{"id":10555,"date":"2012-11-07T12:50:57","date_gmt":"2012-11-07T17:50:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?p=10555"},"modified":"2012-11-07T12:50:57","modified_gmt":"2012-11-07T17:50:57","slug":"christians-need-to-speak-out-against-these-sorts-of-abominations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/11\/christians-need-to-speak-out-against-these-sorts-of-abominations.html","title":{"rendered":"Christians Need to Speak Out against these sorts of Abominations!"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><head><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><\/head><body><p>On Facebook and elsewhere, I\u2019ve begun to see signs of the extremism which I am convinced does not characterize everyone on that side of the political and religious spectrum, but which will need to be addressed by other conservatives who recognize it as not merely inappropriate hyperbole, but expressions of hatred, if we are to have any chance of moving forward as a society in a positive fashion.<\/p>\n<p>What sorts of things am I referring to? First, there\u2019s the comparison of president Obama to Herod on Facebook (HT Bob Cargill):<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-10556\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/exploringourmatrix\/files\/2012\/11\/Herod-slaughter.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"434\" height=\"819\"><\/p>\n<p>Then there\u2019s the McDonald\u2019s restaurant flying its flag at half mast:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-10557\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/exploringourmatrix\/files\/2012\/11\/McDonalds-Half-Mast.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"672\" height=\"501\"><\/p>\n<p>And then there\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/unsettledchristianity.com\/2012\/11\/the-first-death-threat-against-the-re-elected-president-wv12-election2012\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">the death threat which Joel Watts shared<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>This sort of extremism shows just how badly skewed the moral compass is of some people \u2013 and here I am interested in those who claim to be Christians. If you think that the election of a president who is himself a Christian is comparable to living under Herod, or the equivalent of someone dying, or a reason to kill, then at least have the courtesy to just call yourself a \u201cright wing extremist\u201d without the Christian label. For some of us, words and labels actually mean something, and having this attitude is incompatible with claiming to be a follower of the one who taught us to love our enemies. And if you are a Christian on the Republican side of the political spectrum, and are as appalled as I am at the above, then please have the courage of your convictions and call your fellow conservatives on this. They are more likely to listen to you than to a liberal.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Facebook and elsewhere, I\u2019ve begun to see signs of the extremism which I am convinced does not characterize everyone on that side of the political and religious spectrum, but which will need to be addressed by other conservatives who recognize it as not merely inappropriate hyperbole, but expressions of hatred, if we are to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[131,139,75],"tags":[1010,1846,2998,3675,4433,9305,10240],"class_list":["post-10555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity-religion","category-fundamentalism-religion","category-politics","tag-barack-obama","tag-christianity-religion","tag-election","tag-fundamentalism-religion","tag-hate","tag-politics","tag-republican"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Christians Need to Speak Out against these sorts of Abominations!<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"On Facebook and elsewhere, I&#039;ve begun to see signs of the extremism which I am convinced does not characterize everyone on that side of the political and\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/11\/christians-need-to-speak-out-against-these-sorts-of-abominations.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Christians Need to Speak Out against these sorts of Abominations!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On Facebook and elsewhere, I&#039;ve begun to see signs of the extremism which I am convinced does not characterize everyone on that side of the political and\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/11\/christians-need-to-speak-out-against-these-sorts-of-abominations.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-11-07T17:50:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs\/exploringourmatrix\/files\/2012\/11\/Herod-slaughter.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"James F. McGrath\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ReligionProf\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"James F. McGrath\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/11\/christians-need-to-speak-out-against-these-sorts-of-abominations.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/11\/christians-need-to-speak-out-against-these-sorts-of-abominations.html\",\"name\":\"Christians Need to Speak Out against these sorts of Abominations!\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-11-07T17:50:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-11-07T17:50:57+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf\"},\"description\":\"On Facebook and elsewhere, I've begun to see signs of the extremism which I am convinced does not characterize everyone on that side of the political and\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/11\/christians-need-to-speak-out-against-these-sorts-of-abominations.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/11\/christians-need-to-speak-out-against-these-sorts-of-abominations.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/11\/christians-need-to-speak-out-against-these-sorts-of-abominations.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Christians Need to Speak Out against these sorts of Abominations!\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/\",\"name\":\"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath\",\"description\":\"The Blog of Dr. James F. McGrath, Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University, Indianapolis\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf\",\"name\":\"James F. McGrath\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"James F. McGrath\"},\"description\":\"Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. BD University of London, PhD Durham University. Author of John's Apologetic Christology, The Only True God, Theology and Science Fiction, and The Burial of Jesus, as well as (with Charles Haberl of Rutgers University) the two-volume Mandaean Book of John critical edition, translation, and commentary. Also author of numerous articles (and a few science fiction short stories) and the editor or co-editor of several volumes.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3Ge8ul5\",\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jamesfmcgrath\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jfmcgrat\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ReligionProf\",\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/religionprof\",\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/religionprof\",\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/James_F._McGrath\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/author\/james-f-mcgrath\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Christians Need to Speak Out against these sorts of Abominations!","description":"On Facebook and elsewhere, I've begun to see signs of the extremism which I am convinced does not characterize everyone on that side of the political and","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/11\/christians-need-to-speak-out-against-these-sorts-of-abominations.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Christians Need to Speak Out against these sorts of Abominations!","og_description":"On Facebook and elsewhere, I've begun to see signs of the extremism which I am convinced does not characterize everyone on that side of the political and","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/11\/christians-need-to-speak-out-against-these-sorts-of-abominations.html","og_site_name":"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath","article_author":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/","article_published_time":"2012-11-07T17:50:57+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs\/exploringourmatrix\/files\/2012\/11\/Herod-slaughter.jpg"}],"author":"James F. McGrath","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ReligionProf","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"James F. McGrath","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/11\/christians-need-to-speak-out-against-these-sorts-of-abominations.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/11\/christians-need-to-speak-out-against-these-sorts-of-abominations.html","name":"Christians Need to Speak Out against these sorts of Abominations!","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-11-07T17:50:57+00:00","dateModified":"2012-11-07T17:50:57+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf"},"description":"On Facebook and elsewhere, I've begun to see signs of the extremism which I am convinced does not characterize everyone on that side of the political and","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/11\/christians-need-to-speak-out-against-these-sorts-of-abominations.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/11\/christians-need-to-speak-out-against-these-sorts-of-abominations.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/11\/christians-need-to-speak-out-against-these-sorts-of-abominations.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Christians Need to Speak Out against these sorts of Abominations!"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/","name":"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath","description":"The Blog of Dr. James F. McGrath, Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University, Indianapolis","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf","name":"James F. McGrath","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"James F. McGrath"},"description":"Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. BD University of London, PhD Durham University. Author of John's Apologetic Christology, The Only True God, Theology and Science Fiction, and The Burial of Jesus, as well as (with Charles Haberl of Rutgers University) the two-volume Mandaean Book of John critical edition, translation, and commentary. Also author of numerous articles (and a few science fiction short stories) and the editor or co-editor of several volumes.","sameAs":["https:\/\/amzn.to\/3Ge8ul5","http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jamesfmcgrath\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jfmcgrat\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/ReligionProf","http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/religionprof","https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/religionprof","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/James_F._McGrath"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/author\/james-f-mcgrath"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/136"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10555"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10555\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}