar language used by a right-wing Republican commentator: "Once you have gay marriage, you have a society on its knees"!
I posted more of Ince's routine here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNinXnQiLgY
September 17th, 2009 at 9:08 am
I have no idea what they're talking about either, Angela_K! We've had all this nonsense before, of course, about the "creeping danger" of "homosexual marriage", and the fact that it is in some way a "threat" to "traditional marriage". I am a gay man, and while (unsurprisingly!) I have a number of female friends with whom I get on famously (they don't seem to take life as seriously as many of the males that I know), I do not feel romantically attracted to them, and would never consider marrying any of them. Why then do these "straight" people think that if gay marriage became more widespread "opposite marriage" would be under threat? Do they really think that millions of erstwhile "straight" people are suddenly going to say "Hey! These gay marriages look great: I think I'll get spliced to someone of my own gender just like them!" The fact that millions of gay people live in a stable relationship hasn't "turned" them, so why would a ceremony and a little piece of paper make such a big difference?
September 17th, 2009 at 9:37 am
Would that be possible! Of course, the moment that happens, the church will have ceased to exist from lack of suckers.
September 17th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
'We are not going to win this battle with big rallies and public persuasion.'
So how are they going to win it? White hoods and burning crosses, or brown envelopes and bent politicians?
September 17th, 2009 at 6:07 pm
Typical Evangelical double-talk again. "We are not going to win this battle with big rallies and public persuasion." So what WILL they be relying on then? Big rallies and public persuasion of course!
September 17th, 2009 at 6:43 pm
So, the Catholics – who are led by a bunch of celibate old men in frocks – think men should marry women? The Catholics, who are notorious for covering up widespread child abuse over many decades, think homosexuality is a sexual perversion? The Catholics, who supported a dozen fascist regimes in Europe and Latin America, are mobilising a democratic vote? The Catholics, who happily welcome Holocaust deniers into their fold, are defending the moral fabric of society?
It’s a fucked up world.
I hope the good people of Maine do the right thing. (And I hope their most famous resident, Stephen King Esq, steps up to the plate on this. He seems a liberal sort of chap)
September 17th, 2009 at 8:07 pm
Very funny!
September 18th, 2009 at 6:12 pm
Yes, Stephen King supports same-sex marriage. Also, one of the main characters of King's novel 'Cell' is a homosexual, and his famous epic 'IT' contains a sad scene where a young gay man is murdered after some thugs see him kiss his boyfriend (novel not mini-series).
I especially agree with MelM's comment about how all this raking cash from the pews begs the question of how much faith really is placed in prayer alone as a problem solver. If questioned, Mutty, Prentice and co would likely say that they are directly linked – Gahhhd encouraged people to be generous; we asked, the Lord provided, etc. When your leader is invisible and voiceless his followers can make him say anything they want in the same way I used to make my little brother's soft toys talk to him, and always agree that I was right of course!
September 18th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
I came across this all the time amongst the Plymouth Brethren and their fellow travellers. They make a really big thing about not asking for money, and many of their full-time speakers "live by faith" as they put it. They idolize people like George Muller (qv), who founded and ran the enormous Ashley Down Children's Homes (a considerable feat, I might add) without soliciting donations, and Hudson Taylor and C.T Studd of the China Inland Mission, but in effect it's all a great sham, as these people were self-publicists par excellence! There was hardly a single evangelical in the whole of Christendom who didn't know all there was to know about them and their exploits, and they all made sure that that was how it remained!! There have been others like them in more recent times. Ian Paisley's brother – Harold – held a huge campaign in Glasgow (he had to leave Ireland due to his brother's activities), boasting that "the Lord" was bringing thousands to hear him preach without any advertising being done whatsoever, but this, of course, was being broadcast by all the media in Scotland!
September 18th, 2009 at 7:26 pm
George Muller was a strange man. Although obviously very devout and kindly, if lacking in what we might term "personality", he did NOT set up his Orphanages primarily for the benefit of the children (and he did look after literaly thousands of them), but in order to "prove" that it was possible to run an enterprise like this entirely "by faith". To this end he kept a meticulous diary right from the start, of which I have a copy (it makes for rather dry reading!), detailing just how "the Lord" continually met all his needs. Sadly, you will not read of shoals of fish falling from the skies over Bristol, but instead of daily donations of food and clothing from local traders, and gifts of cash delivered in envelopes by the local postman! The success of his enterprise owed more to humanitarianism than to Christian faith, I'm afraid, but the gullible will believe what they want!!