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Rambling about Tolerance

Love the sinners, hate the sin?

What if conservatives eventually lose their seats in legislative chambers across America, and socialists and ultra-progressives with anti-Christian sentiments gained majorities? They could easily make the same arguments about conservative Christians that the Christian Nationalists are now making about drag queens and LGBTQ+ people: that Christian Nationalists "indoctrinate impressionable children to hate"; force kids to make religious commitments before they are old enough to make rational choice; and the pastors and youth leaders molest and rape children. Then they might even call for an "eradication of Christianity."

In such a case, those arguments would be correct. Christian nationalists do actually indoctrinate kids to hate. They force their religion on their children. And there have been numerous examples of conservative church leaders who rape, molest, or enable others who engage in those activities. That doesn't justify the conclusion that Christianity should be eradicated.

This is also not the first nor the last time that Christian nationalists have called for genocide. I have no doubt that Matt Shae, author of the manifesto "The Biblical Basis for War", would just love to implement Numbers chapter 31 verses 17 and 18 right here in my own backyard. Quoting from the KJV, for those who haven't seen it.

Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.

The fact is, there are definitely strains and sects of Christianity that pose a mortal threat to modern secular society. The same is true of Islam. There are strains of Hindu nationalism that threaten secular and tolerant society in India. There are strains of Judaism that are a threat to secular and tolerant society in Israel. This is not a blanket condemnation of any of those faiths. I know beautiful, wonderful people from all four of the faiths I've mentioned: people whose morals and ethics spring from their religious devotion. And yes, there are intolerant atheists, and intolerant Buddhists, and intolerant people who ascribe to many other systems not listed here.

Here's what I'm trying to get at in my rambling way. We need to critically evaluate points of view and ways of life and tolerate them only if they are not a threat to pluralistic secular society.

Drag queens are fine. People have been cross-dressing for as long as people have been wearing clothes, I am sure. Realize that in the Elizabethan era, women weren't allowed to appear on stage. There were no actresses. Female characters were played by ... drumroll please ... dudes in drag. They are no threat to children or anyone else, unless you count adult dudes who have a shaky grasp of their own masculinity and people who want to impose their morals on everyone else.

You know who else is fine? The Amish! They aren't out here trying to impose their religion on the rest of society. I know there are plenty of people who had a bad experience growing up Amish. But the Amish as a whole are no threat to the rest of us. An Amish person would never have concocted a hateful pamphlet like "The Biblical Basis for War". Let them do their own thing.

For the purpose of this discussion, I will classify Christianity into two basically opposite strains. For lack of better terminology, I'll call them OG Christianity and Theodosian Christianity.

OG Christianity adheres to the teaching of Jesus that says "My kingdom is not of this world." The Amish are OG Christian.

Theodosian Christianity, which I've named for the Roman emperor Theodosius, is the most prevalent strain in the west and has been so for the last 1600 years or so. It's the strain that calls for government by Christians and imposition of Christianity on everyone. It is the Christianity of Charlemagne, of the crusaders, of the conquistadors, of John Calvin -- who burned heretics -- and so on. There's a direct lineage of thought leading from old Theo in the 4th century, all the way to Matt Shea in the 21st century. That strain of Christianity is a threat, and we all should recognize it as such.

I should emphasize that you find both types of Christian scattered throughout the various denominations. Roman Catholicism produced both the OG Christian Dorothea Day and the Theodosian Torquemada. The Southern Baptist tradition produced the OG Christian Jimmy Carter and the Theodosian Jerry Falwell. So you can't just point at a denomination and paint it with one broad brush. We have to judge individuals based on their own actions and statements.