PRYR RQST James Dobson's FoF Asks Prayer for rain for Obama's Acceptance Speech

FarmerJohn

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Focus on the family videographer Stuart Shepard asks conservative Christians to pray for “abundant rain, torrential rain … flood-advisory rain.” for Barak Obama's acceptance speech tonight.

Personally, I feel that directing ones payers to God asking that others experience misfortune more like what one would expect from a cult like Voodoo or whatever. I thought Focus on the Family was a christian organization? With a hurricane now entering the Gulf of Mexico, apparently headed for an area between the Florida Panhandle and Texas I think the christian thing to do would be to pray that those people be spared....

FJ

http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/16578.html

Dobson’s Focus on the Family still humiliated by ‘Pray for Rain’ video
Posted August 16th, 2008 at 11:45 am

Following up on an amusing story we’ve been following, about a week ago, Stuart Shepard, who makes religious-right videos for James Dobson’s Focus on the Family, devoted a segment to asking politically-conservative Christians to pray for rain on Aug. 28, in order to disrupt Barack Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention.

Shepard called for “abundant rain, torrential rain … flood-advisory rain.” He adds, “I’m talking about umbrella-ain’t-gonna-help-you rain … swamp-the-intersections rain.” Explaining why he wants everyone to pray for rain, Shepard explains, without a hint of humor, “I’m still pro-life, and I’m still in favor or marriage being between one man and one woman. And I would like the next president who will select justices for the next Supreme Court to agree.”

Soon after, some Colorado reporters picked up on this, and earlier this week, MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann featured Shepard as the “worst person in the world.” Focus, feeling a little humiliated, eventually backpedaled, said the video was intended to be “humorous,” and pulled the clip from its own site and video-sharing sites, including YouTube.

In a follow-up video, Shepard kinda sorta apologized.

[See link for video]

People can reach their own conclusions about Shepard’s sincerity.

In the meantime, Focus really doesn’t want anyone to see the video it originally distributed widely.

My friends at Right Wing Watch report:

Despite their efforts to remove the video, someone else uploaded a copy of it to YouTube which quickly generated more than 100,000 views. But now, Focus has gone after that version as well and gotten YouTube to remove it.

But try as they might, there are still several versions of the clip available on YouTube and now, News Blab 2008, which first posted the copy of the FOF video to YouTube, has gone ahead and posted it again on their own website, saying Focus “obviously [does] not understand Copyright ‘Fair Use’ when reporting a news story.”

On top of that, Good As You also has a copy of it posted on their website.

With that in mind, here, again, is the video Focus seems anxious to hide:

[See link for video]
 

Fisher

Has No Life - Lives on TB
This is old news...members complained and they took the video down.

Focus On The Family Pulls Video (Jokingly) Asking Supporters to Pray for RainDuring Obama's Speech

Fair use
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/08/focus-on-the-fa.html

August 13, 2008 8:12 AM

"Would it be wrong to ask people to pray for rain?" asks Stuart Shepard, director of digital media the political arm of the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family, Focus Action, in this video.

"Not just rain," Shepard clarifies, "abundant rain, torrential ran, urban-and-small-stream-advisory rain."

When would this rain come?

"The evening of August 28 right here at Mile High stadium in Denver," so as to ruin Sen. Barack Obama's plans to accept the Democratic presidential nomination.

"I'm talking-umbrellas-ain't-gonna-help-you rain," Shepard says. "Not flood-people-out-of-their-houses rain, just good ol' swamp-the-intersection rain...network-cameras-can't-see-the podium rain."

Why?

"I'm still pro life, and I'm still in favor of marriage as being between one man and one woman," Shepard explains. "And I would like the next president who will select justices for the next Supreme Court to agree."

After some members of the organization complained about the video, which was supposed to be humorous, the organization took it off their website.

- jpt
 

Holistic Granny

Contributing Member
Personally, I feel that directing ones payers to God asking that others experience misfortune more like what one would expect from a cult like Voodoo or whatever. I thought Focus on the Family was a christian organization? With a hurricane now entering the Gulf of Mexico, apparently headed for an area between the Florida Panhandle and Texas I think the christian thing to do would be to pray that those people be spared....

FJ

YES Farmer John,
I agree with you.
Evidently, Mr Shephard doesn't realize that there is a Univeral Law in effect - - -"What goes around, comes around"
Well Focus on the Family - what about "By their fruits you shall know them" - - this is Christian love????????
 

Moggy

Veteran Member
Why isn't anyone calling it as it is? Christians praying for misfortune upon others means that Christians are practicing black magic.

Moggy
 

FlyLadyFan

Inactive
Actually there are several Psalms in which the psalmist prays to God for misfortune and destruction of the heathen. I'm not up to posting chapter and verse at the moment, but they are most definitely in there.

I'm not saying I support Dobson's call or not. Just letting ya'll know the concept has Biblical precedent.

FLF

.
 

Fulltimer

Membership Revoked
And God seems to be answering him with a hurricane that is scheduled to hit mainland during the Republican convention.

Perhaps there is justice and God is a Democrat:D


don;)
 

SarahLynn

Veteran Member
Stuart Shepherd is known for his sardonic, somewhat sarcastic and dry wit. Anyone with brains would know that he wasn't serious...Focus on the Family's head office is located in Colorado.

I've seen him mock the commericalization of Christmas and many other issues in much the same way as he mocks the Democrats on this video.

At least Focus on the Family apologized for their "offensive" humor. And they removed the "offending" video.

Liberals can get away with screaming rants calling for the stoning of a man's wife and children (Alec Baldwin raving against Henry Hyde), they can get away with smearing religious icons with elephant dung and countless other attacks against things people of faith hold in esteem, they can haul "offenders" before Human Rights Commissions and pass laws galore restricting OUR freedom of speech in countless ways, and nary an apology or removal of offensive material is expected or given.

Perhaps Focus should have told those upset by the video what we Christians are always told when something in pop culture offends US...
Turn the channel.

But we're Christians, so we meekly and mutely comply as ordered.
 

Emily

One Day Closer
Why isn't anyone calling it as it is? Christians praying for misfortune upon others means that Christians are practicing black magic.

Moggy

The term Christian means to follow Christ. This practice is not following Him at all. That means that these are humans practicing black magic.

If they were Christians, by the very definition, they would not be doing such a thing.
 

Emily

One Day Closer
And God seems to be answering him with a hurricane that is scheduled to hit mainland during the Republican convention.

Perhaps there is justice and God is a Democrat:D


don;)

Since Democrats don't see any problem with killing innocent helpless babies in the womb I sincerely doubt that God sides with Democrats in any way.
 

yinonyavo

Contributing Member
actually, in 1st kings chapter 17, Elijah prayed that it not rain for 3 years and six months. That must have been a considerable hardship on Israel, but he felt a lesson had to be taught. Thats a pretty reputable precedent and one that the Lord honored.
 

Donner9x

Thread Killer :-)
Stuart Shepherd is known for his sardonic, somewhat sarcastic and dry wit. Anyone with brains would know that he wasn't serious...Focus on the Family's head office is located in Colorado.

I've seen him mock the commericalization of Christmas and many other issues in much the same way as he mocks the Democrats on this video.

At least Focus on the Family apologized for their "offensive" humor. And they removed the "offending" video.

Liberals can get away with screaming rants calling for the stoning of a man's wife and children (Alec Baldwin raving against Henry Hyde), they can get away with smearing religious icons with elephant dung and countless other attacks against things people of faith hold in esteem, they can haul "offenders" before Human Rights Commissions and pass laws galore restricting OUR freedom of speech in countless ways, and nary an apology or removal of offensive material is expected or given.

Perhaps Focus should have told those upset by the video what we Christians are always told when something in pop culture offends US...
Turn the channel.

But we're Christians, so we meekly and mutely comply as ordered.

Absolutely correct.

Christians aren't supposed to have a sense of humor either - or at least those people who took this seriously evidently don't.

Of course, those who salivate at the possibility of finding fault with anything even remotely associated with or purporting to be Christian, will be unable to see the obvious humor in it, and will, with great beating of chests and righteous indignation, wail and moan about those "hypocrites".

It was tongue in cheek, people.

The man was not serious. :whistle:

It was humor; you know, the kind you all love and adore when it comes from someone like Jon Stewart or Steven Colbert.
:rolleyes:
:rolleyes:
 
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