Opinion Throwdown: Christians, back off
By
I’m sick of rich Christians driving around in Mercedes Benz’s, telling us who to hate. I don’t remember any passage in the Bible that tells Christians to align themselves with big business, and then use their wealth and power to oppress minorities. But that’s what they do. The Christian Coalition is a wing of the oil industry, which is a wing of the Republican Party. These are the same people who fought against the Civil Rights movement in the 60′s and here they are today, spreading their message of Christian hatred.
Whenever I hear one of these Christian Fundamentalists talking about who they don’t like, or who’s not entitled to equal rights, or who should be oppressed, I wonder, what would Jesus say? In the New Testament, there’s not a lot of talk about punishing minorities; there seems to be a lot of discussion about kindness and brotherly love and support. It’s because of this that I’m always amazed to hear Christians when they talk about punishing sinners. They will be quick to add, “We don’t want to punish the sinners, we just want to get them to stop sinning.” But preventing gays from adopting children, getting health insurance, or getting legally married is punishment no matter how you whitewash it.
What impresses me the most about Christian Fundamentalists is their flexibility. When it pleases them, they look to Jesus; but when they want to punish someone they don’t like, they close the New Testament and open up the Old Testament – the book where God is wrathful and competitive. He makes bets with angels over people’s lives and then kills wives and children to win his bet. He says that women should be punished for having their period and that slaves should love their masters. Could it be that this Old Testament was not written by a God, but by a homophobic, woman-hating, slave-owner? You have to wonder.
Throughout history, politicians and wealthy businessmen have brought the people together through a message of hate to make them good consumers, or willing soldiers. Fundamentalists are less likely to read the opposing opinion, to question their ministers, and thus they are more open for brainwashing.
If you check the lineage of today’s Christian Coalitioners, you’ll find that they’re the same people who were beating up the African Americans in the sixties. But, because it’s no longer politically acceptable to hate black people, they are more discreet in their discrimination.
They fight against affirmative action because one white person losing a job is far worse than fifty African Americans being discriminated against all their lives – if you’re African American and you don’t think you’re being discriminated against, check again. Recent studies have shown that African Americans are charged higher interest rates when they buy homes and cars. And if an African American gets arrested for a crime, they are four times more likely to serve time in prison.
Today, it’s no longer acceptable to hate African Americans – thus the need for the crusade against homosexuals, women and Democrats. It’s a dirty business, but if you want power, you need to have plenty of blind followers. Praise Jesus!
Miguel Ringler is a communications student and columnist for The Cardinal. miguel_ringler@louisvillecardinal.com