HATING CHRISTIANS IS JUST GOOD SENSE
By Harmony Grant
13 Dec 07
The hate crimes bill was struck from the federal arms bill and that’s
worth half a party. I say half because it was struck down thanks to
God, not wise legislators or American protest. The House passed this
bill 237 to 180; the Senate passed it 60 to 39. That's a lot of stupid,
swindled or evil legislators.
Hate crime laws will do nothing to protect Americans from violent
crimes—crimes that are already, of course, illegal. They will
instead choke law enforcement with the difficult and inappropriate
job of determining and punishing motivations behind crime. They will
empower the government to punish and prosecute beliefs and speech.
We've gone over this before (See, Top
11 Reasons You Should Fight Hate Laws). We've said repeatedly that, as cases in Canada and Europe prove,
hate laws only prosecute certain "hatreds" and "bias." Bias
against Christians isn’t among them!
In Colorado, four people are dead after two shootings by a gunman who hated
believers and published anti-Christian
rants on the web.
Two Christians were killed at a missionary training center. Twelve hours
later, two teenage girls were killed and others sustained gunshots at a mega
church founded by deposed evangelical leader Ted Haggard. Many more would
have died if a brave (and praying!) security officer had not killed the gunman.
Need I say what would happen if these violent crimes had been committed
at two synagogues? Cries of "Hate crime!" would have been
instant. The Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, architect of hate
laws worldwide, would have been quoted in every major newspaper, demanding
increased attention to hate crimes and laws for the poor victims of "anti-Semitic" religious
hatred. We know this because hate law advocates exploit every potential
hate crime, inflate every statistic, and cry bloody murder at every
possible chance--always seeking to inflame public emotion in favor
of these laws. One can only imagine the hand-wringing, the ceremonies,
the well-funded documentaries linking this horrible crime with mistreatment
of the chosen people throughout history.
But what happened to the Christian victims? The day after the shootings, BBC
ran the story on the front of their "Americas" page. Their
report had not a whisper about hate
crimes. USA Today headlined the
story on page 1A.
Their article also contained no mention of a potential hate crime. The ADL,
ever eager to shriek "hate crime," didn't even mention the shooting
on their ostensibly anti-hate website. Conversely, they were quick to respond
to the alleged subway
attack
on four students (in which no one died) because it might have been “anti-Semitic.”
About the slaying of the Christians, Colorado Gov.
Bill Ritter was
quoted: "Violent crimes of any sort are tragic enough, but when
innocent people are killed in a religious facility or a place of worship,
we must voice a collective sense of outrage and demonstrate a renewed
commitment to keeping our communities safe."
Sounds nice. But again, the governor made no mention of the hatred driving
the gunman’s grisly spree. It's not like Ritter doesn't know about hate
laws. In 2000, as a member of the House Judiciary Committee, the governor spoke
in favor of increased hate crime laws at the federal level.
In May, Ritter signed an ENDA-type bill into Colorado law, making
it illegal to "discriminate" against homosexuals or transgenders
in hiring or firing. But when it comes
to Christians, where's the love?
Don't misunderstand: I'm against hate laws – I’m against
special protection for evangelicals, homosexuals, or anyone else. I'm
just pointing out the inconsistency among those who do advocate these
laws. They're faster than falcons to cry "hate crime" over
any suspicious action, word, or even symbol (a noose, anyone?) erected
against a racial minority, Jew or homosexual. But Christians get no
defense. Again, that's because these laws are meant to enforce certain
beliefs--to legitimize homosexuality and Jewish supremacism, for example--and
silence those who disagree, like Bible-believing Christians. They're
not about justice.
ABC's
news story notes, "Haggard and the New Life Church had
links to Youth With A Mission. The two groups worked together on a
controversial missionary program that focused on converting people
in Muslim countries to Christianity."
Despite pointing out that missionary activities might stimulate hate
in many people, ABC doesn't hint that the shooting spree against this
Christian church could be a hate crime. Maybe that's because their
news writers share that emotion. They see bias against Christians as
good sense, not hate.
For ADL, every act or word that might even be construed as anti-Semitic,
anti-Zionist or anti-Israel is described as assaulting Jewry worldwide
and is linked with historical sagas of irrational hatred of Jews. Meanwhile,
Christians are killed in countless nations and freely slandered and
censored here--and I hear no outcry from the "Anti-Defamation" League,
no outburst from media against "rising Christophobia" or
the scourge of "anti-Christianity" in the world.
The Colorado shooter said he hated Christians for causing so much
of the pain in the world. This has been a pretty common theme of late.
Many elite opinion makers have been blaming “religious extremism,” especially
that of Christians, for historical wars, oppression, and evil. Should
we press hate charges against these thinkers for inciting the Colorado
shooter to violence? Don’t expect the ADL to march for that anytime
soon!
The UK Guardian recently ran a good column
against hate crime legislation.
It asks that law enforcers not be turned into thought police. It leads
with these words, "There is a book widely available in Britain
that openly incites hatred of gay men. They are, it says, 'an abomination'
and 'shall surely be put to death'. The book is Leviticus - a holy
text for millions of people worldwide."
This is a key to why the Colorado Christians aren't championed as
victims of hate. Hate law advocates think Christians are hateful, racist,
proselytizing (that's a dirty word) homophobes. They are the spreaders
of hate, not potential hate crime victims!
Remember, we live in a nation with an elite culture that considers
Christianity more dangerous than homosexuality. At a recent movie awards
show, mega-stars George Clooney and Brad Pitt presented a
parody of
Larry Craig's disgrace--making a joke out of men seeking anonymous
sex with other men in public bathrooms.
Yeah, that kind of behavior is clearly nothing to worry about. The
real worry is Christian "Bible bashers" who might express "hateful" moral
judgments or "bias" against people who engage in such behaviors!
That's why you won't see parades turn out to commemorate Colorado's
Christian "hate victims." That's why someday, not too far
away, lawmakers will throw Christians in prison for owning the Bible
(hate literature).
Opposing Christianity isn't hate, after all. It's just good sense.
Harmony Grant writes and edits for National Prayer Network, a Christian/conservative
watchdog group.
Listen to Ted Pike discuss hate bill defeat Dec. 6 with Janet Folger
and CWA's Matt Barber: Listen
Here!
"No More Wars for Israel" video featuring Ted Pike and
Iranian President Ahmadinejad, Watch
It Here!
Let the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith teach you how they
have saddled 45 states with hate laws capable of persecuting Christians: http://www.adl.org/99hatecrime/intro.asp.
Learn how ADL took away free speech in Canada and wants to steal
it now in the U.S. Congress. Watch Rev. Ted Pike's Hate
Laws: Making Criminals of Christians at video.google.com. Purchase
this gripping documentary to show at church. Order online at www.truthtellers.org for
$24.90, DVD or VHS, by calling 503-853-3688, or at the address below.
TALK SHOW HOSTS: Interview Rev. Ted Pike on this
topic. Call (503) 631-3808.
National Prayer Network, P.O. Box 828, Clackamas,
OR 97015
