Thread by @JustSayXtian

Also, I resent the implication that my stance is based in ignorance, or is "unserious". I'm perfectly aware that evangelism has always been a part of Christianity, and the references to it in the gospels. Neither of those things have any bearing on my points.

https://twitter.com/IanBaram/status/1333952082135683073

The internal rationalizations for offensive and, in some instances, antisemitic behavior by Christians aren't relevant to how that behavior impacts non-Christians. Telling me *why* you can't respect me doesn't excuse the disrespect.

It's precisely *because* I know how deeply rooted in Christian tradition this is that I feel it's important to speak about it in strong, uncompromising terms. This isn't a tangential thing that some few Christians do. It's a major thing that has a huge effect on the world.

This couldn't be a more serious discussion on Christianity, and essays like this, that reject any discussion of Christian behavior that isn't on Christianity's own terms, is exactly why it is serious and important.

Further into the piece the author discusses the divide between "religious and non-religious Americans", despite the fact that at least two of the tweets she cited as "unserious" - the two by me - are from a religious American.

She awkwardly pays lip service to the existence of other religions, but it's clear that in this binary she's set up "non-religious" means "not Christian". She laments the fact that a "baseline knowledge of Christianity is no longer a given".

This fundamental assymetry, this assumption that Christianity is synonymous with religion and the implication that all other religions are lesser, this sad sigh of regret that I am not an expert in her religion while she is expected to know nothing of mine, is the problem.

It's a genteel, polite version of Christian supremacy that makes gestures at pluralism and pretends to be progressive, while doing nothing to examine the privilege of Christian hegemony and less than nothing to consider how that affects non-Christians.

So it's not really surprising to see well spoken, 'polite' Christians defending Cawthorn's aggressive, supremacist approach to his religion - that approach isn't actually in conflict with their own. They just don't want a fuss made about it.