WALK AWAY
MIND
personal congratulations to Vince for letting these protesters know that there
are certain people who know about forgiveness, and really know our Blessed Lord.
I comment Vince for letting them know that there are some of us who will not
let someone try to make problems for those of us who are sinners, which makes
us all liable, even Westboro Baptist Church. I will bet they
thought that they were going to irritate Vince Gill, and they did, but I am
sure they did not expect his replies, and I must say they were perfect for the
particular questions that the protesters asked Vince. I only wish there
were more people who would stand up and speak their minds about subjects that
need replies to these kind of people who are the happiest when they can
irritate people, but this time it backfired on them.
said he was not going to talk more about this but I really wish that he would,
so that more people could hear what these people do at public functions.
Church Picketed His Concert Because “Divorce Plus Remarriage Equals
Adultery”
9, 2013; Written by CMT.com Staff
protesters from the Westboro Baptist Church prior to a Sunday (Sept. 8) concert
appearance in Kansas City, Mo.
The church, based in Topeka, Kan., is well known for its protests against gays,
Jewish institutions and other groups. The church members have picketed at
funerals of U.S. soldiers killed in combat on the grounds that God is punishing
the U.S. for its immorality.
In Gill’s case, they were drawing attention to the fact that he is divorced and
now married to singer-songwriter Amy Grant. He was married to Janis Oliver of
Sweethearts of the Rodeo from 1980 until 1998. Grant was married to
singer-songwriter Gary Chapman from 1982 until 1999. Gill and Grant have now
been married for 13 years.
During Sunday’s encounter outside the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts,
Gill talked to the protesters as he walked outside the concert venue.
“Vince Gill, what in the world are you doing out here?” a woman
asked.
“I just came to see what hate looked like,” he replied.
“Well, more importantly, what are you doing with another man’s wife?”
she said.
“I came out to see what hatred really looked like in the face,” he
said.
“Don’t you know that divorce plus remarriage equals adultery?” she
responded. “Jesus Christ said that.”
“Did he?” Gill said. “You know what else he said? He said a lot
of stuff about forgiveness, about grace. You guys don’t have any of that.”
Gill kept his composure during the exchange, although at one point, he said to
one of the protesters, “I’ve seen you on TV, man. You’re a big dip-s***.
You know that, don’t you?”
Westboro is not affiliated with any major Baptist denomination. The two largest
Baptist denominations, the Southern Baptist Convention and the Baptist World
Alliance, have denounced Westboro’s protests through the years.
Westboro is headed by Fred Phelps, prompting Gill to say at the end of the
short video clip, “Are any of you guys Phelpses? Or are you guys like the
C team?”
Contacted Monday afternoon, a spokesperson for Gill told CMT.com that the Country Music Hall of Fame member has no
plans to comment on the encounter.
Earlier this year, Westboro announced plans to protest George Jones’ lifestyle
during his funeral service at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, but the
demonstration never materialized. They recently protested outside a Taylor
Swift concert in Kansas City.
According to the church’s website, protesters also plan to picket Mumford &
Sons’ Sept. 20 concert in Bonner Springs, Kan. In a press release, organizers
claim that “Mumford & Sons happily push the soul-damning lie that
‘it’s OK to be gay’ for filthy lucre’s sake.”