Commentary: The Day Christ and Faith Died

My niece is 24 years old and I suspect she doesn’t like me telling people about her long past fondness for a purple dinosaur.  When I would go visit family when she was just a little girl she would be filled with life and as rambunctious as any typical 3-year old, which is to say she was a blur of energy.  My brother was the one who found the calming balm.  He popped an old VHS tape into the player and hours and hours of episodes of Barney and Friends would roll.  The theme music would start and the little girl would race to the living room no matter where else and what else she was doing.  Her hands would go up in the air and she would dance to the songs.  There would be hours of peace in the house.

I cite the story because now the whole dang country operates like an infantile episode of Barney.  Long held beliefs and traditions are under attack.  Christianity for one.  Biblical Christian beliefs are now practically outlawed because it’s illegal to hurt the feelings of another.  Christianity isn’t a message of “I’m O.K., you’re O.K.”  The latter was a big hippie book of pap we were assigned to read in college.  I studied the book in the autumn of 1979 and at the time accepted its premise and didn’t realize what the long term goal of academia was as it promoted the text.

“Tolerance is not a Christian virtue!” is a legendary quote from Charles Chaput.  He now serves as the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Philadelphia.  I’ll bet it’s also an acceptable quote among a great many Protestants in the United States.  The more liberal denominations, the ones hemorrhaging congregants, preach “I’m O.K., you’re O.K.” and the Democrat Party.  I would dare say Christian churches in America are under just as much pressure as Christian churches in China to toe the party line.  Any attempt to defend the rights of Christians to practice what the Bible tells them so is being trampled under a barrage of mainstream media, academia, Hollywood and despicable, amoral and hypocritical politicians.  There was a moment of hope for me early this morning.  I saw the Wall Street Journal guest commentary from Indiana Governor Mike Pence in defense of his state’s adoption of a religious freedom law.

Within a few hours the not so courageous Pence raised the white flag.  For a few brief hours I thought traditional America had a new champion.  Now I’m resigned to the notion our culture of liberty is certainly past the point of no return.

It soon won’t be enough Christians are forced to photograph and cater same-sex weddings, the demands will grow.  Clergy who still adhere to the rigorous demands of faith will be forced to perform the ceremonies and there will be demands we publicly sanction the arrangements and eventually, who knows, partake of the honeymoon rituals.

As I was wrapping up my humble radio show this morning I suggested Christians are solely under attack.  I’m not aware any Muslim bakers and photographers have been approached with demands to compromise their consciences (and minutes after my show ended Rush Limbaugh made the same point on his program, evidence it’s obvious to a great many) and I suspect Lefty is afraid of the Islamic response.  Christianity remains the dominant faith in Western Civilization and Western Culture.  The message allowed notions of equality to flourish, birthed the enlightenment and British liberal democracy.  As the branches sprouted so did the United States of America and the concept our liberties are granted by God and not by men.  By taking down Christianity Lefty is taking down civilization.

No, a purple dinosaur didn’t create the crisis.  Barney was just another seed planted along the way to convince the young a new and better culture awaited.  School bullying policies, helicopter parenting and taking offense at every idea running counter to your own thoughts iced the cake.

A friend shared a comment with me today.  Discrimination means choice.  Choice is a synonym for liberty.  If someone won’t serve you lunch, bake you a cake or take your picture then choose from the hundreds of other merchants who’ll be glad to cash your check, although.  It would confirm our fears, suspicions and the truth of Lefty’s motives.  Christianity is a withering force this Holy Week.  And Jesus wept.