I just wonder why all the enlightened pilot-god types (small g) here feel so justified in bashing Christians for no apparent cause, but would most likely (and rightly so) come to the vigorous defense of some black pilot being bashed for no good reason.
That's an interesting question. May I take a moment of your time to answer it?
The answer has to do with what modern America views as "civil rights", particularly in the mass media.
The mass media views Christianity as being the historical
majority religion, and all others as being
minority religions. Since the media is not uneducated, they know of the nature of the founding of this country, the beliefs of the individuals who accomplished this founding, and of the intent of the Constitution. They also see fit to present these things as differently as they like in order to accomplish their agenda: the realization of a fully secular American society, despite what they know to be true. In order to do this, they maximize coverage of the lunatic fringe, such as the branch davidians, a cult, in order to help distort the public view of Christianity. If a Chritian leader mentions in an interview that we are counciled to "not lay down with a man as if with a woman", there is always a gay activist at the ready to lambaste the bible as being narrowminded and oppressive, and its follwers as being "backward". No other religion is so roundly pillaged in the press, not even post 9-11 Islam.
Since most of us are regular users of the media, we Americans become hardened to Christianity, since it is seen as publically acceptable to both restrain and disdain the followers of Christ. If you go to a modern public school, you immediately learn as a young child that Christ and his teachings are
forbidden in most schools, and as a child, you logically conclude that there must be something wrong with Christian belief. You may carry this idea for your entire life.
So while it is easy to identify the belittling of a black man as a violation of his civil rights, and it is never seen in our media as being socially acceptable to do so, our natural tendency is to come to his aid.
On the other hand, we never see a suport in the media (NY Times, CNN, big three networks) for Christianity, and in fact we see Christian views being denigrated widely. It is no surprise, in this environment, that the majority of secular America feels very comfortable in disrespecting both the rights and the persons who adhere to Christian belief.
If you were born in the sixties, seventies, or eighties, you have been trained to be anti-Christian your entire life. Those of us who were born in the fifties remember when this change occured, and we have seen the decadence that has followed.
A cultural note: I heard a blurb on Fox this morning that at least two of the Columbia astronauts attended church regularly, and that their pastors are leading services for them.
I hope this post clarifies the question you posed.
