See You in the Funny Papers

Over at Pandagon, there's a bright new crop of looky-loos and whackos pontificating about -- what else? -- the sinfulness of feminists and gays. I have been a loyal Pandagon reader for some time, now, but I've only now begun posting comments there. I don't have much time for that sort of stuff anymore, but I feel it's imperative that I join the ranks of folks who are deftly countering this crap.

Right-wingers have a childish, cartoon view of liberals in general. No mystery as to why; mega-mondo-millions of dollars have been spent carpet-bombing our society with propaganda portraying us this way. The trolls dropping their nasty little nuggets of "wisdom" at Pandagon tend to be very loftily disdainful of us poor, benighted liberals. They don't realize that they have no credibility with us because they cannot see us as we really are.

Now, I disagree with many things that Amanda, Pam and the other Pandagon writers have to say. I don't like it when they refer to my Lord and Savior as "Jeebus," and any number of those they dismiss as "Freepers" are actually pretty decent folks. That having been said, though we disagree on matters of theology, politically we're on the same page. Progressive people of faith have to learn to be more tolerant of religious diversity than do those on the Right -- and that, in my opinion, is a GOOD thing.

Conservative "Christians" content to dismiss those with ideas that trouble them, seeing them as cartoon characters instead of as real people, are merely showing that, in their claim to be Christians, they are utter frauds. It is such an insult to treat other human beings -- made, just like them, in the likeness and image of God and for whom Christ died -- like stick-figures. That they are willing to let it go at this shows that their claims to be followers of Christ are phony.

Those at Pandagon who are not Christians may or may not ever be won over to the faith, but one thing is for damned sure. The so-called Christians who go there spoiling for a fight, and who spend their time defending not real Christian faith (which is by no means being attacked by everyone in the Pandagon crowd) but rather their own, bogus little Xanadu world, have squandered the opportunity. And they will answer for it at the Throne of the very Christ in whom they so loudly claim to believe.