On the ChristianNewsWire site I see that something called “The Christian Anti-Defamation Commission” has released a list of what it’s pleased to call “the top ten incidents of anti-Christian defamation, bigotry and discrimination in the US from last year.” According to its own press release, the list was “…selected by the subscribers to CADC’s e-mail list and was selected from a list of twenty of CADC’s top stories from 2009.”
“It is arguable that anti-Christian hatred has spilled over into material forms of persecution in 2009,” said Dr. Gary Cass of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission. “Christians were killed and bullied for their witness, ministers and churches threatened with violence and vandalized for standing for marriage, and Christians were fired for not compromising their faith. If these are not bona fide examples of persecution, than I wonder what more it might take?”
Nobody should have to suffer acts of violence simply for expressing a religious faith. It would be really swell if these very nice christian people would take the same attitude toward violence against gay people, expressed the same tone of outrage that they express here toward violence against themselves. Do unto others and all that. But right there at Number One is, of course…
1. The Federal Hate Crimes Bill that attacks religious liberty and freedom of speech. For the first time in our history ministers are vulnerable to investigation and prosecution for telling the truth about homosexuality.
You saw that coming…right? Yes…protecting gay Americans from hate motivated violence isn’t just one of many attacks on Christianity, but The Number One attack during 2009. Poor reverend Walter Hoye who got himself jailed “for exercising peaceful, pro-life speech” only made number 10. Rev. Fred Winters’ murder “while preaching in his pulpit in Maryville, Illinois” only made number 9. The Matthew Shepard/James Byrd act was the Number One attack on Christians last year. Who knows, maybe the trial of Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado’s killer will make number one this year.
But this eminently predictable religious right boilerplate about the Matthew Shepard/James Byrd act wasn’t what caught my attention. This is what did it…
7. The overt homosexual participation in Obama’s presidential inaugural events by “Bishop” Vickie Eugene Robinson, the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington D. C., and a homosexual marching band.
Number 7. Dig it. We attack christians simply by being visible in public. We don’t have to kill anyone, bully anyone, threaten anyone, vandalize any churches. Just be visible. We are walking talking attacks on christians. And…singing. And marching too. Whenever one of our marching bands strikes up a tune, we attack christains even more then a murder committed in a church…which let it be said, was also less of an attack on christianity apparently then HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm. The Gay Men’s Chorus and a “homosexual marching band” was a bigger attack on christianity last year then jailing one preacher, murdering another and HBO. If Eugene Robinson had sung Just As I Am during the inauguration it might have made number 2.
