In January 2015, New York Times columnist Frank Bruni wrote an Op Ed piece he titled, “Your God and My Dignity – Religious Liberty, Bigotry and Gays.”
As the title implies, Mr. Bruni used his article to attack Christians. He begins by trotting out the term “Christian Fundamentalist” and using it to denigrate those who are, in Mr. Bruni's eyes, intolerant of homosexuality. Of course, a “Christian Fundamentalist” is one who believes the Bible to be the inerrant word of God, and, who believe it to be the sole and completely sufficient authority in spiritual matters. In that sense, Mr. Bruni is correct – that Christian Fundamentalists do believe that homosexuality is a sin, but what Mr. Bruni does not realize or understand, is that Christian Fundamentalists – those that believe the Bible – do not condemn homosexuals any more than they condemn any other sinner, primarily because they realize that they themselves are sinners as well, but sinners saved by the grace of God.
This is apparently irrelevant to Mr. Bruni, however, as he endeavors to marginalize Christians by being as intolerant of Christian beliefs as he imagines Christians are of homosexuals. Although Mr. Bruni goes on to say that he “respect[s] people of faith. I salute the extraordinary works of compassion and social justice that many of them and many of their churches do. And I support the right of people to believe what they do and say what they wish …” That being said, however, Mr. Bruni betrays his real feelings when he states that Christian beliefs should be limited to church and home, and then he promises that those who take their beliefs and act upon them as Christians are required to do, that they will then have to contend with him.
Mr. Bruni also ratchets up his rhetoric when he compares Christians to Islamic terror groups such as Al Qaeda, Boko Haram and ISIS by referring to Christians as “religious extremists,” and thus fosters and foments the idea that Christianity it evil. He takes this stance of his a step further when he says, “They don’t get to single out one group of supposed sinners [homosexuals]. If they’re allowed to, who’s to say they’ll stop at that group?” This sounds like a thinly veiled reference to Martin Niemöller's “First they came for the Socialists” quote in which he was speaking of Hitler's Nazi's going after one societal group and then another and then another.
Although Mr. Bruni is only one person, and it could be said he is merely expressing his opinions – his First Amendment right to free speech (the same free speech right Mr. Bruni seeks to take away from Christians). However, a look at the comments section in this and similar articles, one can easily see that Mr. Bruni's “opinions” are held by a lot of people. Couple that with his national and via the internet, international audience, it is clear that Mr. Bruni is fanning the flames of hate – hate of Christians.
As the title implies, Mr. Bruni used his article to attack Christians. He begins by trotting out the term “Christian Fundamentalist” and using it to denigrate those who are, in Mr. Bruni's eyes, intolerant of homosexuality. Of course, a “Christian Fundamentalist” is one who believes the Bible to be the inerrant word of God, and, who believe it to be the sole and completely sufficient authority in spiritual matters. In that sense, Mr. Bruni is correct – that Christian Fundamentalists do believe that homosexuality is a sin, but what Mr. Bruni does not realize or understand, is that Christian Fundamentalists – those that believe the Bible – do not condemn homosexuals any more than they condemn any other sinner, primarily because they realize that they themselves are sinners as well, but sinners saved by the grace of God.
This is apparently irrelevant to Mr. Bruni, however, as he endeavors to marginalize Christians by being as intolerant of Christian beliefs as he imagines Christians are of homosexuals. Although Mr. Bruni goes on to say that he “respect[s] people of faith. I salute the extraordinary works of compassion and social justice that many of them and many of their churches do. And I support the right of people to believe what they do and say what they wish …” That being said, however, Mr. Bruni betrays his real feelings when he states that Christian beliefs should be limited to church and home, and then he promises that those who take their beliefs and act upon them as Christians are required to do, that they will then have to contend with him.
Mr. Bruni also ratchets up his rhetoric when he compares Christians to Islamic terror groups such as Al Qaeda, Boko Haram and ISIS by referring to Christians as “religious extremists,” and thus fosters and foments the idea that Christianity it evil. He takes this stance of his a step further when he says, “They don’t get to single out one group of supposed sinners [homosexuals]. If they’re allowed to, who’s to say they’ll stop at that group?” This sounds like a thinly veiled reference to Martin Niemöller's “First they came for the Socialists” quote in which he was speaking of Hitler's Nazi's going after one societal group and then another and then another.
Although Mr. Bruni is only one person, and it could be said he is merely expressing his opinions – his First Amendment right to free speech (the same free speech right Mr. Bruni seeks to take away from Christians). However, a look at the comments section in this and similar articles, one can easily see that Mr. Bruni's “opinions” are held by a lot of people. Couple that with his national and via the internet, international audience, it is clear that Mr. Bruni is fanning the flames of hate – hate of Christians.
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