A jew and a catholic and a methodist were in a cab, driven by a Pakastani muslim. The cab was hit by a bus and they were all killed.

When they get to heaven, St. Peter welcomes them all and begins to show them around. He tells the Jew “Here’s where most of you guys hang out. No pork here, and lots of manischevitz. Just be quiet around the stairwells”.

Peter tells the Catholic “Here’s the Catholic area. Lots of candles so you’ll feel at home. Just be quiet around the stairwell”.

He tells the cab driver, “Hello muslim friend, here’s your rug. Just be quiet around the stairwells”.

Finally the Methodist turns to him and say “What’s the deal with the stairwells?”.

Pete says “We keep the Baptists in the attic – they think they’re the only ones here”. Hehehe (I was raised baptist, I’m allowed).

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The woman in your news piece was a current employee. She lost a job, her livelihood, over something in her personal life. Firing is usually a form of punishment, and most of us would consider it a form of “economic harm”.

I can kind of agree with your idea that the southern baptist conference shouldn’t be forced to hire a guy who comes to the job interview in Hasidic garb, but to fire a current employee over something that most of us would consider to be frankly none of an employers’ business seems a little rough.

I believe firmly in “judge not lest ye be judged.” I don’t find that principle to be in conflict with Christians asserting that it is ok to hire (especially when the organization’s purpose is Christian as in the case of the ministry referred to in the article) people who reflect their goals and visions. If I were an “only Baptists go to heaven” type, it would be silly for me to assert that the local Unitarian church ought to hire me.

ThirstyJon

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Wow, Unitarians are “against the Christian Religion”. That’s quite a statement.

Thirstyjon, we all pick and choose from the bible. Unless you are blogging from a prison cell where you’re doing life for stoning a child who smarted off to his mom, then you’ve probably compromised from a perfectly literal reading same as everyone else.

Your denomination has chosen to really zero in on “a man shall not lie with a man as with a woman…” and mine has chosen to put a little more stock in “judge not, lest ye be judged”,,, but to say that I’m “against the Christian Religion” is pretty bold, even for you.

ThirstyJon

I hope you recognize the very distinct difference between religious opinion and immoral sexual behavior.

ThirstyJon

Now let’s suppose for a moment that I am a business owner. By your logic, I have a right and even a duty to staff my business with people that share my world view and my sense of morality. Like the group that you’re cheering for here, I may find that there is someone in my employ that I disagree with on a moral basis.

Political conservatism and evangelical christianity may offend me. I might believe that political conservatism is elitist, regressive, bloodthirsty, and the first step toward fascism. As a politically liberal unitarian christian I may believe that evangelical christianity is a bizarre cult of intolerance that has taken Jesus’ beautiful message of love and acceptance and forgiveness and twisted it into an ugly jingoism similar to the mess that got women burned alive in Massachusetts so many years ago.

So one day I come into the shop, and my employee is listening to Limbaugh and trying to talk his coworkers into boycotting Disney because they used Elton John music in one of their movies, so I fire him.

Would you write a similar piece about my “Religious Liberty, Freedom of Speech, and Freedom of Conscience”?

I understand your feelings! Sometimes I feel defiled even touching politics.

I once had a great revelation when sitting on a chair in the water out in front of a great beach house in Yachats, Oregon.

I was asking God if the things of this world mattered. Why shouldn’t I just work to get people “saved” and let the world as we know it rot for what it is – a stinking lost place?

This is what I understood: In the same way that I feed, cloth, wash, and care for my body, even though it will perish and not be with me in present form for all eternity; I also should wash, feed, cloth, think, fight, strive, serve, discuss, debate, whatever to redeem the systems of society, even though this world is passing away!

If those who know God don’t intervene and involve themselves with things like government, those who do not know God will rule the systems of this world and us!

I think what happens is Christians try to intervene and they get crap all over them. (Just like if you tried to clean up a nasty village in a third world country). Everyone knows that selfish-ambition for power is disgusting. Lying, cheating, manipulating, fear, control, etc. are all nasty and defiling. The world’s ways in economics, government, education, business and so on are defiled. If we get involved as Christians we need to bring humility and keep getting cleaned up by God, because we are still in contact with our fallen nature and can become susceptible to the very nastiness that we are trying to transform!

But I submit that we not give up. Sometimes I wonder if the cynicism, sarcasm, etc. has gotten on me somehow. Yick. God help me enter the fray but stay humble and continue to love “my enemy”!

If we can remember these things, the world is ours for the taking!

ThirstyJon

I think i may be one of the’ young people’ you mentioned here:

“I have noticed a reactionary movement among Christians (especially young ones) to distance themselves from such great men because of their political views. Some Christians would even retreat from the political arena all together. Sometimes I want to. It seems like a bitter and negative place. The Reactionaries blame Christian leaders for the “politicization of Christianity.”

I do honestly not agree with (as greg boyd says) putting the ‘political’ cart before the ‘kingdom’ horse. I’m not against being political, though it’s not my personal passion. But i do get … frustrated with all the pressure to be political or align myself with a political party when I do not see even christian politicians reflecting jesus values.

The gov may never be pro-Christian, and i would actually be surprised to see it ever be that. I think you are talking mostly about making sure our basic rights are not taken away or ignored, and that i think is a good cause- a fair one. But fighting to try and make a world government reflect Christs kingdom seems… like a lot to me. It is hard to not just be attracted to the simple communities that live out their faith with the people God has already put around them. As christians we were never promised that life would be an easy road for us. And i’m not completely convinced that making it easy for us to live here is the fight we’ve been given.

that’s my small time, stay at home mom world view. (in a non-passive aggressive way-haha)