Making Christians Look Bad

Evidently God now wants some Baptist ministers to fool around with females under the age of 18.  Cool!  Dennis Prager thinks that a person who has a gay child should not promote gay marriage.

The far right, aided by FOX Tabloid News, likes to pretend that there is a war against Christianity in this country.  Yes, there is a war against Christianity, but it is not being fought by the media, those evil atheists, or even radical Islam.  The war against Christianity is being waged by so-called ‘christian’ conservatives who have about as much to do with the teachings of Christ as my toy poodle has to do with the term ‘well-behaved’.

In the state of Tennessee, state senator Joey Hensley wants to pass a bill that would allow a student who is studying to be a counselor, social worker, or therapist the right to refuse to work with a suicidal gay or lesbian student, if it violated their so-called ‘christian’ beliefs.  In Arizona they already have such a law.  They have been proposed in Michigan and Georgia.   It is based on so-called ‘christian’ student Julea Ward (from Michigan, not Tennessee) who was expelled from Eastern Michigan after refusing to counsel a gay student who was being treated for depression.

I like what Jake Morris, who is head of counseling at Christian Lipscomb University said.  If you are going to be trained as a counselor, you need to be able to work with anyone, not just pick and choose.  Once a person is in private practice, they should be able to do what they want.

“...Religious-liberty rhetoric notwithstanding, civil rights is always about balancing competing interests. If the wedding photographer refuses to take a picture of a gay couple, the gay couple suffers injustice. If the wedding photographer must obey the same anti-discrimination laws as everyone else, then he or she has to put up with it, because this is America, and America doesn’t believe in discrimination.

Fortunately, this is a religious value as well. Christianity believes in rendering unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and God what is God’s. Corporations do not have consciences; they are commercial entities well within Caesar’s domain. You want to be in the marketplace, you play by the same rules as everyone else.

Unfortunately, such points are lost in the din of right-wing talk radio. Just last fall in Minnesota, for example, the religious-liberty crowd was warning that if same-sex marriage passed, ministers would be compelled to perform gay weddings. This was an out-and-out lie, and they knew it. No rabbi can be forced to perform an intermarriage. No Catholic priest can be forced to marry two divorcees. And no, Virginia, no minister could ever be forced to solemnize a gay wedding, a straight wedding, or any other kind of wedding she or he found objectionable. But try telling that to honest Christians who are being robocalled on the eve of an election.

Religious liberty is being used to mask a conservative Christian agenda—the same agenda that’s been pushed for half a century now. Some on the far right may sincerely believe their liberties are being threatened, but they believed that about desegregation too. A belief does not make something so. The question is how many new believers they’ll recruit before this crusade is defeated….”

If The Pink Flamingo remembers my New Testament correctly, Christ had tremendous compassion for everyone.  The only individuals he did not have any sort of compassion or patience for were the self-righteous religious class.   He wasn’t very complementary about them, treating them with absolute contempt.   One gets the impression, from Joey Hensley, that a so-called ‘christian’ has the right to allow someone who is gay or lesbian to die, to take their own life, rather than to help them.  Makes you wonder just What Would Jesus Do?

Then…

…”…Dr. Pat Fagan, who directs FRC’s Marriage and Religion Research Institute (MARRI), on Monday told FRC President Tony Perkins that a 1972 Supreme Court case that established the right of unmarried people to use contraception was “the single most destructive decision in the history of the Court.”…”

According to Fagan, the SCOTUS basically gave single people the right to engage in what they have been engaging in since the beginning of time – which is a heck of a lot longer than a few thousand years, for those ignorant among us who thinks that the world is just a few thousand years old.  He thinks that functioning societies should punish people for doing just that.

It makes The Pink Flamingo want to ask – where you know what do they get these people?  Fagan also said..

“… “Society never gave young people that right, functioning societies don’t do that, they stop it, they punish it, they corral people, they shame people, they do whatever,” Fagan said…”

“… Contraception is the underlying factor responsible for today’s scourge of unwed pregnancies, single-parent families, sexually transmitted diseases, deficient fatherhood, and high abortion rate, says a prominent family expert. “Since the introduction of contraception, everything else has fallen,” said Patrick Fagan, director of the Family Research Council’s Marriage and Religion Research Institute, reported CNS.

Addressing the annual conference of the Frederick Douglass Foundation in Washington, D.C. last week, Fagan cited “alienation of men from women, the breakdown of marriage,” and “sex outside of marriage” as a few of the tragic results of contraception use. The foundation is a black, faith-based organization.

“Universally, in all the history of Christianity, contraception was always seen as a grave sin against God,” he said, “a sin by which one lost divine life and the soul.”…”

I’m just so tired of ‘christian’ ignorance.  Contraception does not cost a person one’s divine life and soul.  Why do people like this even reach a position within society that they have a voice.  Oh, wait they are with the Family Research Council and the Heritage Foundation.

They don’t quite understand that a woman’s body belongs to her.

Politicus USA

“…Religion–both Christian and none–and the sanctity put upon a woman’s virginity is partially to blame for a cultural belief that rape is all about a man’s “lust” and inability to “hold back” from his sexual desires. Dominant Christian cultural beliefs hold women to a different sexual standard than they hold men. Rape is too often confused with sex, which often let’s the man off the hook in situations of sexualized violence, and therefore allows rape to continue.

In December I posted the above cartoon and asked “Why is rape different?” One-third of women murdered in the United States are killed by intimate partners, but we don’t call it “acquaintance murder.” Why must we then label rape committed by a partner or friend as acquaintance rape? I quickly answered my own question after getting frustrated with the language a woman used in a blog. The content of her piece was good. Focused on forgiving the man who raped her twin sister, I really couldn’t argue with her compassion or enlightened understanding in the situation. But I did feel the language used was detrimental to the cause….”

Alternet

Our Stories Untold

Hell, there’s not even a war against Christmas, only in some really disturbed minds.  There is a very good reason that The Pink Flamingo is a member of the Episcopal Church.  We believe in equal rights for all, that women are the same as men, and women are allowed to stand, equal with men in the ministry.  This is not so for many far right denominations, which should be noted, are fringe.

“…The ultimate goal of discipline, corporal or otherwise, is to instill in children the importance of immediate, complete, and cheerful obedience to authority. Discipline in this context becomes a systematic ritual of physical assault and emotional manipulation. Children are expected to willingly lean over the parent’s knees or a bed, stay still during beatings with a “sturdy but flexible instrument,” not to scream, and not to criticize or express anger towards parents. Parents are to conclude beatings by holding children until they stop crying and apologize, then showing them “lavish affection.” Children must reciprocate this affection and be “peaceful” in order for the ritual to conclude.

A child’s failure to be affectionate and peaceful after a beating is interpreted to mean that they need more discipline. What children learn from these teachings is that corporal punishment is an expression of parental love….

The larger context for corporal punishment is the belief that Christians must cultivate a lifelong attitude of submission to God-given authority. Parents are one such authority; male leadership over women in the family, church, and society is another.

Both women and children are taught that submission is part of a divine plan that should be embraced joyfully, and that even submitting to abusive men is noble and Christ-like. CLC pastor Joshua Harris quotes 1 Peter on this score, praising slaves who obeyed the masters who beat them as following Jesus’ example. Harris interprets this to mean that all Christians are called to submit, even when “suffering” under “unjust” leadership. Therefore wives are called to resist the “sinful” impulse to “fight back” against or even criticize husbands who misuse their “authority.”

These teachings are not unique to SGM. Evangelical leader John Piper—a friend to SGM—has taught that women must maintain attitudes of submission even toward abusive husbands. Wives may, he says, have to,“endure… being smacked one night” if abuse is “simply hurting [them]” and “not requiring [them] to sin” in some way like “group sex.”…”

In North Dakota, things have gone so far, with anti-abortion, that even the Republicans in the state house are joining liberals to protect the severe new laws. The real problem with these person-hood bills is that, in order to protect the pre-born, giving them full rights as humans, they completely strip a woman carrying a child of her rights as a person.  She has become nothing but but an incubator for a fertilized egg, at times.  There are states where a woman who has suffered from an ectopic pregnancy is nothing but a non-person.  Deaths from ectopic pregnancy are on the rise, contrary to what far right women hating jerks might want you to believe.

According to the Association of Pro-Life Physicians, a woman is worthless.

“...We must respond to all tragic circumstances of pregnancy from the unshakeable foundation of two indisputable premises: human life begins at conception, and it is always wrong to intentionally kill an innocent human being.  The unborn child’s right to life and liberty is given by his or her Creator, not by his or her parents or by the state.  The right to life is inalienable: that is, not to be trespassed upon by another.  In tragic circumstances such as rape or incest, we want to care for both the mother and her unborn baby.  We want to relieve the suffering of the mother and her unborn baby.  It is never right to intentionally kill an innocent person, even if it does relieve another’s emotional or physical suffering.  It’s not up to a vote, and our obligation to submit unto divine judgments does not sway with our circumstances.

We should not kill an unborn baby to alleviate the suffering of the mother any more than we should kill her infant to alleviate her suffering.  Neither should we commit an abortion of a malformed fetus in order to prevent his or her suffering later in life.  Being handicapped is not a capital crime.  The intentional destruction of health is not compassionate and it is not healthcare, it is assault.  We must not be swayed from our pro-life ethic by emotional appeals that admittedly swell our eyes with tears.  Truth and compassion prevent us from this fatal compromise.

We find it extremely unfortunate that many pro-lifers have regarded the health of the mother to be a consideration in whether or not she should have the right to terminate the life of her pre-born baby.  Politicians who herald the title “pro-life” on the campaign trail frequently tout this health exception, as well as exceptions for rape and incest, as pragmatic compromises that will not offend political moderates and not alienate the pro-life community.  We do not consider this compromise consistent with pro-life Hippocratic principles at all.  To intentionally kill or condone the intentional killing of one innocent human being precludes one from being considered “pro-life” at all.  A murderer of one person is not any less a murderer if he allows thousands to live, nor if he saves thousands from dying!

When the life of the mother is truly threatened by her pregnancy, if both lives cannot simultaneously be saved, then saving the mother’s life must be the primary aim.  If through our careful treatment of the mother’s illness the pre-born patient inadvertently dies or is injured, this is tragic and, if unintentional, is not unethical and is consistent with the pro-life ethic.  But the intentional killing of an unborn baby by abortion is never necessary.   

Most of what passes as a therapeutic, or medically-necessary abortion, is not necessary at all to save the mother’s life.  For example, if a mother has breast cancer and requires immediate chemotherapy to survive that can kill the baby, the physician will frequently recommend a therapeutic abortion.  Another example: if a mother has life-threatening seizures that can only be controlled by medication that will kill or severely deform her unborn child, the physician will frequently prescribe a therapeutic abortion.  In both of these cases, the abortion is not necessary to protect the mother’s health.  The necessary medication may injure or kill the pre-born child, but this is no justification for intentionally killing the child.  If the child is injured or dies from the medication prescribed to the mother to save her life, the injury was unintentional and, if truly medically necessary, not unethical. …”

There is no concern or care for her humanity.  So, how the hell are these physicians “christians”?  The so-called “christian” pro-life physicians don’t even believe in abortions, even for ectopic pregnancy.  You will read site after pro-life site where they state that women don’t die from ectopic pregnancies.  They then try to spread the canard that the reason a woman will have an ectopic pregnancy is because of drug use or because of a previous abortion.  Nothing is farther from the truth.  But, in order to prevent just one abortion the pro-life movement will allow a woman to die, and lie about it.

“…Ectopic pregnancy is a leading cause of maternal morbidity and mortality in the Unites States. Early diagnosis and management may not only save lives, but may also preserve future fertility…”

It is so common it is found in one out of every one hundred pregnancies in the US.

NY Mag

The Pink Flamingo is so pro-life I don’t believe in capital punishment except for treason.  But, a woman’s life is more important than the life she carries.  At least it was the night before I was born.  My mother was told that one of us would not survive.  Her OB told her that it was his job to keep her alive.  Today, in certain states, he could be threatened with murder charges, loss of license, and prison time for choosing the save the life of the mother.

Pathos

Somehow, I don’t think this extreme position is pro-life.

These people make Christians look so bad.  It’s hard enough dealing with life, and trying to do what is right, and follow Christ, without having to put up with jerks who make us all look bad.  The Pink Flamingo has been making friends on Twitter with individuals who claim to be atheist.  As a Christian, it is my job to set an example of the Love of Christ for people to see, and perhaps wish to emulate.  How the hell can a person do this when dealing with so called ‘christians’ who make us all look bad.

Then, again, every once in awhile, something happens that gives you renewed faith in humanity, and in followers of Christ.

“…Around 1:30 p.m. local time on March 18, Daniel Del Regno, the kiosk owner’s son, answered the phone and heard a voice say, “Hi Daniel, it’s Cardinal Jorge.”

He thought that maybe a friend who knew that the former Archbishop of Buenos Aires bought the newspaper from them every day was pulling a prank on him.

“Seriously, it’s Jorge Bergoglio, I’m calling you from Rome,” the Pope insisted.

“I was in shock, I broke down in tears and didn’t know what to say,” Del Regno told the Argentinean daily La Nacion. “He thanked me for delivering the paper all this time and sent best wishes to my family.”

Del Regno shared that when Cardinal Bergoglio left for Rome for the conclave, he asked him if he thought he would be elected Pope.

“He answered me, ‘That is too hot to touch. See you in 20 days, keep delivering the paper.’ And the rest is, well, history,” he said.

“I told him to take care and that I would miss him,” Del Regno continued. “I asked him if there would ever be the chance to see him here again. He said that for the time being that would be very difficult, but that he would always be with us.”

Before hanging up the phone, he added, the Pope asked him for his prayers.

Daniel’s father, Luis Del Regno, said they delivered the paper to the former cardinal’s residence every day.

On Sundays, he said, the cardinal “would come by the kiosk at 5:30 a.m. and buy La Nacion. He would chat with us for a few minutes and then take the bus to Lugano, where he would serve mate (tea) to young people and the sick.”

Among the “thousands of anecdotes” the elder Del Regno remembers is one involving the rubber bands that he put around the newspapers to keep them from being blown away when they were delivered to the cardinal.

“At the end of the month, he always brought them back to me. All 30 of them!”

He said he gets goose bumps whenever he thinks about Pope Francis’ simplicity.

“In June he baptized my grandson, it was an amazing feeling,” Del Regno said. “I know what he’s like. He’s one of a kind.”…”

It’s too bad we all aren’t that considerate of others.