Cease making ” me ” a victim !

There are fundamentalist Christians in Britain today who claim they are victims of persecution.

Channel 4 recently aired a programme where Peter Tatchell asked the question ” Are Christians the new persecuted in Britain today ? “

Mr Tatchell says ” NO “.  As a Christian in Britain today, I agree 100% with that ” NO “.

I think no-one would disagree, that outside of the Western world, Christians are indeed persecuted. They are being slaughtered in their thousands for what they believe. They are being murdered in their homes. They are being burned in places they worship. They are being executed on a huge scale.

 Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another group. THAT is the definition of persecution. And to promote the nonsense that Christians in Britain are persecuted today is undermining and devaluing the huge suffering of many, many Christians outside of the Western world.

Some have said that Mr Tatchell is attempting to disguise the fact that he just wants people to embrace homosexuality and this is his sneaky way of doing it.

Mr Tatchell, or indeed myself, and my purpose in writing this blog, aren’t asking anyone to embrace anything. Nonetheless, it’s rather delicious irony in my opinion, that in fundamentalist Christians claiming they are persecuted and disagreeing with him, they are ignoring the fact that a group of people that he identifies with ( unless you live on mars, you are all aware he is homosexual ), is persecuted a darn site more than any group of Christians in Britain today and I find that persecution absolutely abhorrent.

I have the God-given right to say here and now ” Jesus Christ is my Saviour “. I have that right without fear of recrimination or reprisal.

I have the God-given right here and now to spread the Gospels/Good news ( I won’t but nevertheless, I ” do ” have that right ) without fear of recrimination or reprisal.

I have the right, to say here and now, ” I believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty “, without fear of recrimination or reprisal.

YOU have the God-given right to disagree with me, but I see no axe coming.

And THAT is the crux of the matter. ” Disagreement ” is hugely different to ” persecution”.

Should anyone say to me ” Hey, I think you are a loon/whacky/silly/daft/stupid for believing in something you can’t see “, that is an ” opinon “, it is not persecution. And you’d better believe that even though I wouldn’t agree with that opinion, I respect their right to say it.

This is where the irony of free speech has sailed over rather a lot of people’s heads. Free speech is all about defending the rights of even those we don’t agree with, to say it. If we are to defend free speech, then we ” must ” also defend the rights of those who don’t agree with us.

So, in saying that, yes, I ” do ” defend the rights of the fundamentalist Christians to say they are being persecuted. Mr Tatchell is also defending that right, but ” that ” is exactly his point. He just doesn’t happen to agree with them, and neither do I.  If the fundamentalists view that as persecution, then so be it, but I make no apologies for the way they see it.

 For a Christian in Britain today, to victimize him/herself is doing a HUGE disservice to the thousands of ” true ” victims across the world who have been/are being, persecuted for professing their faith.

Maybe it wouldn’t hurt for these fundamentalists, if they embrace God’s love as they claim, to start shouting just as loudly against the horrendous treatment against homosexuals in Britain today ? Or would speaking out against  their persecution be embracing it in their eyes. Well, how bonkers is that ! I don’t particularly embrace people who cut me off in the supermarket aisles when they shop like loons thinking that Christmas means Armageddon is coming, but I wouldn’t condone ” off with their heads! “

If persecution is wrong, then as Christians we should be speaking out against what ” is ” happening in Britain today against groups of people, not what ” isn’t ” happening. Speaking out against persecution against homosexuals isn’t embracing it you silly lot ! It’s showing God’s love for ” human beings ” !!

 Now, if they see themselves as victims, then that’s fine. After all, they ” do ” have that right. What they do NOT have the right to do, is make me out to be a victim with them.

I do get rather ticked off a teeny, weeny bit at people, when they say ” Christians ” ( plural ) that they dare assume they are speaking for me.

Any fundamentalist Christians out there, you go ahead and make yourself a victim if you chose, but do NOT make ” me ” a victim.