Poor, Persecuted Christians....

All this whinging lately about how horribly, horribly persecuted Christians are in this country is really making me sick. Particularly when it seems to be the Christians that are doing all the goddamn persecuting. You know, like kicking students out of school for being gay. (Bolds mine)

The University of the Cumberlands' rule against gay students appears to put the school's hopes for a pharmacy school on a collision course with national accreditation standards that prohibit discrimination against gays.

Last week, the Southern Baptist university dismissed Jason Johnson, 20, a sophomore theater arts major from Lexington, after he disclosed on a Web site that he is gay. That action put the spotlight on the University of the Cumberlands' rule against homosexuality and extramarital sex. A school policy says both are "not consistent with Christian principles."

That rule seems in direct conflict, though, with the standards of the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, the only group that can accredit new and existing pharmacy schools in the United States.

Okay, all you "Colleges are filled with Liberals that want to destroy Christianity and Conservatives" mouth-flappers: Name one school in the United States that will expel you for being Christian. Or for being Conservative. One.

I'll just wait over here.

Fortunately, this school seems to have some students that, you know, actually think in a Christian manner.

The 2005-06 student handbook says: "Any student who engages in or promotes sexual behavior not consistent with Christian principles (including sex outside marriage and homosexuality) may be suspended or asked to withdraw." A copy of the handbook provided by the university confirmed the policy was not spelled out in 2003-04, when Johnson chose to attend.

After Dreyer's Web post on Thursday, students' blogs showed mixed reactions.

Renee Kuder, a University of the Cumberlands senior, says some students are publicly questioning the school's values. "They're being hypocritical, by Christian standards," she said. "If we love each other, accept each other for who we are, why are they kicking him out?"

Johnson said he hopes students' "faith is renewed because people are standing up for what they believe in."

And it's not just at The University of the Cumberlands.

Gay and lesbian students face expulsion at scores of evangelical Christian schools across the country if they come out of the closet while enrolled.

In all, more than 200 U.S. colleges and universities ban gay-lesbian-bisexual and transgendered youth, according to Soulforce, a pro-gay interfaith group. In this country, religious organizations are allowed to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, said Richard Lindsay of Soulforce.

"It's their right legally, but what we're saying is it is not their right morally," he said.

When University of the Cumberlands student Jason Johnson gushed online about his "wonderful dating adventure with a beautiful boy named Zac," he quickly discovered how unpopular gay sexuality is among conservative Christian school officials.

He's not the first gay student expelled from a Christian school for going public. Conflicts are becoming more common as society becomes more accepting of homosexuality and as students turn to the Internet to share intimate details of their lives.

A student at John Brown University in Siloam Spring, Ark., was booted after he revealed his sexual orientation on his Web page. Students at Lee University in Cleveland, Tenn., and at North Central University in Minneapolis have been kicked out in the past year, Lindsay said.

Stiiiiill waiting for that long list of expelled Christians.... (checks watch)

You know... maybe, just maybe, you wouldn't feel this animosity and "persecution" if you weren't using your religion as a weapon to destroy the lives of others. Maybe you wouldn't feel as if people dislike you for being Christian if you weren't suing for the right to be a bigot.

Knock off the sob story, folks. It's bullshit; everyone knows it, and you're embarrassing the real Christians. Stop fabricating things like the War on Easter, and try using your Christian beliefs to enrich your life, rather than making others miserable. You might just feel closer to God.

UPDATE: Shaker Zack passes along these tips on Fighting and Winning the War on Easter. Happy Jesuster!

(Can you tell me how to get, how to get to cross-post street?)