The Christian Anti-Defamation Commission has released a list of incidents that they claim are evidence of anti-Christian bigotry in America.
First, the list:
- Colorado church shootings.
- Federal Hate Crimes bill
- Violence on San Francisco Church
- Attack on Jerry Falwell
- God’s Warriors and Friends of God
- Bloggers for John Edwards
- Golden Compass being made into movie
Now the response:
This list is not about bashing Christians. It’s about the growing rebellion against fundamentalist Christians specifically. Don’t be fooled by number one. It’s a set up that’s meant to grab you by the guts. Number two exposes this fact.
The federal hate crime legislation, passed in 1969, includes religion. If you listen to the fundamentalists, the reason they oppose the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender into this law is that it’s just a hop, skip and a jump to arresting pastors for calling gay people abominations.
From the list itself:
The 2007 Federal Hate Crimes Bill threatens religious liberties and lays the groundwork for “thought crime,” which has no place in American law and violates the concept of equal protection under the law. As has occurred in other nations, these laws pave the way for Christians to be silenced and even arrested because they believe that homosexual acts are sinful. It is totalitarian regimes which punish thoughts, not free societies. Thomas Jefferson declares that “the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions.”
This can easily be turned around to state that the inclusion of religious groups as a protected class is just a hop, skip and a jump to arresting people for stating that fundamentalist Christianity is an abomination whose adherents are cerebrally challenged.
If they were about opposing “thought crimes”, they’d be up in arms about the entire concept of hate crimes. But, they’re not though. In fact, they set up a group that came up with a list that is dominated by “thought crimes” against predominantly fundamentalist Christians.
The organizers of the Folsom Street Festival mocked the Last Supper (item #3). Christopher Hitchens called Jerry Falwell a toad (video) (item #4). CNN and HBO produced videos showing real fundamentalists from the Great Monotheisms (item #5). Amanda Marcotte made a snarky comment about the conception of Jesus, Melissa McEwan happened to be in the area as far as I can tell (item #6). Phillip Pullman wrote a ‘godless’ series in response to the godly Chronicles of Narnia (item #7).
These are opinions – not actions. No Christians were harmed in the expression of these opinions. What makes these opinions “bashing” is the disrespectfulness and the rebellious gleam to all of them. Expressing these kinds of opinions used to get you tarred and feathered.
People still get upset about ‘em, but it’s become decently acceptable to mock not just religion – but the religion of the majority, Christianity. And that, my dear ones, is the crime or as the CAC likes to call it – the “bashing”.
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