This is Barronelle Stutzman. She is a Christian being persecuted for staying true to her beliefs.
This is Lester Maddox. He was another Christian who was persecuted for staying true to his beliefs.
No, that’s not Lester on the left; Lester is the guy with the gun threatening an American citizen for demanding his Constitutional rights (the guy with the axe handle is Lester’s son, IIRC).
Lester’s religious belief was that African-Americans were subhumans who were being punished by God for their great-great-great-great-great-times-howmany-grandfather Ham’s sin against their great-great-great-great-great-times-howmany-grandfather + 1 Noah.
And because of that, Ham’s descendants were cursed with black skin and condemned to be slaves to white skinned people for all eternity.
Sez so right in the Bible…
Bad enough the US government went and changed the Constitution to get rid of slavery -- which, after all, had been ordained by God -- but then they went and let those uppity so-and-sos have equal rights with white people, and that just ain’t right!
Still, Lester and his buddies were willing to live and let live…just so long as the uppity so-and-sos were willing to live in the colored part of town and stepped out of the way when a white person passed by and not vote or go to public schools or run for election or expect fire or ambulance service.
And they sure as hell weren’t supposed to come into a fine white person’s establishment and demand to be treated just the same way as a white customer was treated.
Why, that was violating God’s holy law! That was a sinful abomination! If God had wanted people to treat each other the way they wanted to be treated, with kindness and compassion and mercy, well then, wouldn’t God have said that in His holy scripture?
Hunh?
Hunh?
Hunh?
Barronelle believes it’s her religious right to deny her fellow citizens their Constitutionally guaranteed rights.
Recently a couple of African-Americans…no, wait…a couple of Jews…no, wait, a couple of gay guys came into her florist shop to order flowers for their wedding.
Now, the thing a non-bigoted Christian American would have done would be to sell them the flowers. See, a non-bigoted Christian American might not approve of what another person’s religious beliefs are, but they will acknowledge they are supposed to treat them the same way they treat someone whose beliefs they agree with.
And that’s what same sex marriage is all about: Their religious belief is that it is not a sin for two people of the same sex to marry.
Same as two divorcees re-marrying have a religious belief that it’s okay for two divorcees to re-marry.
Same as two people with different ethnic backgrounds have a religious belief that it’s okay for different ethnic groups to marry.
All of which had been outlawed at one time but finally allowed when laws were changed.
Now, if your religious beliefs preclude that, no one is demanding you marry someone of the same sex, or who was previously divorced, or of a different ethnic background.
It would be wrong to force you to do that.
But just as it would be wrong to force you to do it, it is equally wrong for you to attempt to deny others their rights.
And that’s what Barronelle Stutzman is doing by refusing service to them.
Same as Lester Maddox.
The only people objecting to same sex marriage today are doing so from a conservative religious background.
They were taught it was wrong and nothing will change their mind.
Not even Jesus himself (God incarnate to Christians), who taught “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.”
Who quoted Rabbi Hillel, a Jewish heavy hitter of a century earlier, when he taught “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
And who taught “Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you”
And “Give to every man that asketh of thee”
And “And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.”
I’m sure Barronelle Stutzman and her allies think of her as a good, decent, kind, loving, generous, righteous Christian being persecuted for her faith; if they didn’t, why do they keep running pictures of like this when they try to gin up support for her?
Funny thing is, I look at that photo and am reminded of this:
