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'War' on Christians Is Alleged. Conference Depicts a Culture Hostile to Evangelical Beliefs.
Washington Post ^ | 3/29/6 | Alan Cooperman

Posted on 03/29/2006 1:04:29 PM PST by Crackingham

The "War on Christmas" has morphed into a "War on Christians."

Last December, some evangelical Christian groups declared that the religious celebration of Christmas -- and even the phrase "Merry Christmas" -- was under attack by the forces of secularism. This week, radio commentator Rick Scarborough convened a conference in Washington on the "War on Christians and the Values Voters in 2006." The opening session was devoted to "reports from the frontlines" on "persecution" of Christians in the United States and Canada, including an artist whose paintings were barred from a municipal art show in Deltona, Fla., because they contained religious themes.

Among the conference's speakers were former House majority leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) and Sens. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) and Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) and conservative Christian leaders Phyllis Schlafly, Rod Parsley, Gary Bauer, Janet Parshall and Alan Keyes.

To many of the 400 evangelicals packed into a small ballroom at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, it was a hard but necessary look at moral relativism, hedonism and Christophobia, or fear of Christ, to pick just a few terms offered by various speakers referring to the enemy. To some outsiders, it illuminated the paranoia of the Christian right.

"Certainly religious persecution existed in our history, but to claim that these examples amount to religious persecution disrespects the experiences of people who have been jailed and died because of their faith," said Hollyn Hollman, general counsel of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty.

"This is a skirmish over religious pluralism, and the inclination to see it as a war against Christianity strikes me as a spoiled-brat response by Christians who have always enjoyed the privileges of a majority position," said the Rev. Robert Franklin, a minister in the Church of God in Christ and professor of social ethics at Emory University.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; Government; News/Current Events; Philosophy
KEYWORDS: 109th; 2006; ac; alankeyes; brownback; christianity; christianpersecution; christians; christophobia; cornyn; crybabies; culturewars; delay; garybauer; janetparshall; persecution; religion; rodparsley; schlafly; tempestinateapot; theophobia; valuesvoter; waronchristians; waronchristmas; warongenesis
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To: PetroniusMaximus
When the "secularist" Thomas Jefferson allowed and attended religious services in the national capitol, the attitudes of his ideological grandchildren seem absolutely irrational. The idea that government cannot accommodate the religious views of the great majority of Americans does not compute.
41 posted on 03/29/2006 1:40:51 PM PST by RobbyS ( CHIRHO)
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To: Chiapet

"Not occupying the place of privilege does not equal persecution."

How about having your property taken away in a lawsuit because you won't rent to a same sex couple?

How about being imprisoned for preaching that homosexuality is a sin?

How about being found guilty of child abuse for rasing your children as Christians?

How about loosing your job because you won't perform an abortion?

How about being thrown in jail for protesting that your gradeschoolers a being taught about homosexual sex?


All these things are either happening right now, or are not too far off.


42 posted on 03/29/2006 1:42:57 PM PST by PetroniusMaximus
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To: MineralMan

Thank you.


43 posted on 03/29/2006 1:43:14 PM PST by conserv13
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To: Crackingham

The war against Christians is one of the things that is at the heart of Christianity (and not just Christianity). It must be kept in mind that G-d has an opponent. This opponent has, since the beginning of the human race, worked tirelessly to undermine faith, degrade morals and destroy those who follow G-d's law. The war waged is on all fronts: military, political, economic, social, moral. Propaganda is an essential (indeed it is THE essential) part of this. Convince a person there is no G-d, no Christ, no afterlife, no evil and you have effectively desroyed them - not in the immediate present but for all time.

In a way those facing physical persecution have it easier than those facing softer forms of opposition. Their choice is stark and obvious. The choice of those living in relative physical safety and comfort is much murkier and easily confused and confounded. In both cases it is NOT the death of the body or the loss of physical freedom that is the real menace. It is the destruction of one's true self that is the real threat. The stakes in this conflict are eternal salvation or damnation. These are unpopular words in this time (in just about every time really) but they are true.

If you think there is no war on Christians being waged you are simply being foolish. The war is real and lasting and the peril is just is dire here as it is in Afghanistan or Nigeria or the Sudan or any other hell hole.


44 posted on 03/29/2006 1:43:45 PM PST by scory
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To: Crackingham

"...the Rev. Robert Franklin, a minister in the Church of God in Christ and professor of social ethics at Emory University."

Sounds like the "reverend" Barry Lynn, formerly of the ACLU, who as a "reverend" feels that his job is the far more important work of maintaining the famous, and totally absent from the Constitution, "Separation of Church and State".

These are examples of liberal christians;the church and religion are nothing more than tools for social engineering.


45 posted on 03/29/2006 1:45:57 PM PST by syncked
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To: PetroniusMaximus

The Nazis started with small things before they incinerated Jews.


46 posted on 03/29/2006 1:46:40 PM PST by Graymatter
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To: PetroniusMaximus

"How about having your property taken away in a lawsuit because you won't rent to a same sex couple?

How about being imprisoned for preaching that homosexuality is a sin?

How about being found guilty of child abuse for rasing your children as Christians?

How about loosing your job because you won't perform an abortion?

How about being thrown in jail for protesting that your gradeschoolers a being taught about homosexual sex?
"




OK. You listed these. Now...can you provide links to news stories about these incidents? I promise that I will go and read them. The ball is in your court.


47 posted on 03/29/2006 1:47:00 PM PST by MineralMan (godless atheist)
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To: balch3

"the attack on fair treatment of Intelligent Design is clear evidence of this."

But, but, but I thought ID doesn't have anything to do with Christinaity?


48 posted on 03/29/2006 1:48:20 PM PST by Gone GF
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To: Graymatter
The Nazis started with small things before they incinerated Jews.

Yes. You are right. you found out our agenda! We won't stop until all Christians are herded into traincars, starved and gassed.

49 posted on 03/29/2006 1:49:15 PM PST by conserv13
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To: PetroniusMaximus

Right. Evidence please.


50 posted on 03/29/2006 1:49:49 PM PST by Gone GF
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To: Crackingham

What really scares me is the complete lack of Christian churches in the U.S. and the fact that any time people try to attend a Christian worship service, they're beaten or thrown in jail. And the other day when my son said a silent prayer before an exam at school they expelled him for the rest of the year. It was awful.


51 posted on 03/29/2006 1:52:45 PM PST by Gone GF
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To: foldspace
Nonsense. It was on TV last night. The bias was evident to Millions of Americans when Mandissa sang a openly Christian Praise Song (a bona-fide song selection) on American Idol.

The judges responded to her EXCELLENT performance with confounded/confused and EXTREMELY PREJUDICED and UNBALANCED responses compared to what they were handing out.

Dear God I hope that is sarcasm.

52 posted on 03/29/2006 1:52:59 PM PST by conserv13
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To: Gone GF
"Right. Evidence please."

I don't have time to educate you. Look it up yourself. FR is a good starting point as there are plenty of article on the suppression of Christianity in America.

Also this might be helpful - lots of links: http://www.davidlimbaugh.com/faith.htm
53 posted on 03/29/2006 1:55:40 PM PST by PetroniusMaximus
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To: Crackingham

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1605660/posts


54 posted on 03/29/2006 1:57:44 PM PST by BenLurkin (O beautiful for patriot dream - that sees beyond the years)
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To: conserv13

When and if it comes down, the liberal "Christians" will side with those that persecute the real Christians.

What are you talking about? 'liberal' Christians? 'real' Christians?

Are you serious? You don't know the difference between "liberal" Christian and "conservative" Christian?


55 posted on 03/29/2006 1:59:48 PM PST by Binghamton_native
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To: Binghamton_native

liberal Christians and conservative Christians are ALL Christians.


56 posted on 03/29/2006 2:01:08 PM PST by conserv13
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To: PetroniusMaximus
From the review:

Limbaugh has a point: there are anti-Christian tendencies - rigid school bureaucrats, militant atheists and an often profane and irreligious popular culture - in American society. But there are plenty of pro-Christian tendencies too, such that Limbaugh's persecution complex seems overblown.

57 posted on 03/29/2006 2:02:59 PM PST by conserv13
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To: conserv13

Wait 'till they declare war on libertarians!


58 posted on 03/29/2006 2:05:38 PM PST by Redleg Duke (Kennedy and Kerry, the two Commissars of the Peoples' Republic of Massachusetts!)
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To: Gone GF; PetroniusMaximus

The following link might be better:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1603726/posts

A relevant part is the following:

Much of the reporting on the issue has featured stories of children who might be denied a home if gay applicants are rejected. But that is focusing on a pebble and not noticing the boulder nearby. Boston's Catholic Charities accounts for 31 percent of the state's special-needs adoptions, those children abused, neglected, disturbed or handicapped.

More important, the state is in effect using its licensing power to bring the church to heel -- no gay adoption, no license to conduct adoptions in Massachusetts. Acting on traditional Catholic social principles -- that one father and one mother are best for children -- is defined as bias


59 posted on 03/29/2006 2:06:53 PM PST by NathanR (Après moi, le deluge.)
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To: Crackingham
Klingenschmitt said he was punished by a commander for offering sectarian prayers at a memorial service for a fallen sailor, and he compared himself to Abdur Rahman, an Afghan man who until this week faced possible execution for converting from Islam to Christianity.


60 posted on 03/29/2006 2:07:13 PM PST by steve-b (A desire not to butt into other people's business is eighty percent of all human wisdom)
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