Friday, September 9, 2022

Cross-Shaped Pier Symbol Of Scary Christian Nationalism?

 

It seems that Christianity is now the one religion everyone is free to criticize, mock or be offended by. Even other Christians. Case in point: some members of the LGBTQ community are “deeply concerned” about a soon-to-be rebuilt pier in Ocean Grove, New Jersey. Why? Because it is to be constructed in the shape of a cross. Gasp!

The Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, a Methodist group, established the town more than 150 years ago, and still owns the small beach and boardwalk, as well as the rest of the land that the town and its businesses sit on. (When buying a home in Ocean Grove, residents must enter into a land-lease agreement with the camp.)

After the town’s largest pier sustained serious damage from Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the association embarked on an extensive campaign to rebuild it. The groundbreaking finally took place in July, but the design of the pier has caused some trepidation among certain residents of the community and surrounding areas.

Douglas Grote, a retired Presbyterian pastor who lives in the town, has sent several letters to officials at the state and local level on behalf of members of the LGBT community, calling the pier design “Christian bullying.”

“I am so deeply concerned,” Grote told NJ.com. ”And I am so concerned [for] my neighbors who are scared and bullied.” By a wooden pier? They’re not particularly concerned about rising crime, street violence, theft, and car-jacking, but a large dock is frightening them?

Shane Martins, an attorney and Ocean Grove resident who is gay, claims people are “being hurt” by the pier. No, Shane, people are being hurt by criminal recidivism, rising inflation, and vaccine mandates. By contrast, piers let people walk over water safely.

“Once this pier is built like a cross, I believe that will be the point of a no return,” he said to NJ.com. “To say (the cross-shaped pier) doesn’t represent Christian nationalism — anyone who says that isn’t being honest.” A single jetty on a small strip of land owned by a church group represents Christian nationalism? Does a plethora of LGBTQ flags and Pride! banners being carried down city streets by throngs of people wearing next to nothing represent Gay nationalism? Should heterosexual Christians feel “scared and bullied” at the sight of just one such banner or symbol of the LGBTQ community? Does that mean we’ve passed the “point of no return?”

And then we have the recent Libs of TikTok video in which a person discussed using "god" as a pronoun. The self-described atheist claimed not to have a gender and said that "it's like I'm existing" and "not existing at the same time — god" and "I am a being" but also "not a being ... like god." Alrighty then.

The person in the video also stated that "'God' is me validating my agender-ness,” and added, "People can get offended. That's fine, but nothing else validates my agender-ness like that pronoun.”

The person’s pronoun is “God?” Because “God” validates agender-ness?

It might be good for that “person” to travel to Ocean Grove someday, walk out on the pier…and watch the sun rise.

I don’t know about “agender-ness,” but God validates the skies and the sea, the truth…and eternal life.

His son also rose.

 

 

 

 

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