The Editorial Board of the NY Times has already treated us to a smattering of Blamestorming post Orlando Muslim terror attack, blaming Republicans, Conservatives, Tea Party members, the NRA, all gun owners, anyone who opposes gay marriage and men pretending to be women showering with young girls, and, of course, Christians. They’re more than willing to paint the blame with broad brushes The one group that has escaped criticism within the opinion pages is Muslims. They have a tough time even blaming the extremist version of Islam, to be referred to as Islamists.
Some, like David Brooks, trot out the standard meme that Islamic terrorists are not actually Islamic.
The Times continues it’s craziness, running a Room For Debate article entitled Have Christians Created a Harmful Atmosphere for Gays? Will there be one which replaces Christians with Muslims? Don’t bet on it. The overview of the issue for the Times is
But is it fair to say that people share any blame for Saturday night’s attack because they oppose L.G.B.T. equality for religious reasons? And while the media is focused on the role that Muslim anti-gay rhetoric may have played in this slaughter, do conservative Christians need to accept greater civil rights for L.G.B.T people in order to create a less hurtful atmosphere in the United States?
Four people are given the chance to respond, and the first is Rod Dreher, senior editor of The American Conservative magazine, who discusses the idiocy of this outlook, before getting to
But I strongly reject the oft-heard accusations from the Left that opposition to whatever identity-politics goal it pursues can only be based in hate. It’s a crude and illiberal attempt to suppress dissent.
Whatever made the radical Muslim Omar Mateen murder 49 innocents, connecting that atrocity to Christians (and Republicans) is shameless opportunism. It renders reasoned debate impossible, and turns cultural politics into a crusade against infidels.
Then we have Julie Rogers, a “speaker, blogger and and advocate for L.G.B.T. people in the church,” who says all Christians must repent for being opposed to gay marriage, gender confused in the bathroom, and, really, all LGBT values, you know, like the sado-masochism marches in San Francisco.
It’s no surprise, then, that subtle disdain for L.G.B.T. people would eventually be expressed more overtly. In the case of the shooting at Pulse in Orlando, it was devastating. The Christians I know were grieved by the massacre and they want to know how to help. The best thing they can do is repent for the ways they’ve helped create a culture that devalues L.G.B.T. people made in the image of God, and then begin to tell a better story about us in their circles. If everyone grew up hearing that God delights in gay people and we have gifts to nourish our communities, I do not think we would be targeted for violence or discrimination.
No word related to Islam is mentioned. Nor that the killer was a registered Democrat. All Christians are blamed, but not Muslims. And, unsurprisingly, the Times refused to allow my comment at her piece noting that the Orlando killer was a Muslim and a registered Democrat, who pledge fealty to ISIS.
Jim Daly is president of Focus on the Family, simply attempts to defend Christianity, while turning the debate around, wondering “What if we were to ask whether promoting same-sex marriage by citing civil rights helps create a hateful atmosphere? The door swings both ways.” But, he rejects the premise that either creates hate. Nor does he mention Islam.
They end with an article by “David P. Gushee is the distinguished university professor of Christian ethics at Mercer University and the author of “Changing Our Mind.” which calls for full inclusion of L.G.B.T. Christians in the church.” His piece is entitled Without Full Acceptance by Christians, Gays Are Demeaned and Hurt. He writes
Traditionally, Judaism, Christianity and Islam all offered powerful condemnations of same-sex activity derived from ancient sacred texts that addressed the subject in very different contexts from our own. The modern gay rights movement is only 50 years old. It has made extraordinary progress in that period, but that’s a blink of an eye compared to the accrued weight of centuries-old religious traditions speaking in God’s name.
Of course, he goes on to blame Christians and Conservatives, failing to note the atrocities done in the name of Allah and Mohamed against gays, who have formalized this hatred even within the laws of many, many Muslim countries. We get things like “even polite half-acceptance leaves L.G.B.T. people in a demeaning second-class position”, which means “your Right to free expression needs to be stopped.” But, few Christians are calling for gays to be thrown from buildings, hung or stoned to death, whipped, nor thrown in jail, as they are in so many Islamic countries, and even polls in European nations show vast numbers of Muslims who think homosexuality should be made illegal.
Will the Times run anything on Muslims being hateful towards gays? Don’t count on it.
Crossed at Right Wing News.
Read: NY Times: Say, “Have Muslims Created a Harmful Atmosphere for Gays?” »
