Posted on 04/28/2005 6:17:39 AM PDT by MisterRepublican
Harper’s Magazine’s May cover stories about “The Christian Right’s War On America,” frightened me, although not the way Harper’s meant them to. I fear these stories could mark the beginning of a systematic campaign of hatred directed at traditional Christians. Whether this is what Harper’s intends, I cannot say. But regardless of the intention, the effect seems clear.
The phrase “campaign of hatred” is a strong one, and I worry about amplifying an already dangerous dynamic of recrimination on both sides of the culture wars. I don’t doubt that conservatives, Christian and otherwise, are sometimes guilty of rhetorical excess. Yet despite what we’ve been told, the most extreme political rhetoric of our day is being directed against traditional Christians by the left.
It’s been said that James Dobson overstepped legitimate bounds when he compared activist judges to the Ku Klux Klan. Yes, that was an ill-considered remark. I hope and expect it will not be repeated. But Dobson made that comparison extemporaneously and in passing. If that misstep was such a problem, what are we to make of a cover story in Harper’s that systematically identifies conservative Christianity with fascism? According to Harper’s, conservative Christians are making “war on America.”
Can you imagine the reaction to a cover story about a “war on America” by blacks, gays, Hispanics, or Jews? Then there’s Frank Rich’s April 24 New York Times op-ed comparing conservative Christians to George Wallace, segregationists, and lynch mobs.
These comparisons are both inflammatory and mistaken. Made in the name of opposing hatred, they license hatred. It was disturbing enough during the election when even the most respectable spokesmen on the left proudly proclaimed their hatred of president Bush. Out of that hatred flowed pervasive, if low-level, violence.
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com ...
- 2 Timothy 3:12-15
Of course, the persecution is coming. It's just a question of when...and a question of who will continue to stand in the evil day.
The left has NO tolerance for those who do not agree with them.
Its merely a sign of their utter panic. They cannot refute conservative Christians with logic and facts, so they have to resort to name calling, demogogary, and character assassination in a vain attempt to discredit the opposition. Thankfully, Harpers and the other MSM outlets are not the powers they once were.
Agreed. Unfortunately, few pastors have prepared their flock. The Harper's article is just an example of a hate that has been burning under the radar for some time.
LOL! well said.
Rejoice Christians! The coming of Jesus is closer than ever!
This is a very important article. Every time that some liberal says that Christians want to "impose their views on everybody else," they need to be corrected as to the reality that it is the liberals who want to use the government to impose their moral and religious views on everybody else.
So do you fight or turn the other cheek?
- Ephesians 6:10-18
This is our only hope. God has turned this world over to Satan and Satan is ascending right now. God knows this and has given us protection of our souls if we do not turn from Him and the author of our salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Notice that the armor of God includes nothing to protect our backs. One preacher says that's because we need to continually face our enemy and trust in God who stands right behind us.
ditto - we've seen a 40 year assault on judeo-christian values by the left - what they describe as an offensive campaign by the christian right is, in reality, a defensive campaign to simply retain basic religious freedoms.
Excellent verses to equate what is happening at this time in history. Thanks for sharing.
Yeah, they're kind of like RINOs.
I fear these stories could mark the beginning of a systematic campaign of hatred directed at traditional Christians.
It's been happening for years. I suppose it is different because the mask is off, but I don't fear them. I've known who they were for a long tim, I know who I'm fighting. I'd rather be a subject of persecution than be unnoticed by these same elements.
I fear that Bush hatred is now being channeled into hatred of Christian conservatives. The process began after the election and is steadily growing worse.
Of course it is, and it was predicted. If Bush had lost the election people on the right would have blamed Christians as happened in 2000. Bush winning the election, well, that means it's all the Christians fault. Lose/Lose either way? Not really. We needed Bush as our President, and at least now the masks are coming off.
This is why it completely muddles my tain of thought when people start to worry about Democrats faking religion as successful. If the Left had the slightest clue of how to fake Christianity, how would so many Christians have discerned their real attitudes toward Faith and abandoned that Party? I knew of their attitude before I was a conservative, before I paid attention to any news source other than the MSM. They aren't fooling anyone. They don't even know the Bible well enough to fake the language of a real believer.
I urge the Left to keep challenging its rage at me and Christians. Do it. Show everyone who you are, about time you were honest. And I'd far prefer that hatred be focused this way than on the President.
Traditional Christians are openly excoriated in the mainstream press as evil, fascist, segregationist bigots. Their political speech is placed under legislative threat. Their institutions of higher education are attacked and destroyed. Naturally, America’s traditional Christians are fighting back. They’ve turned to the political process in hopes of securing for themselves a space in which to exist. Weary of being the butt of hatred by those who proclaim tolerance, conservative Christians are complaining, with justice, about the all-too-successful attempts to exclude them from society.
You can only push too far before people start to push back. They pushed too far.
Here in Seattle there's a controversy because Microsoft hired Ralph Reed as a business consultant. Gay activists are demanding that he be fired, and they have no sense of the irony of their position. They say it's wrong to discriminate against gays, but they want to install their own forms of discrimination by firing conservative Christians.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.