Can you believe this Anti-Christian bigot?

A huffpo blogger asks a loaded question: "Is Every Christian Who's Against Gay Marriage Necessarily a Bigot?"

Rhetorically, of course. He and every Huffpo reader (but one, I read the post too) already knows that anyone who doesn't swoon at Ellen Degeneris' bravery and demand "gay marriage" and all the rest is ipso facto, a bigot. But must all Christians be bigots?

Actually, he lies. He says, "You, anti-gay Christian, have the God-given freedom and the American right to believe whatever you want, and to worship and congregate with anyone and everyone who shares your beliefs. What sane person would argue against that?

For all practical purposes (and for such concerns, what else matters?) it is not beliefs that make a bigot. It's actions."

Well, except for a group of Christians, if there was one outside of Westboro Baptist, who refused to congregate with homosexuals (or should I say LBGTQ...). Or, more realistically, a Christian baker, photographer or florist who declined to participate in a "gay wedding." Nope, I'm pretty sure our bigoted blogger would argue with that.

But I suppose Christians should be grateful that he permits them to believe, worship and congregate.... so far. Insofar as the worship might entail reading the Bible (Cf. Gen 191-29; Rom 124-27; ⇒ 1 Cor 6:10; ⇒ 1 Tim 1:10) or giving a sermon, I suspect Mr. Blogger may become a bit less generous with his tolerance. Don't even try to go beyond the limits he has set by perhaps obeying the precepts of your faith outside of your church building, by offering charity, adoption services or education to those in need - or even whispering in the dark ("If, in private, you intimate to your dearest friend that you don't think gay people should be allowed to get married, you are a bigot.")  Nope! Once you step outside the Church, you are a bigot unless you sign-on to the entire ''gay rights'' agenda. Just ask Catholic Charities and more than a couple Catholic schools.

So, basically, this guy hates anyone who doesn't act exactly like he wants them to act. What a bigot!

Uncharitable Discourse on Charity

I appreciate Jesuit Father James V. Schall. He is a recently retired professor of Philosophy at the nominally Catholic Georgetown University. I became aware of him through his association with the Intercollegiate Studies Institute.

I occasionally appreciate Michael Sean Winters of the National Catholic Reporter. Usually not. NCR is to Catholicism what the Huffington Post is to politics: Left of reality, biased and bigoted against opposing views and critical of authority unless that authority reliably agrees with its worldview.

I don't appreciate MSW's criticism of an article by Fr. Schall on the topic of Christianity's relationship with poverty.

Fr. Schall meditates on the propensity of Christians to "identify" with poverty rather than doing things that actually help poor people stop being poor.

Mr. Winters will have none of it. By misrepresenting Fr. Schall's position and by contrasting that straw-man position with one that he projects upon Pope Francis, Mr. Winters attempts to defend the very point of that does perpetuate poverty.

And he does it in a very uncharitable way. I hope Fr. Schall takes the time to respond, but I doubt it would be worth his effort. Some hearts are too hardened, including the one on Mr. Winter's sleeve.

As I thought about the two sides of the argument, I was reminded of the story of Boaz and Ruth. Ruth, along with other widows, gleaned Boaz' fields after his laborers had harvested. As a righteous man, Boaz obeyed the Levitical law to leave gleanings for the widows and the poor.

Lev 19:9: "9 “‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God."

Googling the story of Boaz and Ruth brought my attention to Boaz and Ruth in Richmond, VA. "Planted in the center of Highland Park, one of Richmond, Virginia's most troubled areas, Boaz & Ruth advances a missionof  rebuilding lives and communities through relationships, training, transitional jobs, and economic revitalization. "

This seems about right to me. I think Fr. Schall would approve. What of Mr. Winter?