Posted on 04/29/2012 5:47:14 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
The Rev. Franklin Graham is supporting a proposed amendment to North Carolina's constitution that would provide that marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid in the state.
The pro-amendment Vote FOR Marriage NC released an audio message late Friday in which Graham, the son of evangelist Billy Graham, is asking listeners to "take a stand on God's definition of marriage" between a man and a woman and vote for the amendment on the May 8 primary ballot, according to WXII-TV, Channel 12.
Graham's sister Anne Graham Lotz is also backing the measure.
Graham, who serves as president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and heads the Samaritan's Purse, is speaking up in favor of the amendment at a time when the measure is being opposed by some religious leaders who say it would harm children as they could lose health insurance. Jay Bakker, son of infamous televangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker who grew up in North Carolina, is one of the opponents.
The advocates and opponents of the amendment are expected to spend more than $1 million for ads as the debate heats up with the forthcoming vote.
Earlier this month, a sign reading "Marriage Sunday April 22" in front of Tabernacle Baptist Church in Hickory, N.C., was found vandalized. The vandals painted over the sign, "Hate Speech Sunday April 22."
Tami Fitzgerald, chairwoman of Vote FOR Marriage NC, says marriage is "profoundly in the public good; it brings men and women together and helps ensure that children will be known and cared for by the people responsible for bringing them into the world. It is the only institution that guarantees the future of our society."
North Carolina has a state law that defines marriage as being between a man and a woman, but many believe the amendment is needed to protect the law from gay activism. They also fear that if the constitution is not amended, same-sex couples married in other states where gay marriage is legal can move to North Carolina and sue the state to have their marriage recognized.
A Public Policy Polling survey of 1,191 likely voters conducted in late March showed voters favored the amendment 58 to 38 percent. A similar poll conducted by SurveyUSA showed almost the same numbers.
I wonder why the Rev. Billy Graham himself is silent on this issue...
MEANWHILE...
Son of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker Speaks Out Against NC Marriage Amendment
By Paul Stanley , Christian Post Reporter
April 23, 2012|12:53 pm
Jay Bakker grew up in North Carolina in the limelight of his parents’ Praise The Lord ministry before it crumbled in the 1980s after his father pled guilty to fraud charges. Now the young minister is opposing the state’s efforts to pass a marriage amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman.
The tattooed-laden Bakker, 36, now lives in New York City and is the co-founder of Revolution Church, which meets on Sundays in Pete’s Candy store, a bar. He was featured in a 2006 documentary “One Punk Under God.”
Since he is no longer a resident of North Carolina, he cannot vote on the issue but still felt moved to join the efforts opposing it.
On Sunday, Bakker led some 75 people in a rally against the marriage amendment.
“I ignored all these amendments being passed and passed until it hit my hometown and I was like…When I heard about it, I called down here and offered to help,” Bakker told WNCT News.
North Carolina is one of three states where voters will decide how to define marriage. The May 8 election is generating substantial attention on both sides of the issue, but recent polls show that a majority of North Carolinians are expected to cast their ballots in favor of the amendment.
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A Public Policy Polling survey of 1,191 likely voters conducted in late March showed voters favored the amendment 58 to 38 percent. A similar poll conducted by SurveyUSA showed almost the same numbers.
Here is Jay Bakker’s rationale for opposing it :
“My parents taught me to love people across the board and always be open to people,” said Bakker. “They were always into equality and reaching out to the marginalized and things like that.”
And divorce reform needs to come next. No more bed hopping. God does not approve.
Thanks SeekAndFind.
Are you suggesting that all divorce should be made illegal? Would you also go as far to say that only “Christians” should be allowed to get married?
Perhaps because he is so elderly and ill that he is not even aware of the issue.
Our children are being destroyed because people divorce with erroneous rationales such as “God wants me to be HAPPY”, God brought this new sexy person into my life who is so much more compatible with me than my spouse” (which will be shown to be false), “I have to do for myself what I need to do for myself” (psychological claptrap and false). Yes, if you are married, stay married, see it through, all this garbage about sexual gratification is false, all this “I married the wrong person” is also false. The fabric of our society is being destroyed by abortion and divorce.
I was happily married, well at least I thought I was, for nearly twenty years and was totally faithful to my husband. Then one day I discovered my husband was having affairs with multiple women, some who he had met on the internet. When I found out, I confronted him and begged him to commit to me and our marriage, to end his affairs and to go to marriage counseling with me in order to work things out.
I even looked deep within myself and was willing to accept that perhaps in some ways I was to blame for us drifting apart and was willing to make changes on my part. But it was to no avail. I made changes, but he didn’t. After promising to break it off with the woman he was having an online romantic relationship with (who BTW, started stalking me and some of my family members on line – ended up being a real psycho and IMO a potentially dangerous and emotionally unstable one at that) and he was, as I found out even after all that, still planning to meet with her in person, and after refusing to go to marriage counseling or even admit he had done anything wrong, I asked him to leave. I was still willing to work through our problems and did so for the next year after our separation, but he wasn’t. He wanted to stay married; didn’t want a divorce but wasn’t willing to commit to our marriage and end his relationship with this woman. I also found out later that he had ruined our finances by sending money and buying things for this whore.
So, yes I divorced him in 2004. And I don’t regret doing that, not for even a single minute. I was willing to put up with a lot of things but his bringing this psycho stalker into our lives and into the lives of my family and his refusal to end it or accept any responsibility for it, was well beyond what was even remotely acceptable to me. As we were not able to have any children due to infertile issues, there was no question of staying together for the sake of the children; not that I would have considered his actions a reason for divorce even if we had any.
Last year he remarried to another woman (and as I understand it is not exactly happy). I remain single. I have no desire to get remarried or even date at this point in my life, but should the right man come along; I wouldn’t put it out of the question. That wouldn’t be out of selfishness or a desire to find someone “sexier”. I was faithful; my ex made his choices and is living with his choices for better or worse. I am very happy today but should the right and honest and faithful man come into my life, why should I not remarry?
Good. May 8- a day to strike against communism
http://www.uhuh.com/nwo/communism/comgoals.htm
26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as “normal, natural, healthy.”
For some reason Franklin seems much more conservative (and orthodox?) than his father, who eventually moved to the smushy center in order to be uncontroversial and get along with everyone.
You were obviously not at fault in the thing, but were the injured party
True, I was. But then you said, “And divorce reform needs to come next. No more bed hopping. God does not approve.”
And
“Yes, if you are married, stay married, see it through..
So you are then saying that in my case or others like mine, you are OK with divorce? I did after all initiate it. And if I were ever to meet a nice man and remarry, would that constitute bed hopping in your opinion?
Making divorce more difficult may not be a bad thing for society overall IMO, but then in my case, once he agreed and didn’t contest it and we worked out on our own and very civilly BTW, the equitable separation of our property, I was able to file for my divorce, filled out and filed papers with the court on my own with absolutely no lawyers involved and did so for less than $300 in filing fees and court costs in total and it was finalized in less than a year. In fact I didn’t even have to appear in court but only to a magistrate with a witness who attested that we were no longer living together and that our marriage was for all intense purposes dissolved. He didn’t even need to show up. And it cost my now ex-husband nothing in lawyer’s fees or court costs either. It wasn’t my intention to screw him financially BTW, just to get the matter over with and with the least amount of further emotional pain and expense to either of us.
If mutually agreed upon and uncontested divorce were made more difficult, it would have meant getting lawyers involved could have cost us both several thousands of dollars each and could have dragged out for years.
True, but during those intervening years your depraved husband could have had an epiphany and returned home. As you say, he is not happy now. And it is doubtful his situation will improve because he went against his vows. If people took a vow to stay together until they don’t wanna, then divorce is fine. If they take a vow to stay together til death do they part, that is very different. If they take a vow to stay together for life or until they are so disgusted by the other’s behavior that they want not to be together, that too is very different. But, if they say all the traditional “for better for worse, as long as we both shall live” that is unconditional. Admittedly, your situation didn’t involve innocent children whose world is rocked by divorce. And it sounds like it was very painful and not your fault. But if you had stuck it out through the for worse part, maybe the guy would have had a Damascus Road experience by now and the two of you could have reconciled. It’s still not too late.
This man did not deserve a reconciliation. He went outside the marriage and she was well within her rights to divorce him.
You post as though you are ignorant of the Bible's teaching on the matter. According to the Bible, divorce is permissible if sexual immorality is committed. Her ex committed it. Staying together was barely an option. No charitable person would suggest to a woman whose spouse has cheated on her that her decision to divorce is anything but proper and righteous.
Get a clue, buddy!
I am a mom. Hey, I know there is supposedly an “exception” for infidelity. I also know that people who are married become one flesh and it is terribly painful to divorce. So the “exception” for infidelity is that you can divorce. Which she did. It doesn’t say you have to divorce, but you can.
I see a little differently than non-Catholics. So sorry. But it is my right to practice. Y’all can believe what you want. So can I. Pick on me but you won’t get anywhere.
Supposedly? The exception for immorality comes from Jesus Himself...do you need me to cite chapter and verse? There's no "supposedly" about it.
I see a little differently than non-Catholics. So sorry. But it is my right to practice. Y’all can believe what you want. So can I. Pick on me but you won’t get anywhere.
I'm a Protestant. No one has to live with an unfaithful spouse according to Our Lord. If you believe that The New Testament teaches that it's preferable to stay married in the face of this immorality, please cite chapter and verse. Thanks in advance.
The liberals in my town are going ballistic over this upcoming vote.
If the conservatives stay home and don’t vote on May 8, the amendment has a good chance of failing.
I see a little differently than non-Catholics. So sorry. But it is my right to practice. Y’all can believe what you want. So can I. Pick on me but you won’t get anywhere.
I’m not picking on you and I have no problem with you practicing your faith as you see fit, as your religion dictates. But what you were proposing or seemed to was for “divorce reform” and from what you stated about your beliefs on the subject; it seems that you would have the law enforce your religious beliefs regarding divorce, extending those beliefs to all others.
But if you had stuck it out through the for worse part, maybe the guy would have had a Damascus Road experience by now and the two of you could have reconciled.
I stuck it out for over a year after I first found out, but how much longer should I have had to be humiliated, how much longer should I have put up with an unstable woman who my husband brought into our lives (a woman who was married and had children BTW), how much longer should I have stood by and seen the hundreds of cell phone calls made to her every month on our bill, seen charges to our credit card and checking account go toward gifts to this woman?
It’s still not too late.
No. It is too late. And don’t get me wrong, I am not bitter and in fact my ex and I are on friendly terms today. I don’t think he is a “bad” or evil person, just a really messed up one and I stood by him faithfully through a lot of stuff for 20 years. He had a lot of problems, many of which I recognize today and attribute to the fact he was molested as a kid by a male family friend and was raised by an alcoholic mother. I won’t go into the details but lets’ just say that for many, many years, our marriage was “platonic” and that wasn’t my choice. I think that’s what made his affair all the more painful. I know he now regrets his actions and has gone back to AA, where he met his new wife (he never fell off the wagon but was probably what some people refer to as on a “dry drunk) and he has made his amends to me. But that doesn’t mean I would want to be married to him again. Just too much water has gone under that bridge.
And when I said, I don’t think he’s happy today, I should probably retract that because I really don’t know. I do know that his new wife keeps him on a pretty tight leash. Even after our divorce he was still friendly and close with my nieces and nephew and I never interfered with that and I stayed close to my SIL, even attended her daughter’s funeral after her long battle with breast cancer, but after he remarried, as I understand, his wife just does not allow that and that’s she’s rather insecure and jealous. I wish them the best. He’s her problem now :),
No Fault divorce has ravaged the institution of marriage. Marriage is an institution that concerns the future happiness of society, not the present pleasure of individuals, because it is really” all about the children. “
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