Christian Leftist

The Los Angeles times reports that the religious right is fighting yet another war on campus battlegrounds across the country. They are freedom fighters–for intolerance, that is.

Ruth Malhotra, president of the College Republicans, argues that Georgia Institute of Technology’s tolerance policy that requires its students to be respectful of and to not discriminate against GLBT people violates the civil rights of Christians. Malhotra believes that homosexuality is wrong because of her interpreation of the people; therefore, forcing her to be tolerant of homosexuals (here used as an all-inclusive term) is in itself intolerant of her religious beliefs.

One does not need to point out that the Bible has been used to justify racism and segregation less than half a century ago. Jon Davidson, legal director of Lambda Legal, a gay rights group (NOT to be confused with NAMBLA, for all of you South Park watchers), says that if Christian conservatives claim a right to discriminate against gays, what’s to stop others from claiming the freedom to hate people on the basis of race, religion, social status, gender, etc? Jeremy Gunn, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief, goes even further. He posits that “they’re [religious right-wingers] trying to devlop a
persecution complex.”

Malhotra argues that being gay is not the same as being African-American. Presumably, this point of view derives from an assumption that people ‘choose’ to be gay. It is not certain exactly what she said to this effect, but the College Republicans did send a letter to the Gay-Straight Alliance, calling their group something akin to a ’sex club.’ As in, like a strip joint.

This is only one instance in a large number of defiant actions the religious right has undertaken nationwide. Many of them also wear anti-gay slurs on T-shirts to high school, denounce Gay Pride Week at work, refuse to attend diversity training…the list goes on.

So, what do you think? Do religious conservatives have the right to be bigots?

Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins are
back to make another buck off of their megahit Left Behind series, a collection of eleven (and counting) books that chronicle the events in “Revelations” from the Bible. Left Behind Games, a startup multimedia company devoted solely to the series, will soon releasse the first video game translation of the plot in the first book.

The game is an apocalyptic adventure with black and white portrayals of good and evil. Players must convert neutral groups of non-believers before the Antichrist’s followers do. The violence is supposed to be gore-free, and sexuality is minimal or non-existent. In other words, it’s Grand Theft Auto without the blood, prostitutes, and profanity, instead injected with more ambiguous morality.

Some fundamentalist groups think the game is too much of a compromise and that LaHaye’s company is conforming to the world rather than forcing the world to conform to its views. They want to advocate quitting video games entirely, I suspect. LaHaye’s associates believe they are providing a Christian alternative to the mindless bloodshed of popular entertainment.

Lock and load!

Speaking of games, basketball players from high schools like Lutheran Christian Academy were informed that the National Collegiate Athletic Association will no longer accept their transcripts for consideration towards the fourteen-course requirement necessary to win a scholarship.

I can just hear the religious right drawing in breath to scream! Hold on just a second! What’s that? All the schools offering up courses for credit have to pass a three-part requirement test? Who’da thunk it?

It turns out that the male basketball players at Lutheran Christian, for example, didn’t attend classes at all. They received credit for them anyway, though. Maybe that’s why the College Board removed LCA as an ACT and SAT test site, and why LCA lacked accredation, state oversight, and membership from a state high school athletic association.
Redemption Christian Academy in Troy, NY is facing the same problems and its principal is considering shutting down the basketball program.