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guy44 · 04-27-2005, 05:05 PM

Unbelievably, I agree with many of the things alansmithee said. I disagree with the, uh, zeitgeist of his comments, but he is correct about several things.

First of all, there really isn't anything stopping groups of Christians from imposing their religions on others. They can be evangelical, annoy people on the street or go door to door to try and convert people. However, there are limits - there can be no religious litmus tests for most jobs, public instituitons/places cannot promote religion, etc. So annoying Christians on the street, yes; prayer in school, no.

Also, alansmithee is right that the only acceptable religion to ridicule is Christianity. How many movies/comedians/whatever make fun of priests as child molesters or joke about Christianity in general? You could never do the same thing about Judaism or Hinduism.

Nevertheless, Christians are NOT persecuted. Christianity is considered acceptable to ridicule because 80% of Americans are Christians. Seriously though, many Christians do have a persecution complex. The other day a couple Christian friends of mine were eating lunch with me. They were complaining about how you can't say "Merry Christmas" anymore, that you had to say "Happy Holidays." They said that this was anti-Christian. As further proof of widespread anti-Christian sentiment, they said that they were annoyed that they never saw Christmas paraphernalia in schools.

I said, "Yeah, but you know what? You get a month off from school for Christmas so you can be with your family. I get some matzo in the dining hall for Passover."

Things in this country are SO oriented towards Christians that I think many take it for granted, and thus any changes - like the fact that I don't have to awkwardly thank people for wishing me a "merry Christmas" quite as often as I used to - are mistaken for some sort of persecution.

Also, these people making these claims - Family Research Council, James Dobson, etc. - are nutballs and DON'T speak for most Christians. They are just the loudest, most annoying, most wrong, and most bigoted. And they'll lose.

04-27-2005, 05:05 PM	#4 (permalink)
guy44 Somnabulist Location: corner of No and Where	Unbelievably, I agree with many of the things alansmithee said. I disagree with the, uh, zeitgeist of his comments, but he is correct about several things. First of all, there really isn't anything stopping groups of Christians from imposing their religions on others. They can be evangelical, annoy people on the street or go door to door to try and convert people. However, there are limits - there can be no religious litmus tests for most jobs, public instituitons/places cannot promote religion, etc. So annoying Christians on the street, yes; prayer in school, no. Also, alansmithee is right that the only acceptable religion to ridicule is Christianity. How many movies/comedians/whatever make fun of priests as child molesters or joke about Christianity in general? You could never do the same thing about Judaism or Hinduism. Nevertheless, Christians are NOT persecuted. Christianity is considered acceptable to ridicule because 80% of Americans are Christians. Seriously though, many Christians do have a persecution complex. The other day a couple Christian friends of mine were eating lunch with me. They were complaining about how you can't say "Merry Christmas" anymore, that you had to say "Happy Holidays." They said that this was anti-Christian. As further proof of widespread anti-Christian sentiment, they said that they were annoyed that they never saw Christmas paraphernalia in schools. I said, "Yeah, but you know what? You get a month off from school for Christmas so you can be with your family. I get some matzo in the dining hall for Passover." Things in this country are SO oriented towards Christians that I think many take it for granted, and thus any changes - like the fact that I don't have to awkwardly thank people for wishing me a "merry Christmas" quite as often as I used to - are mistaken for some sort of persecution. Also, these people making these claims - Family Research Council, James Dobson, etc. - are nutballs and DON'T speak for most Christians. They are just the loudest, most annoying, most wrong, and most bigoted. And they'll lose. __________________ "You have reached Ritual Sacrifice. For goats press one, or say 'goats.'"