They are moving in/gay hating church/Portland (MERGED)

[Guest Anonymous]

There is Voodoo in the Valley, in Eugene. I brought two boxes home after a Floater show last winter.

[treemom]

That was me, Treemom, because I reacted strongly to your ridiculous assertion that homeschoolers were more responsible for denouncing child abuse than the average citizen. I don't even homeschool, but I want to reserve the right to do so.

I picked up "WalMartha" from my gay-metro friends. It is a generic term used for the overweight, bitchy, judgemental Midwestern church women that we seem to have a plethora of.

IIRC correctly, you responded by throwing out an insufferably pedantic rant about boycotting Walmart, therefor, you were not a WalMartha.

I am tickled that my little term got picked up as such a high ranking status!!

Well you were incorrect on many counts. I didn't say they were more responsible. I still don't know wtf walmartha means and I am certainly just bitchy and judgmental but not really overweight, Midwestern or a church woman.

And I am not sure when once sentence became a rant. I don't think I said I boycott walmart either. I just choose to not shop there if avoidable. Sometimes it isn't.

[Shina]

Another topic on Driscoll brought this issue to mind. Since I've moved across the globe, I have no idea what's been going on, but the article I googled worries me. Were the protestors really 'shouting obscenities'? Seems like overkill, hmmm.

www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-fait ... story.html

[Shirley MacLaine]

I'm trying to convince my boyfriend he wants to get up on a Sunday to go to see Pastor Mark with me. He went to Mars Hill once for a comparative religion class project but ol' Markie wasn't speaking, lame.

[debrand]

Brad Salyers came to Mars Hill for the first time on Sunday with his wife and two young children. Salyers said the Bible teaches that homosexuality is a sin, but everyone is a sinner.

“We love homosexuals,†Salyers said. “We love pot smokers. We love liars and thieves.â€

What is sad is that Slayers probably doesn't understand how offensive this is. He is comparing homosexuals to pot smokers, liars and thieves.

[Shina]

Debrand, he doesn't have a clue. Salyers probably thinks he's being welcoming and inclusive, admitting that we're all sinners and shouldn't judge eachother, etc.

Sigh, I suppose I should be glad he didn't make a bestiality or murder comparison...

[Kelya]

Sigh, I suppose I should be glad he didn't make a bestiality or murder comparison...

Ugh seriously. I hate it when this is progress!

I lived waaaay out on the Oregon coast when I was there, so there were tons and tons of churches, including enough SDAs and Mormons make me wonder what was up. Only a few big mega churches. We drove by once and I explained the concept of a megachurch and everyone in the car was horrified.

[Shirley MacLaine]

Where in the bible does it say anything about smoking pot?

[Guest Anonymous]

What is sad is that Slayers probably doesn't understand how offensive this is. He is comparing homosexuals to pot smokers, liars and thieves.

Perhaps a visit is in order. I can pack the car with some queer pot smokers I know, cruise up the I5 and see if Brad welcomes us with open arms.

[Angri-la]

Where in the bible does it say anything about smoking pot?

It doesn't. It would be more likely to read about hashish in the time and area, but that isn't in there either. Neither is a lot of the stuff Bible literalists seems to see in the Bible.

There is, however, the Genesis: And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.

Personally, since marijuana is legally medicine in many, many states, and it is indicated for my serious autoimmune disease, I would say, then, that, yes, the Bible does say it is ok for me to take my medicine:

1 Timothy 5:23

"No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments."

There are lots of Bible verses about doctorin', I just like that one, because it says grape juice wine.

Wine just makes it worse, alas, so I follow my Doctor's (who went to a real med school, and does not dispense out of the back of a cargo van) prescription.

[doggie]

Black-clad demonstrators gathered in front of the Mars Hill Church in Southeast Portland this morning to protest the church's stance on homosexuality.

About 20 protesters lined Southeast Taylor Street carrying banners and shouting obscenities as church-goers left when the service ended.

"Shame on you bigots," one woman yelled at worshippers as they left. "Shame on you homophobes. You're not welcome here. You're going to burn in hell."

She declined to comment for this story.

Brad Salyers came to Mars Hill from Wilsonville Sunday with his wife and two young children. . It was his first visit to the church.

The Bible teaches that homosexuality is a sin, Salyers said after he walked past the demonstration.

But everyone is a sinner, he added, and Christians love sinners.

"We love homosexuals," Salyers said. "We love pot-smokers. We love liars and thieves."

Sunday was the first service at the church's new building at 3210 S.E. Taylor St. Mars Hill bought the vacant building in August for $1.25 million.

Mars Hill had scheduled its first service for Sept. 10, then cancelled the gathering because church leaders said they didn't want to conflict with that day's Belmont Street Fair.

Mars Hill Church was founded 15 years ago by Pastor Mark Driscoll. The church operates multiple campuses, mostly in Seattle. Driscoll preaches against homosexuality and once told his followers that yoga is "demonic."

News that Mars Hill was opening a church in Portland drew protests from some who opposed the church's philosophy. A kiss-in was scheduled on Sept. 10, but was called off after the service was cancelled.

Tim Smith, the lead pastor at Mars Hill, said Sunday that he had expected some sort of demonstration for the first service.

"We thought something would probably happen," Smith said. "But we didn't know what."

The service started at 10 a.m. and protesters showed up about 15 minutes later, according to a member of the church's security team. At first, protesters gathered on the sidewalk in front of the church, briefly blocking the entrance as church-goers arrived.

They moved to the street as the congregation began leaving. Later, after a request by a police officer, they set up on a sidewalk across the street from the church.

The protesters, some of whom wore kerchiefs to cover their faces, shouted profanities at adults and children.

"That's not how we would go about it," Smith said afterward. "But they have the right to say what they want to say."

Don Wallace, who lives across from the church, said he was "embarrassed and angry" about the demonstration.

"I don't agree philosophically with what's going on in the church," Wallace said. "But I certainly agree with their right to believe what they want to believe."

--Stephen Beaven

[Shina]

There's already a thread on this: viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2769&start=20

[Guest Anonymous]

Mars Hill is filled with bigots and religionists who want to make a whole lot of people 'less than' not just gay folk.

Violence against the GLBT community has been historically high, fueled by the words of religionists like those at Mars Hill.

[doggie]

I just did not like the things they were yelling as it offends the neighbors too and does not really solve anything. But yes the church sucks and the whole gay is a sin crap. well what about all the judging and crap the church does talk about the sinners hating the sinners.

[emmiedahl]

What they yelled was wrong.

It does not undermine their right to protest or their right to feel victimized by this breed of Christianity. They are upset, understandably, but civil protests with less offensive language are a better choice for the movement itself.

[doggie]

What they yelled was wrong.

It does not undermine their right to protest or their right to feel victimized by this breed of Christianity. They are upset, understandably, but civil protests with less offensive language are a better choice for the movement itself.

right offending the neighbors who are on your side is not every effective.