Eugene Delgaudio: 100 Million American Christians Driven Into Silence or Public Hiding
Eugene Delgaudio President of Public Advocate says "Christians in today's American society are not allowed to speak their faith. If it weren't for double standards, some people would have no standards at all. And if it weren't for unthinking hatred of any person who is content with faith and personal rules, then some people would be very bored indeed."
Christians have become a 'hated minority'
John Blake of CNN reports: "When Peter Sprigg speaks publicly about his opposition to homosexuality, something odd often happens.
During his speeches, people raise their hands to challenge his assertions that the Bible condemns homosexuality, but no Christians speak out to defend him."
"But after it is over, they will come over to talk to me and whisper in my ear, 'I agree with everything you said,'" says Sprigg, a spokesman for The Family Research Council, a powerful, conservative Christian lobbying group.
We've heard of the "down-low" gay person who keeps his or her sexual identity secret for fear of public scorn. But Sprigg and other evangelicals say changing attitudes toward homosexuality have created a new victim: closeted Christians who believe the Bible condemns homosexuality but will not say so publicly for fear of being labeled a hateful bigot.
As proof, Sprigg points to the backlash that ESPN commentator Chris Broussard sparked recently. Broussard was called a bigot and a purveyor of hate speech when he said an NBA player who had come out as gay was living in "open rebellion to God." Broussard said the player, Jason Collins, was "living in unrepentant sin" because the Bible condemns homosexuality.
"In the current culture, it takes more courage for someone like Chris Broussard to speak out than for someone like Jason Collins to come out," says Sprigg, a former pastor. "The media will hail someone who comes out of the closet as gay, but someone who simply expresses their personal religious views about homosexual conduct is attacked."
When is disagreement hate?
Bryan Litfin, a theology professor at Moody Bible Institute in Illinois, says Christians should be able to publicly say that God designed sex to take place within a marriage between a man and a woman.
"That isn't so outrageous," Litfin says. "Nobody is expressing hate toward homosexuals by saying that. Since when is disagreement the same as hate?"
Read more at: http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/05/05/when-christians-become-a-hated-minority/