Double-Standard Toward Christians Exposed

Somebody is trying awfully hard to manufacture controversy over a set of stained glass windows Controversyrecently re-installed on the Southern Connecticut State University, some of which depict Christian figures or include religious phrases.

The windows have belonged to the school for years but have been moved to a more prominent location. They are Tiffany windows and, being genuine works of art and significant historical pieces, are worth tens of thousands of dollars. Now they can be enjoyed by anybody who uses the library. Huzzah! What’s not to love?

Two articles claim that everybody is buzzing about the supposedly controversial nature of these windows. SCSU’s student paper warns, in the sternest of tones, that

“If a complaint on this particular decision, was brought to Americans United for Separation of Church and State they would consider the religious windows a violation of law. …Since SCSU is a public state university is does make it inappropriate and gives students the right to question and even complain.”

and claims that “more than a couple have felt a negative emotion towards the religious windows.” However, even the most cursory read reveals that only one person is quoted as complaining at all — and that person, although “shocked,” doesn’t think it’s worth removing the windows. So who is really behind this?

Tiffany window

This non-story even got a mention at “The Friendly Atheist”! He opines that “the library isn’t a museum.” Well, Mr. Friendly, perhaps the Trumbull Public Library isn’t a museum either.

Other than that, it seems the interwebs are not taking the phony controversy bait, and the general reaction is a well-deserved yawn. I would like to thank the commenter at Friendly Atheist who writes, “let’s not make ourselves look like a pack of ignorant Philistines over something like this” (unfortunately, to see that comment, one must scroll through a mess of irrelevant and annoying tangents).  You said it, buddy, not me. I have to ask, where are all the other Combox Champions of Free Speech who raised such an uproar with their relentless attacks on Tim Herbst? Is it that our own Peter Wolfgang hit the nail on the head, and they reserve their ire for Republican political contenders and their Christian constituents?

In short: you can put up something as patently offensive as a vicious prejudice-monger with little regard for human rights juxtaposed with Mother Teresa, and you will get an all-volunteer army to defend you, but even the most innocuous suggestion of religious faith must be regarded with suspicion. Got that?

The student paper concludes: “The comfort of students in their learning and living community should always be top priority.”

Well, I can’t entirely blame them; to borrow from C.S. Lewis, if you don’t want your comfort threatened I certainly wouldn’t recommend Christianity. Forgive me, though, for being under the apparently erroneous impression that people go to an institution of higher learning to get OUT of their comfort zones. How old-fashioned of me. Now it would seem that the great intellectual adventure of college has been reduced to a warm blanket.

Leo Bloom blue blanket