Indiana’s New Law

Indiana has a new law called the Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act. There is a good analysis of the law here and the author of that article says:

“Of all the state “religious freedom” laws I have read, this new statute hints most strongly that it is there to be used as a means of excluding gays and same-sex couples from accessing employment, housing, and public accommodations on the same terms as other people.”

I admit I am confused. I’m sure most citizens of Indiana, if they express any religious affiliation at all, would claim to be Christians. And yet, it’s my understanding that Christians are not supposed to judge others. In fact, their  holy book warns explicitly against doing that:

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.”

And:

“You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself…”

And:

“Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.”

There are other, similar statements. And then there’s that “Golden Rule.” Luke 6:31 records Jesus as saying,

“Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

Jesus taught love, forgiveness, tolerance, and treating others as we would like to be treated. And here is the source of my confusion: it appears Christians in Indiana, through this new law, are demanding (and getting) the right to act in very un-Christian ways. They want to be able to legally refuse someone a job, housing, or public accommodation if they don’t approve of that person’s lifestyle or the sex of that person’s significant other. Where did Jesus say it’s okay to mistreat someone if you don’t approve of who they’re in love with?

Maybe I’m confused because I’m not a hater. My parents totally neglected teaching me to hate. And I never spent much time in a “house of worship” where, it seems to me, many kinds of intolerance are learned.

It may not totally clear up my confusion, but I think it would be a start if Indiana would rename their new law according to what I perceive to be its actual purpose. They could call it the Indiana Religious Bigotry and Intolerance Restoration Act.

How about it, Indiana?

Susanne Sundfør

Song of the day: Slowly, from the album Ten Love Songs by Norwegian musician Susanne Sundfør. 

C’mon Spring

I heard on the TV weather that 47 of the lower 48 states have snow on the ground. Only Florida has no snow. You poor Floridians. Look what you’re missing by not living in central Virginia:

Though we’re in the early days of March, this is typical February weather. One day is calm, the next day the wind howls with 50 mph gusts and blows down trees and knocks out electricity. One day the high temperature is in the mid-30s, the next day it’s in the upper-60s. One day it’s rainy but not cold; then it’s sunny but freeze-your-butt-off cold.

Often the forecast will change, but this time of year it never changes for the better. If anything changes this week, it will be Thursday’s snow spreading into Friday. When we get a sunny day, it comes with a promise of more bad weather just behind it. January is mainly cold but often brings a week of mild weather called the “January thaw.” February to mid-March is a day-to-day  roller-coaster: mild, bitterly cold, sunny, snowy.

One day winter will end. Then we’ll have a week of nice weather called Spring. Then the central-Virginia summer will come, the polar opposite of winter, bringing sultry days with a heat index of 112°, 117°, 120°, and sweltering nights where, if you don’t have air conditioning, you lie naked on the sheets beside an open window and simply – not to put too fine a point on it – sweat. Oh, the anticipation.