I find it interesting that after hundreds of years of formal attacks on non-Christians (to the point of almost total annihilation of cultures around the world, as well as within our own country), the insertion of non-Christian ideals into law are viewed as attacks on Christians and religious freedom.
Even in today’s world, extremists teach that people other than Christians are destined to hell and unable to find salvation. We have, as a country, exported Christian beliefs in the form of restrictions on aid and even withheld otherwise legal medical procedures from military personnel based on the religious beliefs of the leadership.
Why is it acceptable for one group to make its moral values the law of the land, but when population norms change and new ideas are brought forth into law, it is considered an attack, rather than merely the evolution of a race?
Self-defense is not an attack. When individual freedoms have been subjugated by a few and then those people reach freedom of voice and enough acceptance to change the law, it is in fact self-defense. I personally have not heard of any Christian churches being burned or attacked in this country or of any Christians being pulled over and subjected to unnecessary search and identification. As new beliefs are being assimilated into the fabric of our nation, we are showing our true religious freedom, which includes the freedom from being held hostage by any one faith path or group.
At the risk of appearing insensitive, I can remember that within my lifetime so-called “good Christian values” have been used as an excuse for overt segregation, persecution of gays and withholding otherwise legal procedures from people over the age of 21.
No one, that I’m aware of, is demanding that an individual participate in practices that are against his or her values unless that person owns a business that serves the public or works for a company that serves the public, e.g., a pharmacist working for a chain cannot refuse to distribute legally-prescribed drugs.
We either have freedom for all people to have a voice in public discourse or someone is going to be forced to live under moral dictums in which they have no investment.
Just as an aside, I can remember once being told that “rock and roll” was going to be the downfall of this nation.
