The Top 10 (Most Inane) Anti-Christian Acts of 2012

The Christian Anti-Defamation Commission, that one-man operation run by Gary Cass, is back with its annual collection of the very worst “anti-Christian acts” as chosen by poll respondents. Given that last year’s list didn’t include one single genuine act of anti-Christian discrimination that existed outside of the far-Right blogosphere, instead consisting mostly of Christianists whinging about having their privilege challenged, is there any hope this year’s iteration will include actual cases of actual bigotry or oppression against God’s Gentle People^TM?

(Spoiler alert: No.)

10. Target took a controversial and anti-family stand when it decided to support homosexual activist groups with the proceeds from a collection of “gay pride” T-shirts sold by Target. They decided to do so even after voters throughout the country, including just recently in North Carolina, have taken a stand against homosexual marriage. But, instead of allowing its customers to voice concerns, Target has decided to block emails.

ZOMG! A privately-owned corporation chose a stance they don’t like and then ignored their whiny protests! Obviously, that can only mean Target is in bed with Satan on the ghey issue. And that guff about voters turning down gay marriage is all the more brazenly (yet predictably) dishonest in light of the numerous pro-marriage-equality victories that swept the nation last November (which, last I checked, is much more “just recently” than last May’s North Carolina gay marriage ban).

9. The “chief diversity officer” of Gallaudet University, Dr. Angela McCaskill, was placed on paid leave and faced punishment and the possibility of loosing her job simply for signing a bill that asks for the issue to be put up for a vote so Maryland citizens can decide whether to accept or reject the redefinition of marriage.

Weaselly spin aside, this does appear to have been a bona fide case of administrative overreach. I can’t comment on the legality of McCaskill’s suspension as I don’t know what non-discrimination laws come into play, here, but it seems that she was protected by the First Amendment in signing that (ultimately fruitless) anti-gay petition and was eventually allowed to return to her post. No word on the apparent contradiction in having a “diversity officer” who doesn’t believe a large faction of the students in her charge should have the right to marry the ones they love after they graduate.

8. A group of peaceful demonstrators were recently assaulted in Little Rock, Arkansas during a rally against Obama-care and it’s abortion mandate. Thankfully this was all caught on camera, along with the man’s license plate number. But the police were slow to act, and seemingly had no interest in finding the aggressor

As much as the thug deserves to get brought up on assault charges, it isn’t exactly surprising that police would chose to focus on dealing with murderers and armed robbers rather than tracking down some random douchebag who pushed a couple people over without actually injuring anyone. On the other hand, I wonder what these same horrified people would think about, say, one of their own making a death threat, something altogether more disturbing? (Oh, right: 3 “likes”. Never mind.)

7. At the Minneapolis Pride Festival, a Christian evangelist was pushed into a “free speech” corner by local officials. Organizers from the parade asked the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board to make a “free speech zone” far away from the festival for people who disagree with homosexuality. The Board agreed, and now all opposition to the sin-fest are exiled.

Really? There’s no question that man’s free speech rights are being infringed against (unless he’s being disruptive, he should be allowed to voice any unpopular opinion he likes), but the idea that such an incident counts as one of the very worst anti-Christian offenses of the year just makes me think that these people have long forgotten what true persecution is like.

6. A Florida high school teacher was exposed after they invited a terrorist sympathizer to give pro- Islamic lectures in her classroom over the last three years. The speaker, Hassan Shibly, is on record standing up for the terrorist organization Hezbollah and defended a radical Imam who was killed after shooting at members of the FBI.

So, the parameters for “anti-Christian acts” have been widened to include people with different religious beliefs talking about peaceful interfaith cooperation in schools, in full accordance with school board policies? Yeah, truly insulting to Christians, that, having people from other cultures come and talk to multicultural classrooms. And all I could find about Shibly supposedly supporting terrorists or making threats was unsubstantiated hot air from far-Right crank blogs with zero independent news reports to back them up, so I’ll be forgiven for not taking their allegations too seriously, considering their well-established track record of being absolutely wrong about virtually everything.

5. Over the summer a study came out of the University of Texas, Austin that showed that children of homosexual parents were worse off financially, mentally, and relationship-wise than those with married heterosexual parents. There is a difference between children of married, heterosexual parents and same-sex parents. But the Professor who led the study was placed under an investigation by the University after homosexuals became enraged over the results.

There should be a rule stating that anyone who cites that thoroughly discredited and long-since retracted study by Mark Regnerus should be forced into a binding legal agreement forfeiting their right to ever mention scientific research ever again.

4.Radical homosexual activist, Dan Savage, made crude insults towards Christian students during a journalism conference for high school students. Savage is famous for producing an anti-bullying campaign that encouraged young people to come out as homosexuals. At the conference Savage engaged in a anti-Christian, Bible-bashing diatribe, hurling insults at the Christian students.

Except, of course, that Savage did no such thing. What he did was explore the blatant hypocrisy of those “love the sinner, hate the sin” Christians who bring up the Bible as an excuse to condone anti-gay discrimination and bullying, and then mocked the blatantly staged walk-out performed by a number of students (for which he later apologized, anyway). It’s always amusing how Christians really cannot withstand having their beliefs remotely questioned without erupting in cries of protest and oppression.

3. In Hawaii, a new law can now force churches to make their property available to homosexuals for civil union ceremonies. While the law does protect pastors from having to perform the ceremonies, it does not provide protection for church property. Now, if a church refuses to allow the ceremonies on their property they could be subject to sanctions or fines

To the astonishment of absolutely nobody anywhere, this is completely false. The reality is that while churches that do perform heterosexual civil unions on their property aren’t allowed to discriminate against same-sex couples, churches don’t actually have to perform any civil unions at all, thus allowing them to avoid the whole problem altogether simply by sticking to marriages, which aren’t yet allowed for same-sex Hawaiian couples. In addition, this “new law” actually has nothing to do with prohibiting them from stiffing gay couples, as that actually stems from the state’s years-older anti-discrimination law. But being obligated to offer the same services to everyone is apparently anti-Christian, now.

2. California legislature voted to stop Christian counselors from providing help for children struggling with same-sex attraction. Now, counselors are unable to even suggest that it’s possible to overcome same-sex attractions.

That would be because it isn’t possible to “pray the gay away”, no matter how fervently Christian-conservatives like to pretend it is contra all known (and not-discredited) psychological and behavioral research. All the State of California is doing is preventing faith-driven charlatans from guilting and beleaguering vulnerable youths into trying hopelessly to repress their fundamental biological urges, which rational people everywhere agree amounts to nothing short of child abuse.

And finally, what is the biggest, greatest, most incontrovertible sign that Christians are being oppressed in the United States today?

1. President Obama endorsed homosexual "marriage,” invoking Christ to try to justify his anti-Christ position. In his announcement, Obama said “...when [I] think about our faith, the thing at root that we think about is, not only Christ sacrificing himself on our behalf, but it’s also the Golden Rule, you know, treat others the way you would want to be treated.”

Because nothing speaks of destroying Christians’ religious liberty like seeing their (twice-)elected leader meekly state his personal belief in equality for all while leaving the issue entirely up to the people and the courts to decide. After all, if there’s one thing Jesus hated, it’s treating others with compassion and respect, right?

On the one hand, it should be heartening that these are the worst examples of “discrimination” that U.S. Christians are confronted with. On the other, it only makes it all the more wearisome to hear them endlessly whine about their fates just because some people refuse to recognize their selfish desires and absurd doctrines above their own civil and legal rights.

(via Right Wing Watch)