My thoughts on why it's so hip to hate on Christianity...

Hateful.

Redneck.

Unintelligent.

Bigot.

I have been called all these names and worse (directly and indirectly) because of my beliefs on the biggest societal issue of our age.  Homosexuality.

And I can't help but think "Gosh... for such a 'tolerant' and 'loving' crowd, I don't know that I've ever encountered so many grown adults willing to stoop to the lowest form of insult (name-calling) to try and prove their point."  (Except maybe the lunatics who march carrying signs that read, "God hates fags."  Hear me when I say, those people are acting despicably and Satan is using them mightily.)

My point is these self-proclaimed "anti-hate" people are downright... hateful!   And getting worse, I might add.

And I find myself wondering, why is that?  Surely they know the old adage "You catch more flies with honey..." just like the rest of us.  So why this barrage of degradation, insults, rock-hurling... all aimed at the Big Bad Christians?

I have my theories.

For one thing, it isn't just an issue... it is intensely personal.  Most everyone has loved ones who identify as L, G, B, or T.  I know I do.  I can certainly understand the visceral need to defend those we love from people we believe intend to harm them.  But this (in my opinion) would only explain such hate-flinging from the pro-gay side in a situation-by-situation basis.  You see someone disrespecting your loved one... you attack. I get it.

A little more complex though, is this full-on attack that is being waged against Christianity as a whole.  It isn't just a matter of,
"You insulted my friend, now deal with me."  
It's...
"Your group donates money to Christian organizations who believe homosexuality is not God's intention for his creation.  You hateful bigot rednecks, you!"  

For real?  What drives this?  I believe it is more than just the need to stand up for one's friends and loved ones.  I believe that the atheists, the agnostics, the whole non-Christian crowd... they need Christians to be wrong.  Desperately.  Not just about homosexuality... about all of it.  About Heaven.  About God.  About sin.  About consequences.  About there being parameters for how we live our lives.  If all that stuff is for real (and believe me, there are smarter people than YOU out there who believe it IS) then it follows that they have to face a few facts they aren't willing to deal with.

This isn't a monumental or earth-shattering revelation.  Just my two cents toward explaining the glaring hypocrisy coming from the "anti-hate" crowd.  The reason I as a Christian get called hateful, redneck, unintelligent, and bigot (all of which I am not)... is because the world needs people who believe like I do to be the enemy.  It simply wouldn't do to admit who the real enemy is (Satan, his demon forces, sin, disobedience to God.)  No no... believing that would require accountability to someone higher than me.  That would require obedience to something other than my flesh.  That would mean there is (shudder) a Hell... and that some people just might end up there.  Better to ignore that enemy altogether and create a new one. "All those stiff-necked haters who actually believe that nonsense in the Bible.  Yeah!  They're so evil!"

I find it all very sad.  Not only the seeing so many dear people in my life heading down a path that, I believe, leads to destruction.  (Although think about this.  How could I claim to love you if such a thing didn't sadden, me?  Based on my worldview, I'd have to not care about you in order to affirm and condone that path.)  But also I'm saddened that the conversation has reached such a low point.  Hate-flinging, name-calling, bullying... all coming from both sides.  Neither side has ever "won" followers through these tactics.  They only do more damage.

That's all really.  And don't worry, I'm fully prepared for the barrage of name-calling I'm sure is to follow now that I have verbalized such an "archaic" perspective.

~

(* Note: There is one (rather huge) group of people I am not referring to in this post.  And that is the growing number of Christians who have decided to interpret scripture differently... those who believe there is Biblical evidence that a homosexual lifestyle is God's intention for some of his children.  This post specifically discusses non-Christians who bully (for lack of a better word) members of the Christian community because of their Scripture-based stance on homosexuality.)