What is it to be Christian ?

[Happy Monkey]

Originally Posted by mrnoodle

In love, not acting as judges. You're right, Christianity isn't about forcing false morality on people who don't believe it. But, from a human point of view -- this isn't from God, it's just my opinion, which is often wrong -- what is the difference between pushing legislation that infringes on your personal set of values and that which infringes on mine? Are your values more important than mine, simply by virtue of the fact that you don't believe in God? We can be pissed at each other and disagree vehemently with the other's point of view, but I don't want your values pushed on me any more than you want mine pushed on you.

Sometimes the choice isn't over which set of values is infringed, but whether either of them are. If gay marriage is allowed, then neither set of values is infringed, any more than allowing televisions infringes on the values of the Amish. But if gay marriage is not allowed, than one set of values is being infringed. If a school organizes prayer, it is pushing that set of values, but they can't (and shouldn't try to) stop students from praying on their own time. If any administrator ever gets overzealous and starts confiscating Bibles, crucifixes, stars of David, pentagrams, etc because "you can't have religion in school", then they should be corrected firmly, but nobody's religion is being pushed either way by a principal failing to read the Lord's Prayer over the PA system.

I think you'll find that with few exceptions (abortion = murder being the big one), the issues that are considered "attacks" on Christianity don't actually affect Christians who weren't relying on the government to prop them up.