Two Things on Which I Must Comment

Ok, first, at Althouse's blog, she gives a link to this article. It discusses a conference during which Christians got together and talked about how they're persecuted. I want to take a moment to point out how stupid these people are. (I want it to be understood that it is not my position that all Christians are stupid - just that these particular ones are.)

White evangelicals make up about one-quarter of the U.S. population, and 85 percent of Americans identify themselves as Christians. But three-quarters of evangelicals believe they are a minority under siege and nearly half believe they are looked down upon by most of their fellow citizens, according to a 2004 poll.

Ok. When you make up 85% of the population, and the President is on your side, can you really, legitimately claim to be "under siege"? Answer: no, you cannot. So what gives rise to this feeling of persecution? Let's see if the rest of the article gives us an idea. Here's what good ol' Tom Delay had to say:

"We are after all a society that abides abortion on demand, that has killed millions of innocent children, that degrades the institution of marriage and often treats Christianity like some second-rate superstition. Seen from this perspective, of course there is a war on Christianity," he said.

We abide abortion on demand? Eh, maybe. Unless you live in South Dakota, where legislators have decided that they're above the annoying mandates of the U.S. Constitution. In any event, just because a government refuses to pass laws that exactly reflect your moral perspective doesn't mean you're being persecuted. We've killed millions of innocent children? I'm not really sure what he's talking about here, but i take it that it's another abortion thing. I won't even touch this one cause it's so inflamatory and conclusory. I will, however, mention that i'm sure tons of innocent children have died in Afghanistan and Iraq, along with a lot of innocent adults. Still, Mr. Delay seems to be just fine with that. All i'm saying is that he should pick a position: pro dead kids or anti dead kids, and stick with it. Next? Ah, yes, we're degrading marriage. Mr. Delay overlooks the fact that his narrow-minded and homophobic view of marriage degrades the lives of millions of Americans. Again, there is no sound policy behind his position, just religious dogma. We here in a non-religious state are allowed to pass laws that Jesus wouldn't have agreed with, Mr. Delay (if, in fact, Jesus would have been anti-homosexual). Finally, we treat Christianity like a second-rate superstition. Do we? I don't know. I do know two things, though:

1. We are allowed to treat Christianity like a second-rate superstition. By "we," i mean society. The government, on the other hand, shouldn't be treating Christianity like anything, it should remain neutral. Still, that's not the case, and that's at least arguably unconstitutional.
2. Some Christians treat other religions (or the lack of religion) much worse than a second-rate superstition. Christians make up the majority of America, but that doesn't give them the right to ask for considerations that they're unwilling even to consider giving other religious groups.

So all these stupid accusations means there's a war on Christianity? Man, Tom Delay is an idiot. Still, we all knew that. Let's see what else is up:

Much of the conference revolved around the difficulty of Christian parenting in a culture of sexual permissiveness. Don Feder, founder of a group called Jews Against Anti-Christian Defamation, urged the crowd not to blame "the liberal, self-hating Jews in Hollywood."

"Remember, the people in this audience are more Jewish than people like Barbra Streisand, because you embrace Jewish values, she doesn't," he said.

Another Jewish speaker, Michael Horowitz, told the conference that the "Christian decency of this country" saved him from becoming "a bar of soap" in Nazi Germany.

"You guys have become the Jews of the 21st century," said Horowitz.

I'm sorry, but these comments are too stupid and too scary to even comment on, really. To say that the religous group that does and has always held the majority of power in a country is akin to the Jews in Nazi Germany is just... disgusting. Further, i thought that Christians were supposed to be good Christians, not good Jews? I thought they were different things? Do Christians have to keep kosher now?

Klingenschmitt said he was punished by a commander for offering sectarian prayers at a memorial service for a fallen sailor, and he compared himself to Abdur Rahman, an Afghan man who until this week faced possible execution for converting from Islam to Christianity.

Now, i don't know all the circumstances of this event, and it could very well be that Mr. Klingenschmitt's superiors were wrong. After all, i think people should be able to pray and lead prayers as long as the participants are participating voluntarily. Still, it's a leap to go from this instance of possible stupidity on the part of the superiors to alleging all-out persecution. And it's simply unfathomable to say that Mr. Klingenschmitt is in any way comparable to Abdur Rahman, who was arrested and threatened with death simply for becoming a Christian. This comparison is insulting.

Lloyd Marcus, a painter, said he entered three paintings in a Black History Month art show at the City Hall of Deltona last month. But because the canvases showed a man wearing an "I love Jesus" cap and a minister holding a Bible, city officials deemed them inappropriate until the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal group, threatened a lawsuit, he said.

Again, it's stupid of the Delton officials not to allow Mr. Marcus' artwork. But that can hardly be taken as conclusive evidence of a war against Christians.

The Rev. Tom Crouse, pastor of a Congregational Church in Holland, Mass., said that after hearing about a gay beauty pageant in California, he decided to hold a "Mr. Heterosexual Contest" in Worcester, Mass., on Feb. 18.

"It was just an event to proclaim the truth that God created us all heterosexual," he said. But to his surprise, he said, he received anonymous death threats, local officials condemned the contest, and "even Bible-believing churches were not on board. They said it wasn't loving."

Man, when you do something that makes other Christians question you, you've gotta stop and think if what you're doing is cool. Not Rev. Crouse, though. Once more, Rev. Crouse has the right to hold his pageant. Others have the right to protest. I'm sure that the pageant in California got more than a few letters from Christians, but I doubt Rev. Crouse thinks that's evidence of a war against homosexuals. Still, he's more than willing to believe that a few letters delivered to him indicate a war against Christians.

Idiots, man.

The other thing:

The U.S. News and World Report law school rankings have been leaked! While i won't link to them, i have seen them. UWLaw is ranked 33rd, which is about where it was when i decided to come here. That's good, because the rumors around the atrium have been that we almost slipped into the 40s. It's a good thing to know we're still clinging to the low 30s.