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December 09, 2008

The Mistaken Belief in Persecution

It's always amusing to me when people break the rules and then claim they are somehow being persecuted by authorities or society when they are held to account. It is much the same situation when constitutional protections are extended to the expression of unpopular ideas and beliefs and that is interpreted as being a form of persecution against a more widespread belief system. Such is too often the case when religion is the subject. Two news stories today highlight the way Christians are getting themselves all worked up over supposed persecution that isn't actually occurring at all.

The first is a situation that is boiling up in Miami, Florida, where a church faces possible fines for erecting a concrete statue of Jesus. Some are viewing it as persecution. The code enforcers say it's blocking drivers' views. The problem is, it's been standing there for 14 years and nobody's said a word about it before. So what's really going on?

What's going on is you have a pastor who has no respect for his neighbors, and the City is punishing him the only way it can. His church is located in a neighborhood with children, but for some reason he thinks that it is the perfect spot for a soup kitchen. As a result, the area has become a magnet for vagrants. Nearby residents have been complaining that they are finding people sleeping in their yards and graffiti and obscene words are being painted on area buildings since the soup kitchen opened. Try as it may, the City has been unable to find a way to stop it. So while the pastor complains about persecution, the fact is he is being a horrible neighbor and entirely insensitive to the needs of the neighborhood in which his church sits. How rude.

The second persecution story is going on up at the state Capital in Seattle, Washington, where an atheist display is offending religious folks who think anyone who doesn't believe in God ought not be protected by the First Amendment. Hundreds of people have rallied on the Capitol steps, ignorantly convinced that by giving voice to nonbelievers, somehow their government is persecuting Christians. One pastor has even accused the State government of making Washington "the armpit of America." It's patently absurd.

Washington has historically allowed seasonal religious displays inside the Capital by Christians and Jews. This year, a Christmas tree, a nativity scene, and a menorah were displayed, something that is pretty typical. If memory serves, Christians across the country went through a bit of a persecution complex that their holiday was being coopted by the Jews a few years ago when Jews still had to fight for recognition of their own belief system at Christmas time. Now it's all been mucked up even worse, as the Freedom from Religion Foundation has been allowed an atheist display in the State Capitol building. The group has posted a sign reading:

At this season of the winter solstice may reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.

Monica Guzman at the Seattle Times thinks they went too far, actually attacking religion and its followers. I wonder what she expected from a group calling itself the "Freedom from Religion Foundation." Atheists are probably equally offended by the very common belief that religion makes you a better person (it's been scientifically debunked, by the way).

Naturally, Bill O'Reilly also has chimed in, urging his viewers to call the governor and complain. Thankfully, however, David Sugarman seems to have a working brain and attempts to bring a little illumination into what seems to be an ever-darkening world:

Here's the problem with Mr. O'Reilly's outrage. If we are to allow religious displays and symbols in our government buildings, it's a all-or-nothing proposition under the First Amendment. You don't get to bar displays based upon the content of the message. According to the U.S. Supreme Court, that includes the content of non-believers' messages.

Mr. O'Reilly famously asserts that there is some sort of war on Christmas. To the contrary, some would see this as the simple fact that we live in a pluralistic country. More important, if Mr. O'Reilly has his way, then we must either throw out all religious displays in public areas, or make a mockery of the First Amendment.

All this brings me to an interesting editorial today by Larry Beinhart, author of "Wag the Dog," in which he says religion is becoming a principal cause of warfare throughout the world.

Mumbai. 9/11. Chechnya. Sectarian violence in Iraq. Somalia. Afghanistan. Nigeria.

The man with the most military power in the history of the world is reported to have said, "I'm driven with a mission from God. God would tell me, 'George, go and fight those terrorists in Afghanistan.' And I did, and then God would tell me, 'George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq ... ' And I did." …

The nature of the people who attacked us, and the results of our response to them, make it obvious that understanding fanatical faith is at least as important as developing a reusable hypersonic cruise vehicle, more useful than developing new tactical nuclear weapons. And if we can find a way to reach or to undermine the faith of fanatics, it will be far more economical than invading a series of foreign countries.

Maybe that's just what the Freedom from Religion Foundation is trying to do.

Posted by Becky at December 9, 2008 10:07 AM