Concerned Women for America writes: “An altercation on a college campus leads to federal hate crimes charges against student Brett VanAsdlen despite the fact that all other charges stemming from the event were dropped. Matt Barber, CWA’s Policy Director for Cultural Issues discusses this incident with Pete LaBarbera, President of Americans for Truth and Bob Knight, Director of the Culture and Media Institute, an arm of the Media Research Center.”

Click HERE to listen online to the CWA broadcast, and HERE to download it. Click here for AFTAH’s original story on the case: “Illinois Teen Faces Three Years Jail Sentence for Potentially Fraudulent ‘Hate Crime.’”

In the interview, Knight calls Champaign TV station WCIA-3’s initial story on the incident — in which reporter Amanda Evans interviewed only one side of the dispute — a “classic case” of media bias. More from Knight:

The message here is that there’s a special class of victim. If a homosexual is involved in this equation at all, the media and the legal system are supposed to presumably come to the aid of the homosexual every time. And it’s that selective victimization that you’re talking about, Matt, that’s so frightening.

Will Soulforce founder and homosexual activist Mel White, pictured here with lover Gary Nixon, accuse Joel Osteen (right) of “spiritual violence” if Osteen’s Lakewood Church chooses not to enter into a “dialogue” over homosexuality?

Folks, the irony of this latest Soulforce gimmick is that most of these mega-church pastors (Harry Jackson being the key exception) are not known for confronting the homosexual agenda. For example, Bill Hybels’ Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, IL, did not even participate in the Protect Marriage Illinois (www.protectmarriageillinois.org) referendum campaign in 2006. But Soulforce’s activism may force them to take a more public stand on this seeming ‘special sin’ that has its own well-funded and extremely powerful lobby. Targeted churches with contact pages are listed below the press release. — Peter LaBarbera, www.aftah.org

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News Release

Americans For Truth
www.americansfortruth.org

May 9, 2008

Contact: Peter LaBarbera: 630-717-7631; americansfortruth@comcast.net

Americans For Truth Condemns Soulforce’s Politicized ‘Dialogue’ with Mega-Churches

NAPERVILLE, Illinois — Americans For Truth President Peter LaBarbera today accused the homosexual activist group Soulforce of “politicizing Sunday worship” to further its anti-biblical agenda — by calling for (quasi-forced) “dialogue’ with mega-churches like Joel Osteen’s and Rick Warren’s “at the point of a potential protest.”

Soulforce is leading an activist event called the “American Family Outing” in which they seek “peaceful dialogue” (on their terms) with Lakewood and five other mega-churches across the country each Sunday between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. This Sunday they are targeting Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston.

LaBarbera issued the following statement on Soulforce’s American Family Outing gimmick:

“In a letter to Lakewood Church, Soulforce claims that its proposed ‘dialogue’ is designed to ‘lift up the conversation about faith, family and homosexuality to a national level and bring a new tenor of respect to the issue.’ The truth is that Soulforce is trying to convince Bible-believing churches that their Scriptural teachings against this particular sexual sin are wrong.

“You don’t achieve good-faith dialogue by announcing that you will be arriving at a church on a specified Sunday with ‘several dozen’ homosexual-led families. In the same way, Soulforce sent homosexual activists demanding ‘dialogue’ to Christian colleges: those that refused were hit with media-hyped protests.

“It is no more appropriate to ‘dialogue’ over homosexuality than it is to dialogue over any other sin. What if a traveling band of incest advocates – or perhaps a Gossipers’ Task Force — announced that it would be arriving at Lakewood Church on Mother’s Day demanding ‘dialogue’ about their special interest? This is pro-‘gay’ political theater, nothing more.

“Soulforce and its allies (including Peggy Campolo, wife of Tony Campolo) claim they are ‘deeply committed to respect for the authority of Biblical teachings.’ That is not true, as evidenced by Soulforce’s twisting of Scripture to advance the notion that homosexual behavior is acceptable. Soulforce founder Mel White has recklessly accused Christian pro-family leaders who defend Biblical orthodoxy of ‘spiritual violence’ –– playing to the vicious caricature of traditionalists as violent ‘homophobes.’

“Christians don’t negotiate with God over homosexuality or any sin. Rather, we reach out with truth in love to people with the hopeful Gospel message that God can help them overcome any sin, including homosexuality, through faith in Jesus Christ.”

TARGETED MEGA-CHURCHES AND THEIR CONTACT PAGES:

Lakewood Church, Houston, TX (Rev. Joel Osteen)

The Potter’s House, Dallas, TX (Bishop T.D. Jakes)

Hope Christian Church, Beltsville, MD (Bishop Harry Jackson)

New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, Lithonia, GA (Bishop Eddie Long):

Willow Creek Community Church, South Barrington, IL (Rev. Bill Hybels): (write to info@willowcreek.org)

Saddleback Church, Lake Forest, CA (Dr. Rick Warren): (write to info@saddleback.net)

Congratulations to the Thomas More Law Center, AFA of Michigan and all the pro-family groups, legislators, citizens, and churches in Michigan for successfully defending marriage in your state!

LANSING, Mich. (Catholic News Agency), May 8, 2008 — The Michigan General Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that the state’s constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages also blocks Michigan governments and state universities from offering “domestic partnership” benefits for homosexual couples. Click HERE to read the Michigan Supreme Court ruling.

The Marriage Protection Amendment was approved by nearly sixty percent of voters in 2004. Considered the broadest of the 11 state marriage amendments barring same-sex marriage, the language of the Michigan amendment says “…the union of one man and one woman in marriage shall be the only agreement recognized as a marriage or similar union for any purpose.”

The Michigan ACLU, representing the AFL-CIO homosexual activist group National Pride at Work, had challenged the application of the law as based in Attorney General Mike Cox’s interpretation of the amendment.

The Michigan court’s 5-2 decision did not rule on whether government employment benefits can be offered to homosexual partners on some broader basis also available to other employees. Some local governments and universities have attempted to maintain present benefits by amending the eligibility requirements.

“The people of Michigan have constitutionally protected marriage as exclusively the union of one man and one woman, period, and that includes prohibiting the recognition of homosexual relationships as equal or similar to marriage for any purpose, including offering spousal-type benefits to the homosexual partners of government employees,” said Gary Glenn, one of the co-authors of the Marriage Protection Amendment and head of the American Family Association of Michigan.

Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law Center, praised the decision, saying, “The Michigan Supreme Court courageously upheld the will of the people.”

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=12591

Related news release from Thomas More Law Center: “TMLC Praises Michigan Atty General Cox for Defending Marriage Amendment; Blasts Gov and Universities”

NOTE: In AFTAH’s email version of this story, we erroneously cited the “firing” of Crystal Dixon. She has been suspended only and we apologize for the mistake.

The Open Letter below (emphasis added) is simply too informative not to pass on. Rob Gagnon is one of the world’s leading authorities on homosexuality and the Bible; Having heard him speak, I highly commend him as a visiting speaker at your church, synagogue or place of worship. The pro-homosexual theological revisionists — you know, the ones who make outlandish claims like that David and Jonathan in the Old Testament were “gay lovers” — are afraid to debate Rob. No wonder. You can learn more about Prof. Gagnon’s important work at www.robgagnon.net. — Peter LaBarbera
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Pittsburgh Theological Seminary Professor Rob Gagnon’s open letter to the President of the University of Toledo, who suspended Ms. Crystal Dixon, Associate Vice President of Human Resources at the University, for rejecting an equation of homosexuality with ethnicity

(WND news story at www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?pageId=63459; Lifesite story at www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/may/08050605.html).

“I take great umbrage at the notion that those choosing the homosexual lifestyle are ‘civil rights victims.’ Here’s why. I cannot wake up tomorrow and not be a black woman.” — Crystal Dixon

TAKE ACTION: Read this letter, send it to all your friends and associates to educate them on the homosexual issue, and contact University of Toledo President Lloyd Jacobs (UTPresident@utoledo.edu) at: President Dr. Lloyd A. Jacobs, University Hall, Room 3500, Phone: 419.530.2211; Fax: 419.530.4984

From: Robert Gagnon (rgagnon@pts.edu)

Sent: Tue 5/6/2008 5:04 PM

Dear [U. of Toledo] President Jacobs,

I have read of your action in connection with Ms. Crystal Dixon, Associate Vice President of Human Resources at the University of Toledo (www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?pageId=63459). Your suspension of Ms. Dixon for rejecting an equation of homosexuality with ethnicity constitutes, in my view, a gross injustice and an expression of the very intolerance that you claim to abhor. It is also predicated on a lack of knowledge and, as such, an abundance of prejudice.

Ms. Dixon is absolutely right that sexual orientation is not akin to race or sex. Unlike a homosexual orientation, race and sex are 100% congenitally predetermined, cannot be fundamentally changed in their essence by cultural influences, and are not a primary or direct desire for behavior that is incompatible with embodied structures.

Selective prosecution illustrates danger of ‘hate crimes’ laws

Brett VanAsdlen

TAKE ACTION: 1) Urge Champaign County, Illinois State’s Attorney Julia Rietz (phone: 217-384-3733) to drop the government’s one-sided felony “hate crimes” prosecution against 18-year-old student-athlete Brett VanAsdlen — based on the inconsistent and likely exaggerated claims of Steven Velasquez, a homosexual University of Illinois (U of I) student who may have initiated physical contact with VanAsdlen. Already, Brett is being smeared as violent “gay-basher” by Velasquez and pro-homosexual activists in the media. Pray for Brett and his family.

2) Call or write WCIA-3 TV, the local CBS affiliate, and urge them to be fair in their coverage of this unfortunate story. Call (217) 373-3650 and ask for Producer Nancy Foreman. WCIA reporter Amanda Evans has led the TV coverage of the story, but her reporting appears to heavily favor Velasquez. It is wrong to smear the reputation of young man by airing all the accusations against him without presenting the other side of the story.

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By Peter LaBarbera

CHAMPAIGN-URBANA, Illinois — Two young men — one homosexual, one heterosexual — tell very different stories about an argument that occurred late on a Friday night (April 11) in this college town, but only one — the straight student-athlete — faces a felony “hate crime” conviction with a maximum penalty of up to three years in prison.

Brett VanAsdlen faces a Class 4 felony hate crime after originally being charged with aggravated battery following an incident in which he pushed 20-year-old homosexual University of Illinois student Steven Velasquez to the ground. The critical question is: why did he push Velasquez and who was aggressor? VanAsdlen’s family says it was Velasquez who — after Brett made a comment about Velasquez and his homosexual partner — first “got in Brett’s face,” to which Brett responded by pushing Velasquez away. Velasquez claims that Brett attacked him unprovoked because of his homosexuality.

You can read and watch WCIA-TV’s initial, one-sided account of the incident featuring an interview with Velasquez HERE — which set the tone for those seeking to portray VanAsdlen as a violent hate criminal.

There is a yawning chasm between the values and priorities we piously claim as our national heritage and those we have chosen to live by.

Our survival as a democracy is in our hands. We too must come out of the closet of cloistered Christianity and come to the rescue of our constitutional rights.

By Lee Taylor

Gay pride was not born in a vacuum. Timing and social upheaval formed the vortex in which it was born and bred. Hanging from the shirttails of the Civil Rights, women’s liberation, and anti-war movements, it exploited the vulnerability of a nation in turmoil. Fueling its fraudulent claims and outrageous demands from our national guilt complex and introspective conflict of values, the Gay Liberation Front exploded onto the American scene. The soul-searching ‘60’s exposed a nation fraught with self-doubt, self-recrimination, anxiety, addiction and ideological conflict, a nation at odds with itself. The sexual revolution accelerated the erosion of both marriage and the family as we struggled with the values and priorities of our national identity.

We were still recovering from the Viet Nam War and had only begun to realize the implications of racial integration when homosexual opportunists executed a strategically timed and targeted blitzkrieg on American society. We were caught napping, and the initial homosexual coup was a resounding success. Adopting the Civil Rights, anti-war and women’s liberation movements as its own, forming its political platform by drawing heavily from each, the Gay Liberation Front took aim at our Christian values and democratic institutions.

Dr. Mike Brown of ICN Ministries

The following is from our friends at ICN Ministries, led by Dr. Michael Brown. To see a preview of Harry Knox’s (and HRC’s) homosexualist theology, see our story, “VIDEO: Satan’s Talking Points? HRC’s Harry Knox Claims Homosexuality Is ‘Gift from God’ in MSNBC Debate with CWA’s Matt Barber,” where you can watch the MSNBC debate on YouTube. For more on Mike Brown, see his response to Christian Left leader Jim Wallis on same-unions HERE.

ICN Ministries writes:

We are pleased to announce that for a 24 hour period, from 6:00 AM May 5th until 6:00 AM May 6th, you will be able to watch a free webcast of the important debate between Dr. Michael Brown, Director of the Coalition of Conscience, and Mr. Harry Knox, Director of Faith and Religion for the Human Rights Campaign, on the topic of “A Christian Response to Homosexuality.” The Coalition of Conscience is a network of Christian leaders and believers working together for moral and cultural change through the gospel; the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is the world’s largest homosexual advocacy group.

This historic debate took place on February 14th at the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center in Charlotte, NC with more than 300 in attendance. In February of 2007, Dr. Brown delivered a lecture series at the Blumenthal on “Homosexuality, the Church, and Society,” focusing on the work of the HRC on the final night. This drew a direct response from Joe Solmonese, president of the HRC, who publicly challenged Brown at the HRC’s fund-raising dinner in Charlotte. As a result of that public challenge, Dr. Brown suggested that both sides put the issues on the table in a mutually respectful way, leading to this year’s debate.

To view the webcast, go to www.revolutionnow.org and click on Watch the Brown-Knox Debate between 6:00 AM May 5th and 6:00 AM May 6th. This is an event you don’t want to miss!

For DVD copies of the debate, go to: http://store.icnministries.org/videoanddvds.html.

Blessings and grace,

The ICN Staff

New Book by Macel Falwell Dispels Media Myths of Preeminent Preacher

Contact: Kevin McVicker, 703-739-5920, 800-536-5920, kmcvicker@sbpublicaffairs.com

WEST MONROE, La., April 24 /Christian Newswire/ — One year after his passing, Jerry Falwell’s wife of forty-nine years, Macel Falwell, gives a candid and heartfelt look at the life of one of America’s most influential religious and political leaders.

In Jerry Falwell: His Life and Legacy (Howard Books, May 2008), Mrs. Falwell describes Rev. Falwell in a way that the mainstream media never would. She details his unfailing optimism, his deep generosity, his vision as the founder of Liberty University and the Moral Majority and as a loving husband and father.

The book paints a portrait of a passionate man determined to spread the Gospel. We see the Falwells establish their Thomas Road Baptist Church in an old soda bottling plant in 1956. Rev. Falwell prayed for new members and went out and knocked on every door in town to invite his neighbors to Sunday services. Continued HERE …

Click HERE to read the entire Christian Newswire release