[Vision2020] persecution? really?

[keely emerinemix]

Continuing Joan's, Ted's, and others' comments about NSA being "persecuted" 
--

In nearly q quarter-century of living as a disciple of Jesus, and more than 
five decades of living, period, I have yet to see an American Christian 
persecuted for her/his beliefs.

Criticized -- yeah.  Made fun of?  Sure.  Inconvenienced?  Of course.  But 
"persecuted"?  Stripped of majority protection and support and hunted down 
as the worst of the marginalized?

I have seen plenty of people who call themselves Christians behave like 
asses, for which they are rightly judged, derided, or ignored.  That's not 
persecution.

I have seen plenty more have their feelings easily hurt by radio talk hosts 
who urge them to feel maligned when the store clerk wishes them Happy 
Holidays.  But tender sensibilities easily provoked are not evidence of 
persecution.

And I have seen plenty of examples of American culture doing its damndest, 
it seems, to violate the Scriptural injunction to protect the poor and 
vulnerable, confront the powers of wealth and privilege, practice personal 
holiness, and speak truth.  Most often I've seen "Christians" either 
conforming to the culture or locking themselves away in "bible bunkers" to 
resist having to deal with the uglier aspects of life.  I see an easy, 
whitebread, non-demanding, horribly out-of-balance brand of tepid 
Anglo-Protestantism that has become a nice, non-prophetic civic religion 
embraced by those in power and then used -- in the name of some "Christ" 
they once heard of -- to empty the gospel of its power and instead exercise 
their own over those who most need a Gospel witness.

There's persecution there, but the ones suffering aren't Christian at all.

No, I think that if Christians in this country were ever persecuted; were 
ever torn from positions of power and stripped of privilege; were ever 
hounded, hunted and hated because of their deep love and devotion to Jesus 
Christ, it would be a sign that the Church is being passionately prophetic 
and sacrificially loving its neighbors, fulfilling its call to be salt and 
light and a shining city on a hill, and finally casting off its 
"christian-ish" trappings and radically serving the world around it by 
demonstrating holiness, courage, and the power of the Spirit.  That would 
bring persecution.

Believe me . . . as a Christian, I think the lot of us are pretty safe.

keely






From: Joan Opyr <joanopyr at moscow.com>
To: "Ted Moffett" <starbliss at gmail.com>
CC: Vision2020 Moscow <vision2020 at moscow.com>
Subject: [Vision2020] Re: Never Letting Go
Date: Sat, 1 Apr 2006 23:14:43 -0800

On Apr 1, 2006, at 10:10 PM, Ted Moffett wrote:

>All:
>
>Many of those who proclaim the "progressives" who oppose the presence of 
>NSA in the CBD are hypocrites violating their own standards of promoting 
>diversity and religious tolerance might sing a different tune if instead of 
>NSA in the CBD, there was a Madrassa teaching 150 Islamic youth that the 
>USA was "the Great Satan."
>
>Then we would see who the hypocrites really are in this attempt to turn 
>progressive values against progressives!
>
>Suddenly the violations of zoning law involving placing a tax exempt higher 
>education institution in the CBD, taking parking and business away from 
>other tax paying businesses, might be a hot issue for those who think Islam 
>is not the true religion of God.  In fact, I suspect it likely such a 
>school in the CBD would have been stopped based on the zoning regs. before 
>it was even established.
>
>Selective enforcement of the law is a cornerstone of bigotry and 
>intolerance, with favors and a "wink" handed out to those who confrom to 
>the values and ideology of those in power.
>
>Ted Moffett


Very well said, Ted.

Your use of the Madrassa analogy is more apt than my comparison of Doug 
Wilson to the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.  Here in Moscow, we see that claiming 
to be a Christian institution offers the serial zoning violator the perfect 
cover for willfully flouting the law.  If we critique Doug Wilson or his 
college, New St. Andrews, we're accused of religious persecution and, as 
"Godless liberals," we're presumed guilty -- this despite the fact that the 
three men who filed the zoning complaint are all professing Christians.  How 
is it that we keep losing sight of that?  Doug Wilson's persecution claims 
have resonance in our current political atmosphere because the Christian 
right has been leveling these charges to great effect for the past twenty 
years.  How often do we read that Christians, the undisputed majority in 
this culture, feel discriminated against and put upon?  We need look no 
further than Fox TV's irrational tirade about a "War on Christmas."  What 
war?  Why, the one in which it's persecution to wish Bill O'Reilly "Happy 
Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas."  It's pure fantasy, and yet here we 
are, mean, green progressives afraid to point out the obvious -- that the 
minister has no robes.

I don't care that New St. Andrews is (or makes the pretense of being) a 
Christian college.  The point is that NSA is a college, full stop.  It is a 
non-vocational educational institution and as such it is -- or rather was, 
prior to our former City Council's fit of special treatment spot zoning -- 
prohibited in the Central Business District.  Why is this so difficult to 
grasp?  Because, sadly, it's very easy to hide a multitude of sins beneath 
the mantle of Christianity.  This is the power of the majority culture.  
This is the ugly face of hegemony and privilege.

No, Ted, a Madrassa would never have flown in the old Verizon building, not 
even, I suspect, one that professed mainstream rather than radical Islamic 
views.  Joel Plaskon would never have granted a Madrassa an occupancy 
permit; there would have been no change to accommodate a Madrassa in city 
zoning ordinance; and we would not now have downtown businesses faced with a 
Madrassa hogging up retail space and retail parking.  That Doug Wilson has 
repeatedly written that Islam is not a valid faith but an evil and wicked 
perversion has no bearing on the case.  In refusing to tolerate his 
intolerance; in refusing to accept the Hail Mary pass he's been granted by 
the supposedly secular government of our city, we're somehow worse than he 
is.

Now, I think I'll go out drunk driving.  If the cops pull me over, I'll ask 
if they're Jewish.  If they're not -- if they're Christians -- then I'll 
refuse the breathalyzer.  They'll cart me off to jail and toss me in the 
drunk tank, but I'll sue their polyester pants off, not because I was sober 
(as I've just admitted I was not) but because they're clearly persecuting me 
out of a lack of religious tolerance and appreciation for diversity.  How 
far do you think I'll get?  What if I throw in the fact that I'm gay and 
that they (I'll presume) are straight?

Yes, I know: about as far as a snowball in hell.  I should have picked a 
more politically expedient faith.

Joan Opyr/Auntie Establishment
www.joanopyr.com



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