Open Letter to Christians
Recently the supreme court made discrimination legal again. Worse, they did it in your name based on religious belief. If you are content to have the cross contorted into a swastika in your name, by all means stay home. If you want to live in a country heading towards “Sorry, we don’t serve your kind here,” stay home by all means. Do not protest. If you are content to endanger a free and open society in the name of your faith, stay home by all means. If you are content to endanger democracy in the name of your faith, then by all means, stay home. If you are content to suffer the consequences of blowback from the recent rulings, stay home. Do not protest. If you are content to align yourselves with fascists and right-wing fanatics, stay home by all means. Actually, could you just leave the country?
By staying home and not flooding the streets with protests, you tell us exactly who you are. Yes, this is on you now! Like it or not, this is your burden. You are telling the rest of us that we do not matter and that you are the only ones who matter. You are saying that you prefer to live in a society that steps on the vulnerable and those unlike you simply because you feel uncomfortable. You are saying that the creeping fascism on display in this country is your wish. YOU ARE SAYING YOU ARE NOT CHRIST-LIKE. You are telling us that you don’t worship Christ; you worship a creed, a statement of belief, not a loving god. Guess what? We believe you.
This is your moment to prove us wrong and stand up for the democracy many of our relatives died and suffered to preserve. Does that mean anything to you? Or do you think you have enough guns to protect you from the erosion of democratic society? If so, you are sadly mistaken.
I will look for your protests. I will look for your signs on the corners of busy streets. I doubt very much I will see them. Why? When churches hid the crimes of baby rapers and shuffled priests and pastors around, you still went to those churches. You didn’t boycott them. If it was revealed that Chick-fil-A was harboring a cabal of baby rapers, would you boycott them? Or Amazon.com? I think you would, at least; I like to think you would. Why not your churches? Did you even reform them? Not really.
Many of us did stop going. We refuse to patronize an organization so utterly guilty of horrific crimes. An organization so rudely guilty of covering them up rather than bringing down the hammer of justice. Yet, you did not boycott them. Why?
Who are you telling us that you are?
If you stay home at this crucial moment, don’t expect any of us to come to your defense or tolerate your faith any longer. I am not alone, our numbers are growing, and you may be excluded from ordinary life. If you want to enter the marketplace, you should do so for everyone. Not just for those that you like. It is OK to be uncomfortable with the life choices of others; it is not OK to deny them goods and services because you are a bigot.
You are opening the door to your own suffering for two reasons. People are now holding deep resentment towards you, AND you will suffer the same fate as those you have discriminated against. Imagine being thrown out of an establishment for wearing a cross. You opened the door to this, and if it happens, only blame yourselves. Do you want to live in this kind of world? It is a two-way street, and you don’t own it.
Who are you going to tell us that you are?
This is your opportunity to show the world who you are. You say that you love Christ; act like it. When Christ visited the leper’s colonies (the AIDS of its time), he was setting an example for you to follow. Will you follow it? Or keep voting for fascists like Trump and DeSantis?
Are you sure you want to tell us that you aren’t your brother’s keeper, that turning the other cheek is not for you, that helping the poor and marginalized is not of your Christ, that helping people in need is against your values, that you hate your neighbor-or at least want him marginalized? Are you sure that you worship Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus of Suburbia?
Who exactly are you?
You have made it difficult to believe you are what you claim to be. You are making it harder and more complex every day. Is this the mission you were called to? By whom? Did you forget Luke 6:38 “For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Judge not, and you will not be judged”. It sure seems so. Are you at all surprised by our disgust for you?
Who are you? Really?
All we see from you is that we are going to hell. People like me, who left Christianity because of people like you, are going to hell. Really? Who made you the judge of us? Who made you the judge of all those that live differently from you? Can you blame us for seeing your flaws when you consistently point to our supposed flaws even though you were commanded not to? You love your enemies so much that you condemn them to hell by usurping the power of your own God or by not giving them goods and services. Yet, you are the ones that are to set the tone for society to live by?
We haven’t taken away your churches despite their crimes. We haven’t disallowed you to worship as you please, yet you stomp on us with the courts and legislatures like we have done all these things to you. Do you not have faith in God to protect you? Or is that just a catchphrase? Is God the judge, or are you? Are you a Republican or a Christian? How many masters can you serve? Is it love in your heart or revenge?
Who are you?
You follow none of the teachings of Christ but want to force us to do so. Or at least force us to bow down to you and your twisted sense of morality. Why do we feel this way? Because this is what you are telling us. THIS!
This is a historic opportunity to tell us otherwise. The ball is in your court. What are you going to do? We are watching. What are you going to do? Are you even American anymore?
Who the hell are you? Let us know with silence or with protests. We will believe you and remember.
Sincerely,
The Disgusted People of America
PS The only thing more disgusting than a hypocrite is a hypocrite in power.
