View Poll Results: What is more representative of a "WAR ON CHRISTIANITY"
telling a for-profit, open-to-the-public baker he cant' have a "no gays" policy




3
25.00%
the burning of black churches in South Carolina




9
75.00%
Voters: 12. You may not vote on this poll
War On Christianity
#76
DVD Talk Legend
Thread Starter
Re: War On Christianity
Seems like there should be plenty of secular places a racist could burn down to send a message of hatred and fear.
"That Christian baker can't tell a homosexual to go fuck himself?!?! rabble-rabble-rabble! That Christian baker is being persecuted!"
"That black church has been burned to the ground?" -crickets chirping-
#77
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Re: War On Christianity
Anti-Semitism is nothing you need to tell me about, in the US or in Europe. We all are fighting wars against who we are. I feel it as a Jew, you feel it as a Christian. Muslims feel it. Gays feel it. Blacks feel it. That's why this thread is very silly, don't you think?
#78
DVD Talk God
Re: War On Christianity
Then why has it just been churches that have been burned? Charleston looks like a fairly segregated city (http://demographics.coopercenter.org/DotMap/index.html).
#79
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Re: War On Christianity
You are the one who brought Europe into this in the first place. Now you don't want it in the conversation. Believe me there is still oppression of blacks and Jews this very moment in time, right here in the good ole' USA. See, you wouldn't know that because you aren't going through life black or Jewish or Gay. You only know your own perspective.
#80
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Re: War On Christianity
You are the one who brought Europe into this in the first place. Now you don't want it in the conversation. Believe me there is still oppression of blacks and Jews this very moment in time, right here in the good ole' USA. See, you wouldn't know that because you aren't going through life black or Jewish or Gay. You only know your own perspective.

#81
DVD Talk Hero
Re: War On Christianity
Obviously bullshit.
#83
DVD Talk Legend
Re: War On Christianity
Things are maybe 'uncomfortable' for some Christians for the first time in their lives... that might mean people you socialize with will have to change, certain friends or family members pull away, etc. That's unfortunate, but certainly we still have it pretty darn good in this country. Other parts of the world believers are in fear for their lives, being executed, beheaded, church attacks, etc. It's important to maintain perspective... somehow I think I can survive the latest online meme...
#84
Re: War On Christianity
I would compare the "war on Christianity" to the "war on men." Do Christians and men sometimes experience discrimination in the United States? Yes, they do, and discrimination should be resisted. Of course, people of other faiths and women are more likely to be discriminated against, and the discrimination is more likely to be severe. In short, most people talking about a "war on Christianity" or a "war on men" are making a mountain out of a molehill.
This is a pretty good summary.
When a dominant group loses power and influence, many of its members perceive the change as a threat. Many American Christians are self-admitted chauvinists who believe that Christian viewpoints should be favored throughout society, including by government. These people would not self-apply the term "chauvinist," of course, but they are biased in favor of Christianity and desire special treatment under the law, not equal treatment. (Examples: They want the Bible in public park lodging, but not other religious texts. They want taxpayer dollars to fund vouchers for Christian schools, but not other religious schools. They want Christian monuments on public grounds, but not other religious monuments.)
These American Christians are encountering a couple problems: fair-minded, tolerant voters and impartial, competent judges. Many American Christians will have to learn to live without special treatment from the government. They will have to settle for equal treatment, just like everyone else. When people fight losing battles, they tend to lose! They should reflect, adjust their goals, and move on. Until that recalibration takes place, be prepared for a lot of butthurt.
Lastly, there is no "war" on Christianity. What there is, is a lot of sour-grapes Christians who are sulking because after more than two hundred years, they finally got told in no uncertain terms (by the Supreme Court, no less) that their day of getting to tell everyone else what's normal or not normal--or who could marry who--has passed. That's two hundred years of having their cultural norms treated as if they were EVERYBODY'S cultural norms. Of course they're whingeing about it now.
Nobody likes giving up the shotgun seat.

When a dominant group loses power and influence, many of its members perceive the change as a threat. Many American Christians are self-admitted chauvinists who believe that Christian viewpoints should be favored throughout society, including by government. These people would not self-apply the term "chauvinist," of course, but they are biased in favor of Christianity and desire special treatment under the law, not equal treatment. (Examples: They want the Bible in public park lodging, but not other religious texts. They want taxpayer dollars to fund vouchers for Christian schools, but not other religious schools. They want Christian monuments on public grounds, but not other religious monuments.)
These American Christians are encountering a couple problems: fair-minded, tolerant voters and impartial, competent judges. Many American Christians will have to learn to live without special treatment from the government. They will have to settle for equal treatment, just like everyone else. When people fight losing battles, they tend to lose! They should reflect, adjust their goals, and move on. Until that recalibration takes place, be prepared for a lot of butthurt.
Last edited by Ghostbuster; 07-01-15 at 11:49 PM.
#85
DVD Talk Legend
#86
Re: War On Christianity
What's interesting, is while I actually do believe there is active political aggression against those who have particular religious viewpoints, it's somewhat of a tactical payback for Christians who have been continually telling others what they should do with their lives for quite sometime. Cue the idiots in front of abortion clinics.
The Left has simply done a damn good job at collaborating as a single entity, then slamming The Right. It's taken them a while to formulate a battle plan, and I kind of think it just happened by accident, but nonetheless, it happened...and it's working.
I respect that.
The Right bitches and complains about what The Left is doing to them (and now many religious leaders are preaching The End is near with the Same-Sex ruling)...but they don't do anything in response with any amount of coordination, other than whine and complain on Fox News and religious news networks. And then they move onto another topic. I say this with utmost experience. I'm religious to a degree, and I have certain views, but I don't tell people how to live their goddamn lives. That's none of my goddamn business. And who the fuck am I to say what's right and what isn't.
The Left has simply done a damn good job at collaborating as a single entity, then slamming The Right. It's taken them a while to formulate a battle plan, and I kind of think it just happened by accident, but nonetheless, it happened...and it's working.
I respect that.
The Right bitches and complains about what The Left is doing to them (and now many religious leaders are preaching The End is near with the Same-Sex ruling)...but they don't do anything in response with any amount of coordination, other than whine and complain on Fox News and religious news networks. And then they move onto another topic. I say this with utmost experience. I'm religious to a degree, and I have certain views, but I don't tell people how to live their goddamn lives. That's none of my goddamn business. And who the fuck am I to say what's right and what isn't.
#87
DVD Talk Legend
#89
Banned
Re: War On Christianity
Many American Christians are self-admitted chauvinists who <b>believe that Christian viewpoints should be favored throughout society</b>, including by government.
These American Christians are encountering a couple problems: <b>fair-minded, tolerant voters and impartial, competent judges.</b>
As stated previously, anytime anyone votes to express their preferences on a controversial issue (Obamacare, military actions, SSM, abortion, etc.), they are saying they want their view to be imposed throughout society. Other issues may not be so important; i.e., while the voter might prefer a certain action be taken over other options, they're not going to be upset if their view isn't favored (it's not a deal-breaker). Compromises on hugely controversial issues are hard to reach (and, in some cases, nearly impossible), so one viewpoint is always going to be favored...and those who support those views celebrate, do they not?
"Fair-minded, tolerant, and impartial" are very subjective terms. It depends upon whose ox is being gored, IMO.
Last edited by creekdipper; 07-02-15 at 08:20 AM.
#90
Re: War On Christianity
I'll try one more time:
You live in a country that has had centuries of mostly Christians debating and deciding the rights of all people (including religious minorities) in the US. You enjoy the freedom of religion, conscience and association that you have today because of the beliefs and values those people (overwhelmingly Christian) had, and the subsequent laws they wrote and enacted.
You live in a country that has had centuries of mostly Christians debating and deciding the rights of all people (including religious minorities) in the US. You enjoy the freedom of religion, conscience and association that you have today because of the beliefs and values those people (overwhelmingly Christian) had, and the subsequent laws they wrote and enacted.
#91
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Re: War On Christianity
The founding fathers, however, were not isolated, alien dictators imposing their radical views on an unwilling population. There was a society in place before 1776, and the US was still there long after all those guys died. The society that the United States grew out of, and evolved into, overwhelmingly consisted of practicing Christians. I don't see how this is remotely debatable.
Unless, of course, your logic says: "Christianity teaches its followers to support a totalitarian theocracy, and since the US didn't turn into that---that PROVES that Christianity wasn't the primary ideology of the US!!!"
#92
#93
Re: War On Christianity
Not this again. Yes, there were varying degrees of orthodoxy among the founding fathers, and some might better be called deists than Christians.
The founding fathers, however, were not isolated, alien dictators imposing their radical views on an unwilling population. There was a society in place before 1776, and the US was still there long after all those guys died. The society that the United States grew out of, and evolved into, overwhelmingly consisted of practicing Christians. I don't see how this is remotely debatable.
Unless, of course, your logic says: "Christianity teaches its followers to support a totalitarian theocracy, and since the US didn't turn into that---that PROVES that Christianity wasn't the primary ideology of the US!!!"
The founding fathers, however, were not isolated, alien dictators imposing their radical views on an unwilling population. There was a society in place before 1776, and the US was still there long after all those guys died. The society that the United States grew out of, and evolved into, overwhelmingly consisted of practicing Christians. I don't see how this is remotely debatable.
Unless, of course, your logic says: "Christianity teaches its followers to support a totalitarian theocracy, and since the US didn't turn into that---that PROVES that Christianity wasn't the primary ideology of the US!!!"
#97
Moderator
Re: War On Christianity
Last weekend was Comfest weekend here in Columbus, an annual three-day community festival featuring live music and all sorts of other cool things. This year's Comfest made national news because of this incident:
First-Grader Stands Up to Anti-Homosexual Preacher at Comfest
Which is pretty emblematic of the 'War on Christianity' c. 2015. Basically what happened is some asshole homophobe who happens to be an evangelical Christian used Comfest as an opportunity to yell at thousands of people about their sinful ways. Including, for several minutes, a little girl. Her response was to quietly and with great calm and dignity hold up a pride flag while this guy told her everything that was wrong with the way she was living her life. A six-year-old.
And that sums up Christianity to me - an angry, hate-filled asshole trying to scare a little girl by yelling at her. And the 'War on Christianity' is a little girl, filled with love and compassion, who quietly stands up to Christian hate and abuse.
First-Grader Stands Up to Anti-Homosexual Preacher at Comfest
Which is pretty emblematic of the 'War on Christianity' c. 2015. Basically what happened is some asshole homophobe who happens to be an evangelical Christian used Comfest as an opportunity to yell at thousands of people about their sinful ways. Including, for several minutes, a little girl. Her response was to quietly and with great calm and dignity hold up a pride flag while this guy told her everything that was wrong with the way she was living her life. A six-year-old.
And that sums up Christianity to me - an angry, hate-filled asshole trying to scare a little girl by yelling at her. And the 'War on Christianity' is a little girl, filled with love and compassion, who quietly stands up to Christian hate and abuse.
#99
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Re: War On Christianity
Really? Just a couple weeks after the Charleston church shooting, and the backstories of those victims, and the responses of the survivors? That video really sums up Christianity to you?
#100
Moderator
Re: War On Christianity
Now keep in mind - I'm an American, and as such, I know loads of Christians, and many of them are perfectly nice, wonderful people. But as an institution, Christianity is little more than a vehicle that attempts to scare little girls out of treating people with tolerance and love because those people might be different.