O Philipos

Philipos was a central character for awhile in my Classical Greek textbook in college.  He got into all kinds of trouble, mostly by shirking responsibility.  Many times, he was addressed with the vocative O Philipos.

I've spent the past couple of days thinking, "O Philipos" in response to Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty fame's GQ article.  Facebook and Twitter are full of conversation, and my mind has been swirling a bit, so here are my thoughts.

Full disclosure: I've been a Duck Dynasty fan, and while not always appreciating some of the viewpoints expressed by the Robertson clan, I generally enjoy the show.

If I hear one more person use the term "free speech" inappropriately, I just might scream.  Free speech does not mean you get to say whatever the heck you want without facing any consequences. Free speech protects us from government censorship or jailing or various other government reactions.  Police are not breaking down the door of the Duck Commander factory.  Free speech for Phil Robertson is intact.  Free speech for A&E (now that corporations have free speech) is intact.

We shouldn't be shocked by the statements made by Phil Robertson.  He's expressing a very common viewpoint about homosexuality that is shared by many conservative/evangelical Christians across the United States.  My guess is that most people, especially church leaders, in his community interpret scripture to condemn homosexuality.  I'm not justifying that, or agreeing with it.  Anybody who has read this blog over the years knows that I get the most drive-by bloggers when I voice my support of marriage equality.  I'm just saying we shouldn't shocked.

I've grown so, so, so tired of the "attack on Christianity" schtick.  Why on earth wouldn't people be skeptical about and/or reject a Christianity that only gets really fired up when Christians in prominent positions face consequences for expressing prejudicial views?    Seriously, if the only righteous indignation the Christian community is known for is related to protecting the rights of "Bible believing Christians" to bash on LGBQ folks, there is something seriously wrong.  Christianity is fine. A&E will not bring the body of Christ in the world to its knees by suspending Phil Robertson.  Oy.

By the way, why isn't there more press about Phil's comments about the Jim Crow south?  That was ridiculous.

My final thoughts are really addressed to Phil Robertson and other folks who are given a chance to speak publicly about their faith.  O Philipos, do you really believe that homosexuality is the gravest of sins facing our world today?  What about the imbalance of wealth in our country and around the world?  What about the greed that leads to that imbalance?  What about our failure as a nation to care for "the least of these"?  What about increasing gun violence and no real efforts to curb it?    What about our failure to practice sabbath?  You didn't expect me to finish with that one, did you?  And yet, it pops up more than you might think in Deuteronomy.

OK, I've rambled on long enough.  As always, I welcome any feeback.