July has been cataclysmic for the faithful as places of worship and religious statues and monuments have been routinely defaced if not outright destroyed — and the month isn’t even over yet.
The historic San Gabriel Mission, located just outside of Los Angeles in San Gabriel, California was utterly destroyed by fire on the weekend before last. The 249-year-old church was undergoing restoration in preparation for its 250th anniversary when it went up in flames.
Firefighters working the scene were forced to retreat from the interior when portions of the roof fell in, making their efforts unsafe. By the time the fire was contained, the only things left undamaged were the bell tower and museum.
"It's a tragic loss for our city,” San Gabriel Fire Dept. Capt. Antonio Negrete told local Fox 11 news. "It's our city identifier."
Although the fire’s cause is still under investigation, other events around the country suggest it was intentionally set.
That same weekend in Ocala, Fla., a man deliberately crashed his vehicle into the entrance of the Queen of Peace Catholic Church, doused the foyer with gasoline and ignited it as parishioners were preparing to celebrate Saturday Mass.
Police soon arrested a 23-year-old suspect, who reportedly grinned and laughed during questioning, claiming he was on a "mission" and his act was "awesome," according to the Ocala Star Banner.
Meanwhile, statues of the Virgin Mary at local Catholic churches in Boston and New York have been vandalized and defaced, according to the Catholic World Report.
In Boston, the statue was set on fire where it stood outside St. Peter’s Church, resulting in substantial damage.
In New York, police investigated a vandalized statue of the Virgin Mary outside the Cathedral Prep School and Seminary in Queens, after it was spray painted with the word "IDOL" in large red letters going down its length.
Fr. James Kuroly, rector and president of Cathedral Prep, called the incident "an act of hatred." It's impossible to argue that point.
Leading up to July, a mob of St. Louis Black Lives Matter protesters descended on a large group of Catholics praying around a statue of France’s King Louis IX, who was later canonized into sainthood by the Catholic Church. The statue has stood for over a century, and the protesters wanted it torn down as they loudly heckled and even beat some of the Catholics before the day was over.
But the hatred isn’t limited to Catholicism, or even Christianity.
Gary Rosenblatt, writing for The Atlantic, suggested early this year that anti-Semitism may becoming the "new normal" in the United States.
The rantings of far-left activists like Shaun King suggest that the objections may be based more on race than religion. He believes that all images that depict Christ as white must be destroyed, including statues, paintings, tapestries, and stained-glass windows.
"Yes, I think the statues of the white European they claim is Jesus should also come down," he tweeted. "They are a form of white supremacy. Always have been. In the Bible, when the family of Jesus wanted to hide, and blend in, guess where they went? EGYPT! Not Denmark. Tear them down."
Offering further proof that it may all be race-based, the National Museum of African American History and Culture came under fire recently for releasing a chart depicting "Aspects & Assumptions of White Culture in the United States."
The federally-funded museum, affiliated with the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., claims that qualities like individualism, a nuclear family, hard work, and an emphasis on the scientific method, are all signs of "whiteness."
It defended this claim, stating that "At a time when the soul of our country is being tested, our Talking About Race portal will help individuals and communities foster constructive conversations and much needed dialogue about one of our nation's most challenging topics: Racism and its corrosive impact."
Under "History" it lists "The primacy of Western and Judeo-Christian traditions" as signs of whiteness.
Under "religion," it lists "anything other than Judeo-Christian tradition is foreign" and "No tolerance for deviation from single god concept" as indicators of whiteness.
But these aren’t signs of "whiteness" — they’re qualities making us American, each and every one; they should unite us, not divide us.
What’s especially sad is that this is all happening while the nation is mourning the death of Rep. John Lewis, a Georgia Democrat who marched with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
King envisioned a color blind society as opposed to a color conscious one — a key Judeo-Christian value and one of America’s Founding principles, that "all men are created equal."
Inventing differences between the races that don’t exist not only fosters resentment and hatred between the races, but appears to be doing the same toward our religious institutions.
This nonsense must stop.
Michael Dorstewitz is a retired lawyer and has been a frequent contributor to BizPac Review and Liberty Unyielding. He is also a former U.S. Merchant Marine officer and an enthusiastic Second Amendment supporter, who can often be found honing his skills at the range. Read Michael Dorstewitz's Reports — More Here.
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