2008 Woodie Awards
Epting, lobbyist fundraise for amendment
Issue date: 3/1/06 Section: News
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Staff Writer
The Palmetto Family Council (PFC) held a formal dinner at First Baptist Church of Taylors Thursday night to inform invited guests of an eminent marriage amendment proposal in South Carolina government and raise support for the upcoming battle. The amendment will protect the traditional definition of marriage, which was passed by the South Carolina State Legislature last April, placing the issue on this November's ballot.
South Carolina will not be alone in voting on a state constitutional marriage amendment this fall, joining Alabama, South Dakota and Tennessee.
The fundraising dinner featured Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council, a Washington, D.C. based lobby group
Perkins spoke concerning the responsibility Christians have to be a Biblically centered political base aware and effective in today's culture. "This is the world you are coming into. The policies made today will shape the country you inherit tomorrow," he said, relating the importance of nights like Thursday for the next generation.
Among those in attendance were members of the North Greenville faculty and staff, including Dr. Jimmy Epting, university president. "We certainly want to support the Palmetto Family Council, and I like to hear Tony Perkins. He's at the cutting edge of so many different topics, and when you have someone at the cutting edge you want to listen to them and see what you can learn. So, you have a good cause, a good speaker, and to be honest it helps North Greenville," stated Epting as reasons for attending the dinner.
Dr. Tony Beam, Director of Christian Worldview, a board member of the PFC, was also in attendance Thursday. Dr. Tony Beam invited Dr. Epting as his guest for the dinner.
The importance of organizations like the PFC is the research provided to "help Christians see the dominant worldview present in the culture," said Beam. In this information age, a key role in combating worldviews opposing a Biblical worldview is obtaining credible information. "In my experience, the majority of [North Greenville] students are not concerned with these issues," commented Dr. Beam. "The time to start preparing yourself for a lifetime of knowledge is now. Make this part of the learning process the beginning of that process," said Dr. Beam encouraging the next generation to begin or continue learning about the issues being discussed.
According to the PFC web site, www.palmettofamily.org, the Council formed in 1994 as an associate with Focus on the Family, a well-known entity founded by Christian radio celebrity Dr. James Dobson. PFC strives to present Biblical principles through the resources of communication, networking and research, and is a non-profit organization with the goals of increasing knowledge to strengthen the family and denouncing anything destructive to the family.