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Should Christians Sue Atheists Too?
by Robert Driskell Atheists are quick to level lawsuits against Christians or other religious peoples. Instead of civilized dialogue, the non-believers use knee jerk litigation to try to force their views on others. Just some of the recent issues have been --suing to remove the Ten Commandments from public display. --suing to remove Christmas displays from public display. --suing to stop the National Day of Prayer. --suing to keep Intelligent Design from being taught in schools along side of evolution. --suing to attempt to get a cross, erected by a private church, taken down because it could be seen from a state highway. --suing every time a politician mentions God, Jesus, the Bible, or prayer. --suing over the inclusion of a cross in the 911 Ground Zero Museum. --suing to get "In God We Trust" off our nation's currency. --suing to remove the words "Under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance. --suing to have the definition of marriage changed. The list goes on. It is as though the atheist believes his or her ideas to be the only ones that count. They act as if the response to anything with which they disagree is to file a lawsuit against it as quickly and as publicly as possible. Let us turn the concept around. What if Christians were to sue every time something in society displeased them? What if believers sued --to stop pornography from being produced --other religions when they publicly displayed any of their religious icons? --every time Hollywood put out a movie that glorified sinful behavior? --every time someone publicly took the God's or Jesus' name in vain? --every time the ACLU represented someone wishing to express their perversions? This article is semi-tongue in cheek. While it addresses a real concern, it is not advocating the Christians really start suing over everything that annoys themas atheists seem prone to do. A Christian should sue only as a last resort. We should always seek to act with love and understanding first. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. (Romans 12:18 NASB) Only if we are left with no other course of action should we turn to the force of the law. We are always to "speak the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15). In times past, people could dialogue, discuss, and even debate others with whom they disagreed. Today, litigation (suing someone) is the first thing that is considered when one thinks he or she has been offended. Why is it we can no longer converse with one another? Have lawyers got us convinced that the only way to handle a problem is to hire them? Wouldn't it be nice if we could actually sit down and have a conversation with someone with whom we do not see eye to eye? Shouldn't we take the time to understand their point of view and have them understand ours? Or have we lost that ability completely? Seeking to introduce people to Jesus Christ and to help them become "transformed by the renewing of their mind." Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |