From: rayek@netcom.com (R'ykandar Korra'ti) 1/24/94 Dear Friend of the GLB Community: The attacks from the right continue. During our national celebration last year at the March On Washington, Dr. D. James Kennedy, head of Coral Ridge Ministries, aired a special program showing an example of how a life renewed by salvation through Jesus Christ can "free" us from "the homosexual lifestyle." (As if our sexual orientations can be changed simply by becoming Christians.) During the broadcast, he promoted a survey that he would use to publicize the position of the radical Christiam right to our government leaders. After 8 months, the survey has finally been forwarded, and it is time to let Dr. Kennedy, as well as our government leaders, know what WE think. What Dr. Kennedy fails to realize, as do several other well-meaning Christian figures, is that sexual orientation is not an addiction, nor a lifestyle, nor innately evil. It is simply one of the many facets of our intricate personalities. I am certain many of you have experienced first-hand the rejection and hatred of those who believe that homosexuality and all homosexuals are evil because they are simply taught that "the Bible says so." And I'll wager that as many of you have experienced the conditional acceptance the radical Christian right offers: "If you overcome your orientation God will love you and you will and find a place in society." Do you remember holding on to that promise of change? A promise that never materialized? Do you remember the taunts "GAY: Got AIDS Yet?" or "Two Gay Rights" AIDS and HELL!"? I do. How ironic it is that the radical right condemns "the homosexual lifestyle" for its promiscuity, yet staunchly refuses to encourage the more traditional lifestyle choices of committed monogamous relationships and family-rearing among gays and lesbians. This must change! There are many of us out there -- it is not a fluke! Many of us have family leanings and long to particiate in the traditions of love and marriage. Yet, because we have accepted our orientations as an innate part of who we are, we have chosen to pursue those leanings with a mate of the same gender. This does not preclude us from entering into these revered institutions! This does not render us incapable or unsuitable for these important responsibilities. It is time to let our leaders know that Gays, Lesbians and Bisexuals are ready, willing and exceedingly qualified to participate in ALL segments of society, including marriage and family. It is time to let them know how blatantly false the stereotypes are, to let them know that EQUAL rights are not special rights, to let them know that the gender of the object of one's love and commitment does not in any way minimize the virtue inherent in that love and commitment. Included below is the text of Dr. Kennedy's letter and Survey. Please help the cause by completing the survey, and sending one copy Dr. Kennedy, and another copy to the "1994 Survey" PO Box for independent verification. If Dr. Kennedy fails to forward results to our leaders that are perchance FAVORABLE to the GLB community, we need the evidence to back up the alternative position. This is a grass-roots effort. Your participation is VERY important! Please take two stamps, and the time and effort to complete this survey. Let your opinion be known! 1994 Survey Family Traditions For All Suite 156 15127 N.E. 24th St. Redmond, WA 98052-5547 ---------------------------------------------------------- Dr. D. James Kennedy Coral Ridge Ministries January 3, 1994 Dear Christian Friend, America needs to hear your voice! Our national, spiritual, educational, business and governmental leadership is moving purposefully forward with policies that are moving our country further away from its Christian foundations than ever before. It is imperative, my friend, that we raise our voices against the fog of bureaucratic double-talk and liberal dogma saturating this country. The first few months of the new year will be filled with predictions and poll results that claim to represent national opinion. Many well- intentioned people will even come to accept these published results as absolute truth -- when in fact, our Christian viewpoint is missing from them. If we do not take the time to speak for ourselves, other voices will claim to speak for us -- including the professional pollsters, politicians, the news media, newspapers and liberal activist groups. That's why you will find your 1994 State of the Nation Survey enclosed. Please take a few minutes right now to complete all 21 questions and return it to me in the enclosed, specially marked envelope. I, for one, want my voice to be counted, and I hope to add yours and many, many others together to open the ears of this country's people before it is too late. With the courts, executive branch officials and other opinion leaders so favorably tuned to liberal and radical doctrine, someone must bring the Christian viewpoint as a priority to this nation. Please return your completed survey quickly. During the first few months of the new year, the news media, business and other leaders are particularly sensitive to poll results. Our combined voices will have added impact if we can tabulate and distribute our results as soon as possible. Each question on your State of the Nation survey is new for 1994. In the past we maintained some of the same questions from year to year, but in the second year of this new administration, the number of critical issues is so great, we felt we had to begin anew. But the impact we can have on this nation's opinion leaders is in your hands and those of other Coral Ridge Ministries' friends. Our Survey results, backed up by thousands and thousands of voices -- including yours and mine -- will be so commanding it cannot be ignored. 1994 will be a year of assessing the progress of the country under its increased non-Christian influence and we don't want the news media to blanket the nation with the message that "all's well." For maximum effectiveness, our 1994 State of the Nation Survey results will be distributed to: * The White House Staff, the President, the Cabinet and other opinion leaders * Opinion leaders in Congress * Major national news magazine editorial departments * Broadcast officials of ABC, NBC, CBS and CNN * Major city newspapers * Leading Christian publications Most importantly, we will blanket the country with our results through the Coral Ridge Ministries Sunday morning broadcast hour on 365 stations, reaching millions of households and also through our Truths That Transform daily radio broadcast heard over 350 stations. There is absolutely no reason that we, as Christians, must be treated as a "great, silent majority" or that godliness and the fight for religious freedoms should be deemed important only to old-fashioned, Bible-thumping fanatics. When there is confusion, it is possible for Satan to move in and seize a great advantage. Today, I see not only confusion, but a real lack of moral conviction in all kinds of leadership. And I firmly believe -- Satan does not overlook opportunities like this. If the biased news media, the slanted broadcasting industry, or special interest groups "speak out" for America without being challenged, the results will be disastrous. It is imperative that ALL sides of the issues be presented, or ungodliness will run rampant and unopposed. Christian views concerning health care, the impact on the family and the church of taxes, medically-assisted suicide, the impact of easier to obtain abortions, access to Christian education, homosexuality as a right, the sex education of our teens to include a condom in every pocket, the continuing glorification of secular humanism, etc., must be heard. We must reclaim our country, one heart at a time -- and the distribution of our 1994 Survey results will be a public testimony to the power God's people can have when they band together and speak as one for biblical principals. Believe me, our 1994 battle for spiritual renewal and religious freedom will not be easy. Too many of our enemies are parading like roaring lions ready to devour all of us who dare to oppose them. Special interest groups would rejoice greatly if Christians would be silent on the moral implications of abortion, euthanasia, medically- assisted suicide, pornography and homosexuality. There are other well- funded liberal organizations who have done everything possible to draw America from a Christ-centered viewpoint. They would like nothing more than to see ministries like ours silenced. If Coral Ridge Ministries were to go off the air, they would see it as a great victory. Our enemies want us to be confused and without specific direction. This makes it even more painful when I hear well-meaning Christians say their "opinions probably don't count." Too many have simply lost confidence in what ONE motivated person can do. And when people lose confidence, then positive meaningful action stops. We, as Christians, become immobilized and Satan can exercise evil to the fullest extent. Together we can and we must make our opinion leaders and the public aware of what the Bible says about the issues of the day. Please fill in your 1994 Survey, and return it in the specially marked "Survey Tabulation" envelope today. I'm counting on you to help all you possibly can. Please believe me that you, as one person, can make a real difference. Don't be frustrated by the opposition...you DO count! May God bless you as we labor together to confront our enemies and make our Christian views known. We can help shape our nation's priorities -- with Christ as the center! For God and Country, D. James Kennedy, Ph.D. +-----------------------------------------------------+ | 1994 State of the Nation Survey 1994 | +-----------------------------------------------------+ | | | Please complete the following survey, and mail to: | | | | Dr. D. James Kennedy | | Coral Ridge Ministries | | P.O. Box 407132 | | Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33340-7132 | | | | Write "State of the Nation Survey Enclosed" on the | | upper left hand corner of the envelope. | | | | | | And, to keep Dr. Kennedy accountable to the results | | of his survey, please send a duplicate of your | | completed survey to: | | | | 1994 Survey | | Family Traditions For All | | Suite 156 | | 15127 N.E 24th St. | | Redmond, WA 98052-5547 | | | | Any personal or contact information, if included, | | will be kept strictly condfidential. | | | +-----------------------------------------------------+ | 1994 State of the Nation Survey 1994 | +-----------------------------------------------------+ From: _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ 1. Do you think American families are weakened by over-taxation? Yes No Undecided 2. Would you be willing to pay additional taxes for more prisons and police to comply with the biblical mandate to punish crime? Yes No Undecided 3. Is government controlled health care consistent with biblical principals. Yes No Undecided 4. Does federal funding of abortion under every circumstance violate the Christian conscience? Yes No Undecided 5. If health-care rationing were to occur, do you think the elderly and unborn would be placed at greater risk? Yes No Undecided 6. Do you believe that suicide or "medically assisted" suicide is an acceptable moral option for someone facing a terminal illness? Yes No Undecided 7. Do you believe that legalized gambling (lotteries, horse/dog racing and casinos) is a moral way to raise tax revenues? Yes No Undecided 8. Should the National Endowment for the Arts continue to use your tax dollars to fund lesbian homosexual art? Yes No Undecided 9. Do you believe that sex education courses that teach "safe sex" and the use of condoms encourage immoral behavior? Yes No Undecided 10. Should abstinence-based sex-education courses be allowed in the public schools? Yes No Undecided 11. Are you in favor of voluntary prayer in the public schools? Yes No Undecided 12. Do you favor educational choice: Giving parents a voucher or tax credit to be used by parents to pay the tuition at the school of their choice -- public or private? Yes No Undecided 13. Do you agree that homosexuals should be granted special rights based on their sexual preference in the areas of housing and employment? Yes No Undecided 14. Do you have confidence that the Social Security Administration will be able in 20 years to fulfill its duty to meet the promises made to contributors today? Yes No Undecided 15. Do you think ministers should speak out more often on today's pressing national issues? Yes No Undecided 16. Do you think that local prosecutors should more vigorously prosecute adult bookstore owners under anti-obscenity laws? Yes No Undecided 17. Do you believe there is a link between pornography and sexually violent crime? Yes No Undecided 18. Do you believe that Christians are being discriminated against in the national news media? Yes No Undecided 19. Do you believe Christians are being well-represented in the media? Yes No Undecided 20. Do you think Christians should be more involved in the political process? Yes No Undecided 21. Which two of the following issues concern you most: Tax increases Special rights for gays Health care reforms Federal deficit spending Loss of religious freedom Abortion/mercy killing Other_________________________________________________ 22. Additional comments:______________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________