Ring Around the Rosie

Do you ever wonder why people clap at certain things? Like on the last episode of Friend's, when Chandler and Monica find out they're going to have a girl, the audience applauds. Why? Even the cast wasn't sure. And why do people applaud everyone who speaks in public, except preachers? I understand the sentiment, but it's weird, you know?

And here's the biggie...why do people applaud every time someone insults Christianity, even if it doesn't make sense. On September 12, Rosie O'Donnell said on The View, "Radical Christianity is just as threatening as radical Islam in a country like America where we have separation of church and state."

I won't get into Rosie's comments, because you can find better commentary on that elsewhere. But my question is this: Why did she get three seconds of loud applause when she said it? Why was the audience so on board? Event the other hosts didn't agree (Barbara Walters' mouth was glued shut, and the other two were arguing).

I think that people just like to insult Christians because they aren't Christians. It's something that I think deserves unpacking. From my perspective at this moment, they are looking at us thinking, "You think you're better than me, but we disagree and you're so stubborn that you won't agree with my beliefs, so yours aren't worth hearing. Therefore, I am better than you."

This is something that I may never understand about the political left: If we disagree, I'm the intolerant one, just because I believe in right and wrong. Apparently you are only right if you think nothing is wrong, and the only thing that's wrong is thinking that something could be wrong (and fossil fuels).

Well, there are some things that are wrong. I know it and you know it. They've always been wrong, and will always be wrong. But, the new way of making sin acceptable is to say that it's only considered wrong by the unenlightened, and the civilized thing to do is to accept all behavior as an "alternative lifestyle". Of course, soon enough it will be wrong to consider anything "alternative".

I won't go so far as to say that we'll be living in a world where sin will go completely unchallenged, but Sodom and Gomorrah did exist, and may exist again.

I'm reminded of something I wrote a couple of years ago. Our problem is that we do think we're better. We can't pretend we don't. We can't go to someone and tell them that we have the answer, and not think we're just a tiny bit better because of it. And it's ok, because we are, but only by that tiny bit. We're sinners in white robes ministering to those in sackcloth.

But there is responsibility here. We are called to love all of God's creation; all people. So we shall. Don't accept their sin, but accept them. Learn to separate the person from the action. Love the person, and show them the Father. Intolerance and exclusion are wrong. Jesus welcomed everyone (IRS agents, lepers, and porn stars), but he told them to stop sinning. The Gospel is ruined when you accept sinful behavior for the sake of political correctness.