Christian Charity?

February 23, 2005 4:00 AM

Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres provide beautiful surroundings in which cancer patients and their families can learn to adjust to living with the disease. You'd think an organisation called Christian Voice would support them, but the group instead chose to bully the charity into turning down the proceeds from a gala performance of Jerry Springer, The Opera (which they believe to be a deeply offensive work), pretending to be helping them avoid a scandal, while threatening them with protests outside their centres around the UK.
posted by jack_mo (17 comments total)

Jerry:

This is your handwriting I guess. So lets see if we can get an apology from my first guest. The hypocrite son of the fascist tyrant on high, Jesus of Nazareth?

Audience:

JESUS, JESUS WHAT THE FUCK?
COMING HERE, PUSH HIS LUCK
MAKE HIM WEAR A THORNY CROWN,
GRAB HIS PANTS AND PULL THEM DOWN

Jesus:

OLD FRIEND, OLD FOE, I MISSED YOU

Jerry:

Jesus, what a beautiful moment. Jesus, Satan has something he wants to tell you. Go ahead Satan.

Satan: FUCK YOU!

Jesus: Talk to the Stigmata.

I love that last line.
posted by three blind mice at 4:15 AM on February 23, 2005

Christian Voice is the work of one Stephen Green, who, let us be charitable here, is rather over-zealous in the promotion of Stephen Green's version of Christianity.

I trust he will be fronting three grand of good, sin-free money for those nice Maggie's Centre people.
posted by scaryduck at 4:18 AM on February 23, 2005

This was also on Radio 4's Today programme this morning; real audio clip of so-called Christian Green debating with David Soul (who rightly accuses him of blackmail) here.

"They were in [sic] grave risk of alienating Christian donors, and their staff, and cancer patients also, by accepting money which had been raised from the performance of filth and blasphemy," he says, before whining about how Christians are too often "walked over" these days.


The word "scum" doesn't even come close.
posted by Len at 4:26 AM on February 23, 2005

It was the Today interview that drove me mad, Len. Green actually fucking laughs at one point, when challenged that his threats to protest were blackmail, clearly pleased with his own cleverness at pitching his intervention as a kindly act to help Maggie's avoid the 'scandal' of accepting money from Springer.

Stories like this really make me feel for your actual good and kindly Christians; it must be just horrible sharing a faith with thoroughly un-Christian homophobic theocrat loons like Green.
posted by jack_mo at 4:54 AM on February 23, 2005

This might make sense if it was only Christians that suffered from cancer.
posted by verisimilitude at 5:11 AM on February 23, 2005

Just had a quick look at the Christian Voice web page. "Nutters" would appear to be the proper description. I was going to compose an email protesting at their behavious, but having seen what sort of group they are, I don't think I'll bother.
posted by salmacis at 5:16 AM on February 23, 2005

You'd think an organisation called Christian Voice would support them

This is about what I'd expect, actually. I'm sorry to say it, but nowadays, "Christian," when used in a name for an organization, is often shorthand for "bullying, ignorant fucks." I wish that weren't so, and I certainly don't think that that describes Christianity per se, but my oh my has that label been co-opted by evil lately.

On preview, what jack_mo said.
posted by LittleMissCranky at 5:27 AM on February 23, 2005

There was this, also recently.

Parishioners from an Essex church are to protest against cast members of the controversial show Jerry Springer - The Opera singing at Chelmsford Cathedral.

The cast members are taking part in a concert to raise money for victims of the Boxing Day tsunami disaster.

I have no idea if Christain Voice were involved in this, though.
posted by ZippityBuddha at 5:30 AM on February 23, 2005

it must be just horrible sharing a faith with thoroughly un-Christian homophobic theocrat loons like Green.

Thanks, jack_mo - it is.

Sadly, the sane and reasonable Christians often don't have the time/energy/money to refute this sort of garbage, while the fuckwits have apparently limitless resevoirs.
posted by selfmedicating at 5:38 AM on February 23, 2005

i don't suppose they offered to donate the money from their pockets instead, did they?
posted by pyramid termite at 5:45 AM on February 23, 2005

Salmacis:

Agreed. What a nut job. I thought only the yanks had this brand of reilgious zelot, like the one residing in the White House.
posted by keno at 6:14 AM on February 23, 2005

Having been close to people living with cancer, and also those who have lost their fight with cancer, I have to say that if I had run into someone like this, under these circumstances, protesting ... I would have probably have reacted in a violent manner.
posted by R. Mutt at 6:58 AM on February 23, 2005

This reminds me of a Christian that I knew, once upon a time. This guy was fond of holding forth about how AIDS was a punishment from God for people 'choosing' to be gay. Then he got cancer. I asked him what that was a punishment from God for. He told me that it wasn't a punishment, it was a test. Go figure.

Anyway, slightly more on-topic, I'll be making a donation, and pointing some other people at what's going on here, in the hope that they'll donate, too. Maybe if a few others do the same, we can mitigate some of the damage this idiot has done.
posted by veedubya at 7:03 AM on February 23, 2005

Speaking as a Christian, I have to say this:

Stephen Green is a psychotic fuckwit who will spend eternity with Satan's pointy pitchfork rammed right up his cornhole along with Dr. Ian Paisley, Jerry Falwell, and George W.

"Christian Voice" my arse. He doesn't speak for me or my house. I'll be donating.
posted by ninthart at 9:07 AM on February 23, 2005

Honestly, these people have started a shit-storm. If they think they've been offended so far, the cock-jockeys haven't seen anything yet.
posted by jackiemcghee at 10:38 AM on February 23, 2005

Maggie's are originally a Scottish charity and I think their HQ is still the Edinburgh centre . You can send them a donation through their main page and you get a small message box where you can tell them what you think of 'Christian Voice'. But if you want to send them a more eloquent e-mail imploring them to reconsider their rejection of the Jerry Springer cast donation, you might want to try e-mailing the Edinburgh Centre, asking them to forward the message to the person responsible for the decision ( but please also take the time to donate to them and be nice to them - they do good work).

'Christian Voice' are also an anti-gay group who do protests about how gay people are going to Hell and need to be cured of their disease. They have the bizarre idea that the British police are promoting homosexuality - which will be news to Stonewall. Amongst their other wacky campaigns, they also claim that Hinduism is Satanic. The sad thing is that there will be people using those cancer centres who are part of the target groups for 'Christian Voice's hate campaigns. Maggie's certainly should not have caved on this. I can think of no better use for Lothian and Borders finest constabulary than dragging off any 'Christian Voice' nutjob who tried harassing people attending a cancer centre.
posted by Flitcraft at 4:27 PM on February 23, 2005

I can think of no better use for Lothian and Borders finest constabulary than dragging off any 'Christian Voice' nutjob who tried harassing people attending a cancer centre.

I'm sure Ian Rankin could turn this into a cool novel.
posted by Grimgrin at 10:23 PM on February 23, 2005