Catholic & Evangelical Leaders Unite In Statement Against Same-Sex Marriage

Via the National Catholic Register:

A coalition of Catholic and Protestant leaders has united to call all Christians to an unwavering defense of the truth of marriage, rooted in nature as well as faith. "We affirm strongly and without qualification, following the clear testimony of holy Scripture, that marriage is a unique and privileged sign of the union of Christ with his people and of God with his creation — and it can only serve as that sign when a man and a woman are solemnly joined together in a permanent union,” reads a joint statement between Catholic and Protestant leaders. “If we are to remain faithful to the Scriptures and to the unanimous testimony of Christian Tradition, there can be no compromise on marriage.” Nearly 20 Catholics and evangelical Protestants signed the statement, “The Two Shall Become One Flesh: Reclaiming Marriage.” Signatories represent the ecumenical coalition Evangelicals and Catholics Together (ECT), which is an initiative of the Institute on Religion and Public Life. The statement will debut in the March issue of First Things magazine.

More from Catholic Crux:

Signers of the statement include popular megachurch pastor Rick Warren and longtime gay marriage foe Maggie Gallagher, as well as prominent conservative Catholic intellectuals George Weigel and Robert George. Timothy George, a Southern Baptist and dean of Samford University’s Beeson Divinity School; Mark Galli, editor of the evangelical magazine Christianity Today; and J.I. Packer of Regent University also endorsed the statement. The signers say they “do not dispute the evident fact of hormonal and chromosomal irregularities, nor of different sexual attractions and desires.” But they say that in legitimating same-sex marriage, “a kind of alchemy is performed, not merely on the institution, but on human nature itself.” “We are today urged to embrace an abstract conception of human nature that ignores the reality of our bodies. Human beings are no longer to be understood as either male or female,” it says. The result, it says, will undermine society by eliminating any moral compass except that which the state declares to be the norm, to the exclusion of all others.

More from Religion News Service:

"The Two Shall Become One Flesh: Reclaiming Marriage,” comes from the group Evangelicals and Catholics Together, a coalition formed in 1994 under the aegis of former Nixon aide Charles Colson, an evangelical, and the Rev. Richard John Neuhaus, a Catholic priest. One of their goals was to encourage the two Christian communities to overcome their historical suspicions and doctrinal differences in order to battle what they saw as a growing moral laxity in the U.S. Discussions on a document on same-sex marriage began in June 2013 — the same month the U.S. Supreme Court required the federal government to recognize same-sex marriages — according to Russell Reno, editor of First Things and a member of ECT; Reno provided a copy of the declaration to RNS. But Reno said the members first had to agree to set aside their differences on the legitimacy of divorce and contraception, for example, and even whether marriage is a sacrament.

Mike Huckabee: My Point In Running For President Is To Fight Secular Atheism

Banana Man Crackpot Pastor Ray Comfort: Same-Sex Marriage Is Like Dog-Fucking

"'Marriage' between homosexuals has never been sanctioned by God. Marriage is God’s institution and He said it is between a man and a woman. Two men or two women cannot be married. So when gays are 'joined together in holy matrimony,' it is as meaningless as a man being married to his dog or cat, hoping for God’s blessing on bestiality. God has never authorized such a union, nor such behavior. God’s Word says, 'If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination.' (Lev. 20-13)" - Talibangelist Ray Comfort, leaving off the pesky second half of that quote: "They shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them." Why do they always leave that part out? (Via Christian Nightmares)

Evangelists And Anti-Gay Activists To Take America Back From Satan

Crazy Eyes, Mat Staver, Todd Starnes, and "Bishop" Harry Jackson are among the evangelicals and anti-gay crackpots who plan on descending upon DC next month to get their "Christian rights" back.  Among the sponsors: World Net Daily and the Gun Owners Of America. At least they'll get a bigger crowd than Operation American Spring. The event was promoted yesterday with a wrap-around cover on the Moonie Times.

(Tipped by JMG reader Blair)

Michigan Clergy: Gays Are Our Enemy

Via USA Today:

Declaring "the fight is on," a formidable coalition of conservative Christian groups filed legal briefs in federal appellate court Wednesday supporting Michigan's ban on gay marriage. Representing potentially millions of worshippers in the state, the Michigan Catholic Conference, the Thomas More Law Center in Ann Arbor, Mich., and a national coalition of Baptists, Lutherans, Mormons and evangelicals led by Catholic bishops filed three separate briefs Wednesday in the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati. The briefs back Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette in his efforts to defend the state's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage, which was overturned earlier this year by a federal judge in Detroit.

The rant below is really something.

GOP House Members Sing Amazing Grace Before Killing Shutdown Deal

Raw Story reports:

Before pushing an alternative to a Senate bid to end the government shutdown on Tuesday, conservative Republicans in the House of Representatives reportedly sang “Amazing Grace,” a Christian hymn usually reserved for funerals. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) told reporters that the sing-a-long proved that House Republicans were solidly behind that bill that would make minor changes to the president’s health reform law, like stripping insurance subsidies for politicians and delaying the medical device tax. According to The Washington Post, Rep. Steve Southerland (R-FL) led the GOP caucus in singing “Amazing Grace.” Southerland has a background in the funeral home business, where he was known for singing hymns at grave sites.

Unfuckingbelievable.

Headline Of The Day

The Nation today reports on the Conservative Action Project, which the New York Times yesterday declared to be the architects of the shutdown.

The Conservative Action Project [is] an ad hoc coalition created in the early years of the Obama administration to reorganize the conservative movement. The coalition is managed by Heritage and the Council for National Policy. The latter organization, dubbed once as “the most powerful conservative group you’ve never heard of,” is a thirty-year-old nonprofit dedicated to transforming the country into a more right-wing Christian society. Founded by Tim LaHaye, the Rapture-obsessed author of the “Left Behind” series, CNP is now run by Christian-right luminaries such as Phyllis Schlafly, Tony Perkins and Kenneth Blackwell.

Yesterday, The New York Times revealed in great detail how the Conservative Action Project has orchestrated the current showdown. The group initially floated the idea of attaching funding for Obamacare to the continuing resolution, and followed up with grassroots organizing, paid advertisements and a series of events designed to boost the message of senators like Ted Cruz. Though the Heritage Foundation, through its 501(c)(4) Heritage Action sister organization, has played a lead role in sponsoring advertisements and town-hall meetings, tax disclosures reviewed by TheNation.com show that the Council for National Policy has provided a steady stream of funding for the organizing effort.

I can see your shocked faces from here.  From yesterday's Times article:

The billionaire Koch brothers, Charles and David, have been deeply involved with financing the overall effort. A group linked to the Kochs, Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce, disbursed more than $200 million last year to nonprofit organizations involved in the fight. Included was $5 million to Generation Opportunity, which created a buzz last month with an Internet advertisement showing a menacing Uncle Sam figure popping up between a woman’s legs during a gynecological exam.

The groups have also sought to pressure vulnerable Republican members of Congress with scorecards keeping track of their health care votes; have burned faux “Obamacare cards” on college campuses; and have distributed scripts for phone calls to Congressional offices, sample letters to editors and Twitter and Facebook offerings for followers to present as their own. One sample Twitter offering — “Obamacare is a train wreck” — is a common refrain for Speaker John A. Boehner.