Blood Pressure Rising

So this is something that crossed my radar. I did not copy the entire article, you can go to the Los Angeles Times website to read the entire thing.

Christians Sue for Right Not to Tolerate Policies

By Stephanie Simon, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
April 10, 2006


ATLANTA — Ruth Malhotra went to court last month for the right to be intolerant.

Malhotra says her Christian faith compels her to speak out against homosexuality. But the Georgia Institute of Technology, where she's a senior, bans speech that puts down others because of their sexual orientation.

Malhotra sees that as an unacceptable infringement on her right to religious expression. So she's demanding that Georgia Tech revoke its tolerance policy.

With her lawsuit, the 22-year-old student joins a growing campaign to force public schools, state colleges and private workplaces to eliminate policies protecting gays and lesbians from harassment. The religious right aims to overturn a broad range of common tolerance programs: diversity training that promotes acceptance of gays and lesbians, speech codes that ban harsh words against homosexuality, anti-discrimination policies that require college clubs to open their membership to all.

The Rev. Rick Scarborough, a leading evangelical, frames the movement as the civil rights struggle of the 21st century. "Christians," he said, "are going to have to take a stand for the right to be Christian."

I fail to see how the evangelical right can even have the audacity to equate themselves with the real civil rights movement. The last time I looked, Christians were able to sit in the front of the bus, use the same drinking fountains as everyone else, and pretty much do whatever they please without infringing upon the rights of others. Which happens to be the basis for the Constitution.

What makes me so very sad for them is that they are missing the entire message of the New Testament.

"Love thy neighbor as thyself."

There was no caveat with that statement. This edict came directly from Jesus, and therefore God, Himself. He didn't say, "But it is ok not to love them if they are of a different race. Or if they are gay. Or if they don't believe in exactly the same doctrine that you do. Or if they eat chicken and you like beef."

Jesus taught tolerance, love, and inclusion. How people can focus on one or two lines in the Bible, and somehow miss the entire point is beyond my reasoning.

I am wondering how much these people love themselves to be capable of such hostility.