Christian Coalition Finds Caring About The Sick, Elderly, And Gays "Not Christian"

Thomas: Pastor doubts Christ hated caring 'liberals'




Construction is near completion at Northland, A Church Distributed.

The impressive $38 million facility in Longwood will hold 3,400 people.

Pastor Joel Hunter no longer will have to lead seven services each weekend in the old converted roller-skating rink to accommodate everyone who wants to hear him.

When he came to Northland in 1985, the church had 200 members. Now it has more than 7,000.

My friends who attend Northland all say the same thing about Hunter's success: He is a great communicator.

Now, that skill and Hunter's message have put him on a national stage. He may well become the most important and refreshing voice speaking for evangelical Christians today.

I am not trying to be flip when I say: Thank God.

In many ways, he is a classic conservative Christian. He is pro-life. He considers gay marriage a violation of the Old Testament. He believes Christians should be active in politics.

Before you stereotype him, though, read his book, Right Wing, Wrong Bird. In this very sharp and very on-target critique of the religious right, he details the pitfalls of a Christian movement that has lost its Christianity.

The pursuit of political power has replaced spiritual depth.

Condemning others has replaced the love that is at the heart of Jesus' teachings.

The strategy is to prey on people's fear and anger because that motivates the base more than appealing to their compassionate side.

Compassion is the message Hunter has preached at Northland for 21 years. Members are encouraged to go out into the community and help the less fortunate. Hunter stresses programs that rehabilitate people so they can fend for themselves.

It's a message he shares with other evangelical leaders who have grown tired of the narrow hot-button issues pushed by the religious right. That approach is turning off young evangelicals.

"This is a watershed moment in our history," he says. "Putting it bluntly, are we just going to be a voice that just tells people what they should do, or are we going to be servants who benefit everybody? I think Jesus would take the second of those."

Ah, yes, what would Jesus do?

Would he spend his time obsessing about homosexuals, an issue he never addressed in the gospels, or would he be out at the homeless shelter preaching to the poor and hungry?

Would Jesus, who showed such compassion with lepers, turn his back on those with AIDS?

Hunter thinks the answer is pretty clear in the New Testament.

Unfortunately, the religious right has become so closely tied to conservative Republican politics that biblical and political principles have merged. Hence, anything that might be considered a liberal political position becomes unacceptable.

That is why the Christian Coalition, which approached Hunter about leading the organization, changed its mind. The group could not accept some of his "liberal" beliefs.

"If you care about the environment or justice or AIDS or poor people, all of a sudden you are a liberal, and liberals are the enemies," Hunter says. "The compassion issues of Christ have been tagged as liberal issues. It is the reverse of what it ought to be."
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There is no "Christian Coalition" It is dead. Dead morally and spiritually. It sold out to the Devil for political gain. Thank God's grace for men like Pastor Hunter, who fight the good fight for Christ every day. Pray for those who falsely come in the name of Christ, but Christ is not in them. They are those Christ warned us about. Pray for those they victimize and persecute. Pray for the end of their abomination against God.

Now You See It, And Now It Never Was There

Cipel Says Ex-Gov. McGreevey Is Not Gay
Man Former New Jersey Governor Claimed Was His Lover Says James E. McGreevey Is Not Gay


TRENTON, N.J. - The man former New Jersey Gov. James E. McGreevey identified as his gay lover said Thursday he believes McGreevey is not gay.

Appearing on "Larry King Live," Golan Cipel, an Israeli citizen hired by McGreevey first as a campaign aide and later as his homeland security adviser, said that McGreevey's 2004 resignation speech admission that he is "a gay American" was "part of the spin."

Through lawyers, Cipel had threatened to sue McGreevey for sexual harassment shortly before and after McGreevey's resignation. A lawsuit was never filed.

"I think McGreevey had no choice. There was a sexual harassment lawsuit against him. And he didn't know what to do, and his advisers told him, 'come out first,' and he would be perceived as the victim" and thereby gain control of the story, Cipel said.

While he said McGreevey did make sexual advances toward him on several occasions, Cipel said the former governor also frequently spoke about heterosexual encounters, including sex with prostitutes on trips to Germany and the Dominican Republic.

"I believe that Jim McGreevey is bisexual," Cipel said.

Cipel, 37, in his first extended national television interview since the publication in September of McGreevey's memoir, "The Confession," also urged the gay community "not to embrace McGreevey," saying the former governor committed sexual harassment against him and others.

Cipel, who has repeatedly denied being gay, again insisted that McGreevey's often graphic portrayal of their relationship in the book is untrue.

In the book, McGreevey, 49, writes that he was forced to resign after Cipel threatened to reveal his homosexuality unless he was paid millions to keep quiet.

McGreevey released a statement Thursday night saying, "I stand behind the truth and accuracy of every word in this book." He said he and Cipel had a consensual relationship that lasted for months.

"My only wish for Golan is that he find peace and acceptance in his life," McGreevey said in the statement.

McGreevey now works as an educational consultant and a childhood anti-poverty advocate, and lives in Plainfield, N.J., with his partner, Mark O'Donnell. Cipel has been living in Israel

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Now that I've finally gotten my eyes back into their normal position from the extreme roll they went into when I read that tripe, I must say the bullshit that some people will come up with in order to further their own cause is at times staggering.
The good ex-governor of New Jersy is gay, gay, gay, gay. The man who issued this statement is the ex-governor's supposed Israeli boyfriend who held a much-to-be-coveted position. Thanks in no small way to ex-governor McGreevey. It is in this man's interest to disassociate himself with any gay-orientation. The man was nothing more than a gay goldigger who now wants to make us believe that none of the story leading up to the ex-governor's resignation is true. Give me a break!

Carolina Panthers Lose To Washington Redskins

Washington 17, Carolina 13





LANDOVER, Md. (AP) -- Seeking his first win as an NFL starting quarterback, Jason Campbell faced a vital third down with his team trailing late in the fourth quarter.

Through his helmet transmitter, he heard his position coach call the formation.

Then silence. The transmitter went dead. Campbell had to call the play himself, based on the players sent onto the field.

"We could tell that there was something wrong," right tackle Jon Jansen said. "But he picked up and just took us out there and we ran the play, and it was big."

The play went for 66 yards and a touchdown. Tight end Chris Cooley caught the pass over the middle near midfield, escaped two tacklers and ran down the sideline for the winning score in the Washington Redskins' 17-13 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.




"I didn't hear the play that was called," Campbell said. "I just tried to call one of the plays that we worked on all week that would give us an opportunity to make a first down. Fortunately, God was with me when I made that call, and Cooley did a great job of running after the catch."

The victory broke a two-game losing streak for the Redskins (4-7) and made Campbell a winner in his second start, following Mark Brunell's benching. The Redskins responded well to coach Joe Gibbs' call to return to his principles of running the ball and stopping the run, but it took the big play to Cooley on a third-and-8 with 4:26 remaining to beat the Panthers (6-5) in a game dominated by defense.

"I felt like today it was kind of our style of football," Gibbs said. "And it was good to get back to that."

For 3 1/2 quarters, the best highlights were two blocked punts and an incredible fourth-quarter catch by Carolina's Steve Smith at the back of the end zone. Ladell Betts, the Redskins featured running back now that Clinton Portis is out for the year, finished with 104 yards on 24 carries. Campbell threw an interception on the previous drive and had only 52 yards passing when he hit Cooley for the made-up touchdown. He finished 11-for-23 for 118 yards with two touchdowns.

"I've never seen him uncomfortable," Gibbs said. "It's an amazing thing about him. He's got that laid-back personality, and from the day he got here. He's never looked like he was feeling pressure or anything."

The Redskins defense, ranked last in the NFC entering the game, also had its first good game. The Panthers were held to 264 total yards, and the much maligned secondary limited Smith to 34 yards on five catches. Safety Sean Taylor made a tackle on fourth down to stop Carolina's next-to-last drive, and he intercepted Jake Delhomme in the end zone on the Panthers' last possession.

"It's just a steppingstone," Taylor said.




Smith gave the Panthers a 13-10 lead with 7:55 to play when he reached high for the ball at the back of the end zone and managed to have both feet hit the ground inches from the white line for an 8-yard touchdown.

The Panthers defense would usually take over from there. Carolina entered having allowed 10 points in two games since its week off, and the Redskins' only touchdown through three quarters Sunday was set up by a blocked punt by rookie Rocky McIntosh.

But Cooley caught the big pass ahead of Chris Gamble and then broke away from Mike Minter. The loss knocked the Panthers out of first place in the NFC South.

"This one stinks -- especially when I didn't make that tackle," Minter said. "He beat his guy -- 100 percent of the time you have to make that tackle."

No one will mistake either team for an offensive juggernaut anytime soon, and the reputations were kept safe in a first half that included nine punts, no touchdowns and only 91 combined yards passing. The punting duel left the Redskins with good field position for much of the half, but they had to settle for two field goal attempts by Nick Novak. He missed from 37 yards, then converted from 42.

The first blocked punt came near the end of the half. Adam Seward got a hand on Derrick Frost's attempt, setting up a 51-yard field goal by John Kasay that gave Carolina a 6-3 lead.

Carolina rookie RB DeAngelo Williams started for DeShaun Foster (elbow) and ran for 63 yards on 17 carries. ... Delhomme (23-for-38 for 168 yards) passed Steve Beuerlein as the Panthers' career leader in completions and yards. He has 1,055 completions for 12,854 yards. ... Redskins S Vernon Fox, starting for Troy Vincent (hamstring), got his first interception since 2002. ... Novak is 5-for-10 in field goal attempts. ... The Panthers are 1-7 against the Redskins, 0-5 in Washington.

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It's going to be a very long week. i can tell. When the panthers lose, nothing else goes right in Carolina. Not anywhere in Carolina. Even non-fans of NFLL football or of Carolina concede this fact. To lose to a store-bought team like Washington especially makes this bad news. There went any hope of a playoff spot. However, we forgive you guys. There's always going to be next season. Just come on home and forget about it. The fireplace is warm ....come on in ans sit a sspell..see you people in the morning.