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The Daily Show Gives a Voice to the Voiceless

Pretty funny clip. I don't think conservative Christians are oppressed in their daily lives, however I do think there is a stream of thought that is perpetrated throughout the Democratic Party and most of the press that those who condemn homosexuality as a sin (or as wrong) are not to be tolerated. They are to be ridiculed, mocked, and named as a bigot. Some of you are probably reading this right now thinking 'that is because they are bigots' which probably proves my point.

Whether that has any real impact on the daily lives of conservative Christians is debatable (I doubt it does), but it is a clear verbal right now between progressives on this issue and conservatives on this issue. The conservatives are losing, and will lose the battle in the long run. Of that there is little doubt Societies always grow more liberal over time until they fall. For me that is not really the point. If you are convicted of a truth then you are convicted of it.
 
Wrangor said:
Pretty funny clip. I don't think conservative Christians are oppressed in their daily lives, however I do think there is a stream of thought that is perpetrated throughout the Democratic Party and most of the press that those who condemn homosexuality as a sin (or as wrong) are not to be tolerated. They are to be ridiculed, mocked, and named as a bigot. Some of you are probably reading this right now thinking 'that is because they are bigots' which probably proves my point.

Whether that has any real impact on the daily lives of conservative Christians is debatable (I doubt it does), but it is a clear verbal right now between progressives on this issue and conservatives on this issue. The conservatives are losing, and will lose the battle in the long run. Of that there is little doubt Societies always grow more liberal over time until they fall. For me that is not really the point. If you are convicted of a truth then you are convicted of it.
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Christians that cite the Bible as the reason for their belief that interracial marriage is a sin, are they bigots?
 
Fair Question. I would say they are bigots because the Bible makes no clear distinction on the issue of inter-race marriage. It speaks very strongly in the OT about marrying outside of their faith as the Israelites enter new lands as they may be persuaded to leave their faith and their God. There are numerous examples of inter-race relations in the Bible that are celebrated (Ruth and Boaz is a perfect one). Someone who is using the Bible falsely to promote bigotry is a bigot.

On the other hand the Bible is very clear regarding homosexuality. And this argument has been had over and over on the lexicon, context, etc... but the reality is that the Bible does address homosexuality directly, and nowhere does it promote the lifestyle.

In the end we are faced with a somewhat difficult dilemma. What is an acceptable basis for our wisdom? Conservative Christians believe (or should) believe that the basis is the Bible. Whether you agree that it was a foundation of our country or not, there is no denying Christianities influence over the past 300 years as they are evidenced throughout the building blocks of our society. Current culture is beginning to stream away from the Bible as a source of wisdom, and more to a source of derision. Right now we are stuck in the middle where a large portion of our society still holds the Bible as somewhat true, yet momentum is swinging away from that.

I am not quite sure how we handle that as a society. The trend is certainly moving away from Christianity in my opinion, and I think that is why you see fear from Christians as the culture changes. Eventually I see our culture becoming very similar to Europe's and Christianity will either die (as it pretty much has in Europe) or it will suffer some kind of persecution as it struggles to stand up against the waves.

Good question though. Tried to give a thoughtful response.
 
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Many Christian denominations don't believe as Wrangor says they do.
 
Which is why I said conservative Christians. It is like u don't try to read.
 
You have freedom of speech in this country. However, you can't force people to agree with or give a shit about that speech.
 
The Bible addresses lots of behaviors directly and is very clear about draconian punishments for those behaviors. Modern man conveniently and hypocritically writes some of them off as outdated and symbolic, and others like homosexuality as clear and literal. This is very obvious and unsettling.
 
Wrangor said:
What does that have to do with persecution?
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I'm just saying this talk of persecution is just a bunch of bullshit. People can say what they want but it's not persecution for others to not listen or to tell you to shut up.
 
WakeandBake said:
The Bible addresses lots of behaviors directly and is very clear about draconian punishments for those behaviors. Modern man conveniently and hypocritically writes some of them off as outdated and symbolic, and others like homosexuality as clear and literal. This is very obvious and unsettling.
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this
 
Tim Keller has an awesome book titled King's Cross, and I've been meaning to share this as I thought it very pertinent to the position of many evangelicals seeking power, forcing their beliefs on others, wanting a Christian nation, etc. Keller begins this section with Mark 10:35-45, the story of two disciples, James and John, making a request of Jesus.

"35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” 36 And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” 37 And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” 38 Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” 39 And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, 40 but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” "

Keller points out that the moment in which Jesus most reveals God's glory is on the cross, certainly not what James and John are picturing. You see how hard it is for them to accept the gift of humility.

"41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. 42 And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,[d] 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave[e] of all. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”"

Keller says,

"Jesus is talking about how most people try to influence society, to get their way. They lord it over others. They seek power and control. If I have the power, if I have the wealth, the connections, then I can get my way.

When Jesus says "No so with you," what do you think he means? Is he saying we must withdraw and have nothing to do with society? No. Actually the principle that he's laying out rather explicitly here was already laid out earlier, in the book of the prophet Jeremiah in chapter 29. The Israelite nation had been destroyed by the Babylonian empire, and many of the people had been taken by force to Babylon. What was their attitude supposed to be toward the Babylonian society, in which they were exiles? They could have tried to keep to themselves and have nothing to do with it. Or they could have tried to infiltrate Babylon and use guerrilla tactics to take power. But what did God say to them? In Jeremiah 29:7, God said, "Seek the peace and the prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper." That is, I want you to seek the prosperity of Babylon. I want you to make it a great city to live in. I want you to serve your neighbors--even though their language is different and they don't believe what you believe. And I don't want you to do this out of a sense of duty. "Pray for it" is another way of saying "love it." ...

"For you," God says, "the route to gaining influence is not taking power. Influence gained through power and control doesn't really change society; it doesn't change hearts. I'm calling you to a totally different approach. Be so sacrificially loving to the people around you, who don't believe what you believe, will soon be unable to imagine the place without you. They'll trust you because they see that you're not only out for yourself, but out for them, too. When they voluntarily begin to look up to you because of your service and love, you'll have real influence. It will be an influence given to you by others, not taken by you from others." Who is the model for that way of gaining influence? It's Jesus himself, of course. How did Jesus respond to his enemies? He didn't call down legions of angels to fight them. He died for their sins, and as he was dying he prayed for them. And if at the very heart of your worldview is a man dying for his enemies, then the way you're going to win influence in society is through service rather than power and control."
 
WakeandBake said:
The Bible addresses lots of behaviors directly and is very clear about draconian punishments for those behaviors. Modern man conveniently and hypocritically writes some of them off as outdated and symbolic, and others like homosexuality as clear and literal. This is very obvious and unsettling.
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Why is it hypocritical or unsettling for someone to believe that some biblical teachings were a product of their time and others are the product of eternal truths? There are very few who believe the bible is inerrant anymore, so for the bible to say anything, we have to separate the wheat from the chaff, as it were. It's all a matter of line drawing, but I don't see why one person drawing the line at a different place from me is hypocritical or unsettling.
 
WakeandBake said:
The Bible addresses lots of behaviors directly and is very clear about draconian punishments for those behaviors. Modern man conveniently and hypocritically writes some of them off as outdated and symbolic, and others like homosexuality as clear and literal. This is very obvious and unsettling.
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Do a little research on the Old Covenant and the New Covenant.
 
While I don't like it, I get some of the Kabuki theater in the GOP on things like limiting abortion, even if there's no chance of it ever coming up for a vote in the Senate or being signed into law by Obama, but I don't get why Christians put up with clowns like Erick Erickson. When Souter retired from the Supreme Court, Erickson called him, "a goat fucking child molester". Doesn't strike me as something a committed follower of Christ would ever say about anyone. Erickson also said the GOP should get rid of fiscal conservatives before social conservatives. Don't consider Westboro Baptist a relevant participant in political or religious dialogue, but Erickson is well regarded in conservative politics. Why do social conservatives put up with nasty rhetoric that isn't even remotely close to Christ's teachings?
 
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