# Modern Day Christians in America are NOT persecuted! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 22, 2003, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-christians-in-america-are-not-persecuted/163398 "2003-03-22T17:54:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ResIpsaLoquitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b3f665/32.png) [@ResIpsaLoquitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ResIpsaLoquitor)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2003, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-christians-in-america-are-not-persecuted/163398/21 "2003-03-22T19:16:33Z")
Ferrous, you need a good old-fashioned fire drill to wake you up. Unless you’d prefer a blimp attack. ---
**Author:** ![Ferrous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Ferrous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferrous)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2003, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-christians-in-america-are-not-persecuted/163398/22 "2003-03-22T19:30:30Z")
Well, this thread is well and truly hijacked now. Sorry, **Guin**!🙂 Now, about those lions… ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2003, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-christians-in-america-are-not-persecuted/163398/23 "2003-03-22T19:30:48Z")
Geeze, I don’t know if there’s a bigger Simpsons fan that me, and I wouldn’t have got that one if I hadn’t seen that episode in the last couple days… ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2003, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-christians-in-america-are-not-persecuted/163398/24 "2003-03-22T19:32:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ben \* > \*\*Might I suggest the brand spanking new["Life in Our Anti-Christian America" tract?](http://psyche11.home.mindspring.com/ben/WritingIndex.htm) \*\* That’s good stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2003, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-christians-in-america-are-not-persecuted/163398/25 "2003-03-22T19:35:00Z")
Well, I’m sure **His4ever** and **DrChuckie** will be popping into to tell me how wrong I am soon. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2003, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-christians-in-america-are-not-persecuted/163398/26 "2003-03-22T19:50:05Z")
The Critic, Jay Sherman to Ranier Wolfcastle, as RW is about to pound him for bad reviews. “Your shoe’s untied” RW “Doubtful, but I will go in for a closer look” He bends over, looks at his shoes, the sun goes down behind him, Jay Sherman is long gone. RW “On closer examination, these are loafers” ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2003, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-christians-in-america-are-not-persecuted/163398/27 "2003-03-22T20:53:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lel \* > \*\*Is this sarcasm, or is this representative of your true beliefs, **Badtz Maru**? \*\* I think it’s a good idea. Now, I have plenty of religious family members and friends, so I’m not talking about herding them into death camps or feeding them to lions, just some minor annoyances, like making religious people ride in the back of the bus, or not giving them peanuts on the plane, or making them wear a t-shirt with a picture of their deity whenever they are in public. Something to annoy them like they annoy me, and to let them feel persecuted. ---
**Author:** ![lel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8797f3/32.png) [@lel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lel)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2003, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-christians-in-america-are-not-persecuted/163398/28 "2003-03-22T21:20:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Badtz Maru \* > \*\*I think it’s a good idea. Now, I have plenty of religious family members and friends, so I’m not talking about herding them into death camps or feeding them to lions, just some minor annoyances, like making religious people ride in the back of the bus, or not giving them peanuts on the plane, or making them wear a t-shirt with a picture of their deity whenever they are in public. Something to annoy them like they annoy me, and to let them feel persecuted. \*\* I still don’t see what purpose that would serve, aside from maybe a sense of satisfaction in seeing people annoyed. Besides, how could you distinguish between an annoying proselytizer and a Christian who’s okay and isn’t generally annoying? If your idea ever gets going, I’m getting into Jesus t-shirt sales. ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2003, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-christians-in-america-are-not-persecuted/163398/29 "2003-03-22T21:46:40Z")
> [@](#): > > I still don’t see what purpose that would serve, aside from maybe a sense of satisfaction in seeing people annoyed. That’s enough for me! ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2003, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-christians-in-america-are-not-persecuted/163398/30 "2003-03-22T22:13:30Z")
But Badtz, how do you distinguish which Christians are the “annoying” ones, and the Christians who are minding their own business? Do you think that non-annoying Christians deserve to be annoyed even though they are bothering no one? ---
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2003, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-christians-in-america-are-not-persecuted/163398/31 "2003-03-22T22:18:43Z")
Why, if they’re not annoying and pushy about their religion, then they’re not TRUE Scots - I mean, Christians. ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2003, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-christians-in-america-are-not-persecuted/163398/32 "2003-03-22T22:27:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by yosemitebabe \* > \*\*But Badtz, how do you distinguish which Christians are the “annoying” ones, and the Christians who are minding their own business? Do you think that non-annoying Christians deserve to be annoyed even though they are bothering no one? \*\* I feel that their annoyance is an acceptable price to pay, and anyway, they really should wise up and become atheists anyway. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2003, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-christians-in-america-are-not-persecuted/163398/33 "2003-03-22T22:34:59Z")
Ah Badtz. I see you are pulling our legs now. ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-christians-in-america-are-not-persecuted/163398/34 "2003-03-23T00:11:43Z")
The only thing is, **Guinastasia** , you know this thread is going to end up in _Sequential Thread Titles: Just When You Thought It Was Safe To Go Back Into MPSIMS_ or whatever it is now under _The Stupidest Thing You Ever Heard a Christian Say_. As for Christians being persecuted, as I said a couple of weeks ago, what with all the Fish Frys and Lenten specials around here, it seems pretty unlikely to me, although I suspect some of those yelling consider those Papist trappings. Me, _maybe_ I’ll give it some credence when I see a reference to the Goddess on the same sort of sign you see outside Mom & Pop businesses refering to Jesus. CJ ---
**Author:** ![Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df788c/32.png) [@Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ben)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-christians-in-america-are-not-persecuted/163398/35 "2003-03-23T00:13:29Z")
Thanks for the compliments on the comic, guys- I appreciate it! I’m gradually gearing up for a third one right now. I met some Jews for Jesus today who were handing out tracts, and I really, really wished I had had the modicum of foresight to print out a few of my own and carry them around in my pocket… ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-christians-in-america-are-not-persecuted/163398/36 "2003-03-23T00:44:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ben \* > **Thanks for the compliments on the comic, guys- I appreciate it! I’m gradually gearing up for a third one right now.** Can I offer a suggestion? Don’t post your next tract at QUITE so high a resolution. Your curret tract is twice as tall as my screen, and takes an eternity to download into my browser. ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-christians-in-america-are-not-persecuted/163398/37 "2003-03-23T00:46:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by yosemitebabe \* > \*\*Ah Badtz. I see you are pulling our legs now. \*\* Yeah, basically I’m nothing more than a long-lived troll. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-christians-in-america-are-not-persecuted/163398/38 "2003-03-23T00:51:24Z")
I went to a Christian school, and they were always telling us how “lucky” we were to be able to pray in school, and illustrated with stories of children who were expelled from school for praying before lunch, or reading the Bible. Their personal boogeyman was the ACLU, which they said threw people in jail for praying in public. My grandmother’s church told her during the Clinton administration that Bill had imported thousands of Red Chinese who were hiding in box cars with guillotines. As soon as ‘martial law’ could be introduced, the Red Chinese would round up all of the Christians and chop their heads off. (Thankfully, my grandmother’s not enough of an idiot to believe this.) There was a letter to the editor in our local paper recently about the “Under God” controversy, in which the author gave dire warning that “they” wouldn’t stop with the Pledge: soon you wouldn’t be allowed to pray in your own home. I wrote a response to this, (which, of course, was not published,) pointing out that “they” couldn’t care less what you do in your own home, as long as you’re not trying to force the rest of us to go along. I think it’s almost wishful-thinking on the part of Christians. They really want to believe that they’re such a powerful threat to the “evil forces” of the secular world that they must be oppressed and persecuted. They want to believe that “they” fear and loathe them. The last thing they want to acknowledge is the truth: that no one gives two rats’ asses if they’re Christians or not. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-christians-in-america-are-not-persecuted/163398/39 "2003-03-23T01:48:47Z")
_Au contraire_, folks, the Christians are sadly put upon by our society. Because the godless leftists, or whoever, insist that it’s sufficient freedom for us to be able to practice our own faith in peace, and we have no real right to insist by legal means or coercion that others join us in proper devotion to God. I probably sound like I’m parodying something, but I’m dead serious: there are people who just cannot grasp the idea that a compulsory non-sectarian prayer in a public school is violating someone else’s freedom of religion (which is, they’re quick to point out, not “freedom from religion”), and, of course, the old saw about “America being a nation founded on Judeo-Christian principles.” It’s further compounded by the fact that most people don’t distinguish between their personal tastes and their sense of ethical behavior, and by the idea that a quite real God revealed one Way in which He wanted people to live (IMHO, they don’t seem to have caught on to what He really said, but that’s a quite separate debate). So, yes, in the eyes of many Christians, they’re persecuted – they get shouted down whenever they tell others the truth about how God expects them to live, they get their “right” to insist that others join them in prayers, oaths, and affirmations taken away, and worst of all, they get told that it’s a part of our public morality to treat gay people with decency instead of trying to force them out of their abominable lifestyle. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-christians-in-america-are-not-persecuted/163398/40 "2003-03-23T01:59:07Z")
Originally posted by yosemitebabe: > [@](#): > > Ah Badtz. I see you are pulling our legs now. Does leg-pulling qualify as persecution, harrassment or fun? 😃 Seriously when your livlihood is threatened because of your religious beliefs, then I think that that it is persecution. Yosemitebabe’s situation is a good example. Since I was tenured, keeping my job wasn’t an issue. But I was harrassed – by Christians more fundamental than I. Our public school system at that time was run, for the most part, by Southern Baptists and the Church of Christ. Three “religious leave days” were allowed in our contract. For twelve years I had been taking off on All Saints’ Day and Ash Wednesday. Then out of the blue, I started getting “discouraged” from taking those days. I was told that these days were not religious holidays. (They seemed to be unaware of the original meaning of “holy days.”) If I wished to have those days off, then I had to bring in a letter from my priest. (I am an Episcopalian.) It infuriated the priest so much that he ran off copies of explanations for why these are considered holy days – and included them with the letter. _Then_ I was told that I had to speak with the head of secondary schools (in a large metropolitan system) and promise that I would spend the day appropriately!!! They had waited until the last minute before All Saints to hit me with all of this, but I managed to meet their requirements. They never asked me to jump through hoops of fire for religious days again. If they had, I would have filed a grievance. I think that some Christians may feel persecuted “because they can’t pray” in public schools. That is poppy-cock! I’ve said a lot of prayers when I got into touchy situations – but I kept them between God and me and that is anyone’s right to do. Despite the laws that are designed to protect students (and teachers?) from state-sponsored prayers, I had to sit through many sermons and Bible readings for the first few years that I taught. At a faculty meeting one day, another teacher expressed her objections to these activities. The principal slammed his hand down on the table and shouted that he would continue to have these activities in “his” school until he had a court order to stop. Unfortunately for him, the teacher who had protested was married to an attorney for the ACLU. \ These days in our school system, no one dares to violate the law. We have many many immigrants – especially Hispanics, Kurds and Southeast Asians. The last time I knew anyone who tried to violate the students’ rights, that person was fired. (She taught special education and held a laying-on of hands service for her students. It frightened them half to death. She taught next door to me and I had gotten tired of her singing _God Bless America_ loudly in the hallways between classes anyway.) [ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-christians-in-america-are-not-persecuted/163398.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-christians-in-america-are-not-persecuted/163398.md?page=3)