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McCook Gazette

Our opinion

Editorial

Painting radicals, moderates with same broad brush

Monday, March 9, 2015

The Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, is at it again, picketing the funerals of a police detective and and two military personnel, the Nebraska Legislature and Doane College for promoting or at minimum tolerating homosexuality.

The Patriot Guard Riders and other motorcyclists kept the group at bay when it attempted to disrupt the funeral of a McCook man killed in Iraq.

Local police were on hand as well, but truth be told, they were more occupied with protecting the picketers from outraged local residents who might otherwise have attacked the handful of protesters.

The homosexuality issue has taken more than its share of space on this page, with a federal judge overturning Nebraska's prohibition on gay marriage and the state attorney general appealing that decision.

Westboro Baptist isn't likely to win many converts with its message of hate, most of it unprintable here, and does more harm than good for the arguments presented by those who have more reasoned, heartfelt objections to same-sex marriage.

Unfortunately, the Topeka group will be lumped together with other Christians who believe they offer help for the wide range of shortcomings that afflict the human race.

President Obama and other leaders face criticism because they refuse to connect ISIL or ISIS with Islam, saying such a designation gives the terrorists a legitimacy they don't deserve.

They do have a point in that the terrorists have killed many Muslims along with Christians and people of other faiths.

But it is easy for non-Muslims to lump radical extremists and moderate groups together.

Just as it's easy for non Christians to lump the Westboro Baptist Church together with other Christian faiths.

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  • The vast majority of Christians are secular - they are not religious. Secular being defined here as -- " denoting attitudes, activities, or other things that have no religious or spiritual basis: Contrasted with sacred ". Or here's another definition -- "of or relating to worldly things or to things that are not regarded as religious, spiritual, or sacred; temporal" I don't know any Christians who are religious. I doubt that anyone does. The reason the judge overruled the gay marriage band was because there is no reasoned objection to gay marriage. If someone has one, just say it. You have to argue that the benefits and advantages and obligations afforded to and imposed on heterosexuals should not be applied to gays. What arguments are there? Heartfelt emotion arguments or arguments stemming from a religion that no one follows isn't going to cut it. In fact, even if a small percentage of the population was religious and did offer a religious argument, you would still have to present an argument as to why the massive number of nonreligious people would have to listen to them at all. Let's hear an argument

    -- Posted by bob s on Mon, Mar 9, 2015, at 5:55 PM
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