Last year, I wrote an article called, “Christian McCarthyism: Tony Dungy.” It was about the swarming media and personal outrage over Super Bowl winning coach and NFL commentator Tony Dungy stating that he would not have selected Michael Sam (openly gay NFL seventh round draftee who has since been waived by two teams and is now a free agent).
Dungy stated this was not because of his homosexual lifestyle, but because of the pros/cons of such a media frenzy surrounding a football player with minimum NFL potential. Even though Dungy said nothing about Sam’s sexuality, because he was a Christian, Dungy was accused of hate, bigotry, and his job was on the line.
The message was clear to Christians: change or suffer the consequences. An interesting progression (regression?) has intensified this definition of “consequences” aimed at those who hold to a Christian worldview based on the authority of the Bible.
The Dungy case turned the tide from directly saying something to having something implied about you based on your religious beliefs and convictions. Now we see the turn from implication to projection as statutes long-held upholding religious liberty are pro-actively being attacked because of what they could or might mean in the minds of those on the offensive.
Recently, Indiana and Arkansas passed legislation known as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). The RFRA was a federal law passed in 1993 by President Clinton (Democrat – Arkansas). The law’s intent was to protect the First Amendment right of all U.S. citizens which states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”
The RFRA is a state-level protection of its citizens. This was needed after a 1997 ruling was made in the case of City of Boerne v. Flores from the Supreme Court that the RFRA breached federal power when applied to state laws.
As a result, individual states (19 to be exact: AL, CT, FL, ID, IN, IL, KS, KY, LA, MO, MS, NM, OK, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX and VA) began adopting the protection for their citizens – confirming at a state level, their First Amendment protection of religious liberty and application. Other states such as AK, MA, ME, MI, MN, MT, NC, OH, WA, and WI have adopted relatively identical laws.
A word of note is that none of these laws mention the word homosexuality (or a derivative). Neither are they about upholding discrimination. However, when a person’s religious convictions and beliefs are in danger of suppression by federal or state law, those beliefs and their expression are to be protected. That’s it.
Enter Christian McCarthyists. These are the people who are making it their mission to root out people living out a Christian worldview under the authority of Scripture and taking them down violently.
Remember, this law protects religion. It is not only focused on Christianity. This is the same law that protects a Jewish butcher from having to filet some pork chops and a Muslim clothing retailer from selling or displaying immodest women’s clothing. And this should be noted: it doesn’t matter whether that Jewish butcher is gay, straight, or whatever designation in between. This law protects heterosexuals as equally as homosexuals.
The outcry, however, has been that this law discriminates against homosexuals (which it does not). This is because while the law protects the Jewish butcher from handling pork, the Muslim retailer from modeling skimpy panties, and the Christian baker from participating in something that violates biblical marriage, it is only the Christian who finds themselves in the crosshairs of Christian McCarthyism’s growing arsenal of weapons.
Consider this: Judaism, Islam, Christianity, and the vast majority of the world’s religions all uphold the sacredness of marriage as being between a man and a woman. Islamic bakeries are also refusing to participate in homosexual wedding ceremonies. Jewish cake-decorators are also refraining from participating in wedding ceremonies celebrating anything other than a male/female union.
Where are the news pundits verbally accosting the Muslim community for their religious freedom <crickets…crickets>? Where are the boycotts of major corporations against Jewish leaders, businesspeople, media or financial figureheads <…tumbleweed…>? Exactly.
Tim Cook, CEO of Apple (a maker of fine products) expressed his desire to boycott business in Indiana because of the proposed law. Wal-Mart (a traditionally pro-family business) made threats in its home state of Arkansas. Why? Because the expression of religious conscience and belief was being upheld over what indirectly could affect the expression of individual sexual conscience and belief.
It should be noted that Apple recently expanded into Saudi Arabia, a country that not only discriminates against women under Islamic ideology, but tragically and inhumanly stands idle as homosexuals are murdered by the hundreds by Islamic militants.
Herein lies the rub. The target is not hate. The goal is not standing up for the rights of certain individuals, but to stand against the civil rights and application of religious belief for Christians. This is an attack on Christianity around and over the courts in the arena of business and public opinion, which will eventually work its way into legislation.
Yes, you heard me. The way is being paved for Congress to make a law prohibiting the exercise of religious expression for those who uphold the institutions of marriage and family as being directly related to religious teaching.
While this is an over-arching direction, in direct application, it (unsurprisingly) is only being taken out on Christians. Blatant offensive discrimination in business is being supported and upheld by companies like Apple and Wal-Mart against small businesses who simply function in states where businesses are not being forced to violate religious conviction. All in the name of stamping out discrimination.
If you’re confused, you’re on the right page. This is Christian McCarthyism at its finest. Weed out the Christian who stands for Christianity and take them down by whatever means necessary.
Sex is our new god, and we shall have no other God before him/her/them.