I think also there is a segment of Christians (from my church experiences) that thrive on the perception of persecution; that they need to fight against a hostile culture for their beliefs just like early Christians in the New Testament. I think this can magnify issues like the mosque and gay marriage, etc... It reminds me of Mike Huckabee during his presidential run saying that there were "Plenty of choices for candidates who don't believe in God". A sense of being an oppressed minority.

That was a big thing in the freak-ass church -- if you were being persecuted for your beliefs, then you were THAT MUCH BETTER of a Christian!

Of course, they defined "persecuted" as "my co-worker has invoked legal statute to get me to stop proselytizing at the water cooler." OH NOES.

A sense of being an oppressed minority.

Some denominations are based on having been persecuted, sometimes with actual persecution. It's odd that they see this as "we must defense ourselves, because we have been persecuted", rather than, "we know how you feel and will defend you from persecution, because we have been persecuted, too." My Persecution is More Relevant Than Your Persecution.

It's kind of hard to have sympathy for the Christians in the Roman Colosseum when you've got the Inquisition to put up against it.

wrod. Also, welcome to my world.

It's Mormon thing, too, all about the "We were driven out into the wilderness!", which is actually true. But they don't see the corollary to driving others out into metaphorical wildernesses. It's a willful blindness that really annoys me, and freaks out the True Believers when I bring it up.

Yeah, Andrew Sullivan said yesterday on his blog that the one Republican he wanted to hear from on the issue was Mitt Romney.

My Persecution is More Relevant Than Your Persecution.

I love Passover because the Haggadah we use puts heavy emphasis on empathy for those suffering. "As long as there is slavery, none are free". And the pouring out of wine for the plagues, and God smacking down the angels during the Red Sea thing by saying "My creatures are perishing, and you rejoice?"

The point is not the Oppression Olympics. The point is opening up, not closing down. The point is not the suffering, but one's response.

My condolences to you and Wallybee and her family-of-of-choice, bt.

My second cousin is actually a big-deal theology prof at BYU, Connie.(And my mother's Perfect "Why can't you be more like...Cousin.) we...don't talk. But I do know something about that. Also, he visited us when I was a kid and apparently found Gentile ketchup fascinating...a theological schism I didn't know about...maybe Heinz sounds too ethnic? Seriously, if you're Christian, and Lutherans are cross-cultural for you, you officially do not get out enough. Especially Easter Sunday Lutherans like we were.

Also, he visited us when I was a kid and apparently found Gentile ketchup fascinating

Huh - is HFCS on the list of Mormon Don'ts along with caffiene and alcohol?

Not that I know of...but I think he spent so little time with non-Mormons that we were a little anthropology, in general. He did watch us eat...I just mentioned ketchup cause Neil Simon says K's are funny.