" Local Christian leaders band together to stop controversial evangelist from speaking in Vancouver

[applegrove]

http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/british-columbia/leaders-launch-petition-against-franklin-graham-1.3991375

"SNIP........



Members of Vancouver's Christian community and city officials are furiously trying to stop a controversial Christian evangelist Franklin Graham from speaking to thousands of people at an event next week at Rogers Arena.

Graham is speaking at the Festival of Hope event that's being organized by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

"This is unusual for us to deal with in Vancouver — this kind of individual and this kind of hate rhetoric," said Vancouver City Councillor Tim Stevenson.

Graham is a polarizing figure who has drawn attention for comments that denigrate minorities. He's been quoted calling on the U.S. "to use weapons of mass destruction if need be" and referring to Islam as "a very evil and a very wicked religion."




...........SNIP"

[Tanuki]

1. Interesting....the Puerto Rican Baptists also withdrew

their support of his "festival of hope" there:
https://baptistnews.com/article/baptists-withdraw-support-for-franklin-graham-rally-in-puerto-rico/#.WKvwlXRMHqD

"Baptists in Puerto Rico have withdrawn support for Franklin Graham’s Feb. 10-12 Festival of Hope evangelistic rally in San Juan in protest of the evangelist’s endorsement of anti-immigration policies espoused by President Donald Trump.

The executive minister and the president of the Baptist Churches of Puerto Rico issued a statement Feb. 4 saying Graham’s endorsement of Trump’s policies “are for us contrary to the values of the Kingdom.”

“The Baptist Churches of Puerto Rico historically affirms that our standard of faith and conduct is the Bible,” Executive Minister Roberto Dieppa-Báez and President Margarita Ramirez said in the statement written in Spanish.

“From the Old Testament to the New Testament, God continually calls us to justice, to love, peace and mercy and, above all, to accompany the marginalized, foreigners, widows and orphans,” they said according to an Internet translation.

The Baptist leaders said Trump’s immigration policies “attack the life of our neighbor, and Jesus has always called us to love even enemies and to be our brother’s keeper.”

The release said the Baptist Churches of Puerto Rico board of directors decided to withdraw their support for the event — being held at the same stadium where Graham’s father, Billy Graham, preached to more than 175,000 people during the San Juan Global Mission in 1995 — “for reasons of conscience.”

........

[applegrove]

2. Hopefully Christian churches are beginning to organize to fight for Christianity.

To not just leave it to the unjesuslike radical right.

[Warpy]

5. I've been waiting all my life for that one

for all the phony Christian solidarity to break down and all those false prophets Jesus warned the faithful about being exposed as the hateful frauds they really are.

[mopinko]

13. boy howdy

consider those haters as the voice of the serpent in their ears.

[riversedge]

3. good to see.

[Warpy]

4. Free speech isn't absolute in Canada

which is how they've kept Pox News out of the country. Hate, even hidden behind a cross, is against the law.

Gawd knows it's kept the Canadians a lot more polite than we are.

I'd be a little surprised if they even let the man in.

[applegrove]

6. We did have fox news north here for a few years. It failed. Never saw it.

The right wing major daily lost money the whole time it was published. We have been lucky to have cold enough winters to keep the ***holes out somehow. Or something. We do have some wannabe alt righters. But they only manage to disgust and awake the majority of canadians (liberals) every time they do something hateful. And having hate speech laws does help.

[Canoe52]

7. Wondering how the son became so fundy, since his dad was more middle of the road.

Or do I have it wrong about Billy Graham?

[applegrove]

8. Were American churches more liberal back 50 years ago?

[Canoe52]

14. I'm not sure

I grew up in a pretty liberal area, but I did date a girl (back in the late 60's) whose church didn't allow dancing, I think she was Baptist

And I remember on the news (mid 60's?) religious teenagers burning rock and roll records because rock and roll was the work of the devil.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

9. #Toxictrump

A new nickname.

[dembotoz]

10. guess it is easier to evangelize for hate than feeding the poor and healing the sick

pays better too i bet

[dembotoz]

11. not my post but i would consider putting it in gd as well

[DFW]

12. Bravo Canada

I wouldn't want some foreigner spewing hate rhetoric like that coming into my country, either.