You may have already heard or read the comments made by Kathy Griffin during her Emmy acceptance speech in which she made some controversial remarks that caught the attention of Christians nationwide.
Needless to say, the comments stirred up numerous Christians to speak out and stand up for their beliefs. The Miracle Theater in Pigeon Forge, TN took their voice to the next level and put a full-page ad in the USA Today on Monday, September 17. The ad will run once again on Friday, September 21. One thing that The Miracle Theater wants to make clear is that this is not an attack at Kathy Griffin. It is about standing on a national podium at a similar level that she had and making a statement to praise the very person and the faith that she denounced. You can click on the image to the left to see The Miracle Theater’s full-page article in the USA Today.
During her acceptance speech she proclaimed,
“A lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award, I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus. S**K it, Jesus. This award is my god now!”
The article in the USA Today reads:
Dear America,
We are the actors, singers, dancers, crew and managers of The Miracle Theater in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. We are proud to stand on stage every night and use our God-given talents to portray the life and the love of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We, along with thousands of other Christians in the entertainment industry, know our talents do come from God, and we take offense when His name is battered and bruised by people through the media.Over 2,000 years ago, Jesus was mocked and few stood up for Him. We at The Miracle Theater consider it an honor to stand for Jesus today. We may never win a national award. We may never be household names. We may never be seen in Hollywood. Although others may choose to use their national platform to slander our God, we are honored as professional entertainers to stand for Christ.
First of all, many will argue that she had the freedom of speech. True. This isn’t about that. The Miracle Theater is not seeking legal action against her nor are any Christian organizations, entertainers, or other people. She can say what she wants and legally get away with it. This isn’t about the law. It isn’t about people coming after her with pitchforks or even being angry at her. It’s about the faith she downgraded to being less worthy than an emmy trophy not letting her comment pass through the nation without sharing another point of view. They’re simply using their freedom of speech to share their message.
Second, people will complain about the cost of running the ad in a national magazine whereas the money could have been spent for “humanitarian” purposes. If The Miracle Theater could have made such a national proclamation as quickly for less money, I guarantee they would have! In order to get the Christian message out as quickly as possible, they chose the USA Today…at a price. This has stirred such conversation, though, that if one single person is brought to the salvation that The Miracle Theater shares, then it was worth it. Why? Because that’s priceless to Christians.
The Miracle Theater received numerous comments from Christians wanting to join the cause and stand up for their belief. In response to this, they have created a petition in which people can sign online.