07-02-2007, 12:05 AM
[quote kj]I think they're wrong, but I'm not going to join you in hating or mocking them. I don't think it's good in any way. And I already know you guys know it isn't representative of most people.
Actually, no. I am assuming that these knuckleheads occupy a thin spot on the distribution, but I do not know that the hatred they preach is incompatible with the teachings of evangelical Christianity. Certainly they are distinguishable from the likes of Jerry Falwell, or Ted Haggard, or Pat Robinson only by the method they use to broadcast their hatred. And I have never heard anyone but Bill Moyers voice any disapprobation, as a Christian, of this kind of hate-filled evangelism.
[quote kj]How could I call you hypocrites? I don't think you have any problem with mocking people, obviously, so how could it be hypocritical? I am wondering how you think it makes this world a better place to hate and mock. They hate, you hate back. Not effective, unless your goal is a world full of hate.
I don't expect this will make much sense to you, but it is not hatred. It is reprehension. The free exercise clause of the first amendment gives legal cover to all manner of reprehensible behavior, but the fact that something cannot be, and should not be, made illegal, does not mean that it must be tolerated. Ignoring them is not an option, when national news outlets insist of giving them a platform. Reasoned debate is not an option, because they are not reasonable. Which leaves only public censure and ridicule. Which is not the same thing as hatred.
Actually, no. I am assuming that these knuckleheads occupy a thin spot on the distribution, but I do not know that the hatred they preach is incompatible with the teachings of evangelical Christianity. Certainly they are distinguishable from the likes of Jerry Falwell, or Ted Haggard, or Pat Robinson only by the method they use to broadcast their hatred. And I have never heard anyone but Bill Moyers voice any disapprobation, as a Christian, of this kind of hate-filled evangelism.
[quote kj]How could I call you hypocrites? I don't think you have any problem with mocking people, obviously, so how could it be hypocritical? I am wondering how you think it makes this world a better place to hate and mock. They hate, you hate back. Not effective, unless your goal is a world full of hate.
I don't expect this will make much sense to you, but it is not hatred. It is reprehension. The free exercise clause of the first amendment gives legal cover to all manner of reprehensible behavior, but the fact that something cannot be, and should not be, made illegal, does not mean that it must be tolerated. Ignoring them is not an option, when national news outlets insist of giving them a platform. Reasoned debate is not an option, because they are not reasonable. Which leaves only public censure and ridicule. Which is not the same thing as hatred.