But the principle reason you object to it appears to be that it conflicts with the unreal ideas and expectations around sex and relationships that Christians wish to impose on them.
No I think this is what people do with identity politics. They choose to judge a group by the stereotypical assumptions of that group ie that the only reasons Christians promote certain beliefs and views is because of belief alone. That there is no rationality to their position which is not the case.
As I think I m,ewntioned to you earlier Christian truths and morals also have some common sense and truth about them in the real world, with our real lived experience. Think about all the important issues around sex which Christians support and you will find factual evidence and real lived experience which supports those truths and morals.
If Christ real and represents the truth as He claims then His truths have to also stand up in fact and lived reality. So a Christian can be confident that His teachings will stand up to any scrutiny.
Which is why Christianity is coming under increasing criticism.
I think thats part of it and rightly so. The Church and some Christians have acted badly and that has tarnished the reputation of Christians. But I think it has now gone beyond that. Its now targeting Christians perse. Its labelling all Christians that way when it was actually the minority who had done wrong.
Unfortuantely that minority as with any extreme ideology and behaviour always makes the loudest noise and is noticed. People don't talk about or acknowledge the many Christians working quietly behind the scenes doing Gods work. But unfortunately thanks to identity politics they have judged by the negative narratives pushed in society that all Christians are bad and as a result Christianity itself is bad.
But to be fair if we are going to do that we need to apply the same standard of criticisim to all groups that may push their agendas. But thats not happening. The evidence shows that Christians and Christian groups and organisations are being unfairly targeted and descriminated against while other ideological groups are overlooked. That smells of partisan politics and bias.
It all seems be based on your idea that "Western Culture is the vessel in which Christ will be brought to the world".
If Christ is the foundation of Christianity then the west was the vehicle by which the Gospel was brought to western civilisation warts and all. If it wasn't for the west and its beliefs about allowing the early church to grow and develop the Christian message then the west would not have Christianity full stop. As compared to say Asian, Russian or Middle Eastern cultures.
So in that sense its a blessing not because the west is Christian but because the west was the type of cul;ture that allowed Christianity to exist and develop. And this is also in line with the Gospel that it would first come to the Jews and then to the Gentiles. That is exactly what we should expect to have happened with the growth of the early Church. Despite in the end the wests growing rejection of that message.
But the principles that allowed the Christian church to flourish were also Christian values so it could not have happened any other way. The church would not have flourished under a culture that denied religious freedom. that upheld the freedoms we know in the west. Sothey sort of go hand in hand in some ways and that is the great aspect of western culture as opposed to other cultures.
Laws are different from morals.
They are still laws, unwritten laws on our hearts, our conscience. Behind the laws associated with how we treat others are morals. That is why we make them laws because its morally wrong. Killing, stealing, raping, assualting others which basically covers most of the law happen to also have a moral equivalence. Like I said we use to have a legal law that adultery was against the law.
That is exactly what you appear to be doing.
How is that the case. Smuggling would imply a hidden agenda. Masking that agenda with a completely different cause or reason. But as far as I can see Christians cannot have an agenda because its well established what their position is. Theres nothing to hide anymore as Christianity has been one of the most scrutinised beliefs.
So when a Christian speaks their belief, the Christian truths and values we know exactly what they are and when they conflict theres no hidden agenda as Christians are attacked for those very truths. The fact that they are attacked for those truths and values shows people know exactly what they are and its more that they attack Christianity because it represents the opposite of what the attackers believe.
No because its an agenda, not because its false, not because its wrong or that anyone is trying to push this on other. Just simply for expressing that truth.
You said yourself that you don't always follow US politics. The GOP has become a Christian Nationalist party.
OK well that is probably a sign of the times for US politics that the system has got to this point. It also supports my point that politics and culture has become more polarised because if one side has got to the point of being purely motived by ideological belief then so has the other side in kind. Thats how it works.
The political system has become more personal, more about what beliefs and ideology people have rather than what is best for the nation politically, economically and socially. Identity belief is more important than any unified belief.
That is your delusion, Many of these issues were never agreed on in the past but enforced because Christians had more social power than they do now.
Like what. Once again the US may have some different dynamics going on as they seem to be more of a Christian nations that most. But what exactlt was it that people did not agree with in the past that Christians enforced.
Evenso if this is the case the point is that the Left have reacted in kind with their own extreme and enforced ideology. That is what usually happens with identity politics. One side goes to the extreme and the other reactes with an equal and opposite extreme.
All I know is that today with the rise of PC, Cancel Culture and Woke identity politics this has primarily been introduced by Leftist governments throughout the world because they are the ones in power at the moment. Its no coincident that all the radical groups we see today such as Extinction Rebellion, BLM, ANTIFA, Trans Activist, Anti Semetism, University activist groups, all have Leftist beliefs.
All I know is that its the Right, Conservative and Christian views that are being cancelled. A speaker at any university who may dare to speak about the reality of biological sex, that DEI is a descriminating ideology, that open borders in unreal will be shut down. All I know is that opinion polls and surveys show that a growing number of people are fearful of expressing the beliefs and views against what the Left push. Thats the reality.
