al.com: News: "'I believe Judge Moore is a man of strong conviction,' said Don Hawkins, president of Southeastern Bible College in Birmingham and former host of the 'Back to the Bible' radio program broadcast on 600 stations worldwide. 'He's risked everything to stand for what he believes. Most evangelical Christians will be saddened.'

Yes, strong conviction. That is how we talk about people who we agree with. People with strong convictions on the other side--perhaps agreeing with the CONSTITUTION are assumed to be power hungry and anti-christian! Puhleeze.

BTW, but Farakhan has strong convictions. So does Patricia Ireland. I have yet to hear any evangelicals celebrate their convictions. And Moore risked nothing. His biggest risk was actually to follow the law, because in doing so, he would have lost the speaking engagements to tell crowds and crowds of bleating evangelicals around the country how mistreated and persecuted they are. For moving a statue. Not saying the statue couldn't exist, but that it shouldn't be in the rotunda of the State Supreme Court building.


"Nationally syndicated radio psychologist James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, and TV evangelist D. James Kennedy issued strong statements of support for Moore. They are likely to continue promoting Moore as a martyr to the cause of defending the nation's Christian heritage from encroaching secularism."

And the part I love here is the complete avoidance of the fact that Moore is using this to build up a base of supporters and raise money. Why do they just assume he is doing the right thing? This is a cynical manipulation of people's fears. Dobson and Kennedy should be ashamed--that is if they were capable of those kinds of emotions. Of course, both men have made their careers on the idea that Christians are the persecuted.

"'This is further proof that our federal judges are determined to excise every reference to God from the public square,' Dobson said.

'Moore is being punished for upholding the rule of law, for following the will of the voters, for faithfully upholding his oath of office, and for refusing to bow to tyranny,' said Kennedy, a leading fund-raiser for Moore's legal defense. 'America could use a great many more men of courage and principle like him. For too long, too many elected officials have bowed in submission to lawless federal court edicts that set aside life and liberty. They have stood by as, case by case, God and biblical morality have been removed from public life.'"

Right. God has been removed. And it was Moore who was following the rule of law. Up is down. Black is white.

Conservative Christians dominate the White House, Senate and House and have strong assistance from the Supreme Court, yet are still the victims of some insidious liberal plot. Sorry, but this is moronic. would the existence of a stone statue actually mean that God was somehow enabled to act?

At least some people are questioning this

"`Looking for' persecution:

That doesn't mean all Christians who support Moore on the Ten Commandments believe he was right to defy a federal judge who ordered his monument removed from public view.

Gov. Bob Riley and Attorney General Bill Pryor, who like Moore used conservative religious support to help them get elected, opposed Moore's defiance.

Christians who opposed Moore also sense a potential political backlash building.

'This will be a new hill for evangelical Christians to charge up,' said the Rev. Steve Jones, pastor of Southside Baptist Church, who agreed with the removal of Moore.

'A lot of religious believers in our state are just looking for reasons to be called persecuted and oppressed, when really they're persecuting people who don't believe like them. It's going to raise the level of dialogue and anger and outrage. People are going to say that those who disagree with Moore are not Christians.'"

Exactly. How nice to be victimized by invisible accusers. And btw, how many of these morons were furious about Clinton and used the phrase "rule of law" until they forgot they had never thought about what it meant. Moore violated the "rule of law" as did Clinton, but even more directly and was then asking to be celebrated for his "courage." I tell you, this makes my blood boil and makes me embarrased that I could be connected in any way with Christians who think this poorly.

I would have a lot more respect if these people had taken to the streets to protest poverty in the South, or perhaps to show concern for the children who are dying in Iraq. Or perhaps to march about real issues about the role Christianity could play in this society. There are numerous ways that Christians could be making a positive contribution to our civil culture. This aint it. And Judge Roy Moore is no worthy martyr. He is a moron.