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Talbott: Who's really intolerant?


Clint Talbott presents the opinion here that OSA is intolerant and those in Boulder (like himself we presume) are tolerant. It's worth the read to see how the intolerant lost think when they hear our message. Remember that a large portion of the God-less left major in group-think. Read: they rely on news writers and other activists to obtain talking points. The irony of this is that they occasionally accuse Christian activists of doing so. Circular arguments work for a while to sooth a lost, hardened conscience but God's Word is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Talbott: Who's really intolerant?
7/20/2005

The Daily Camera
July 20, 2005

The wind whipping through Boulder on Tuesday was hot, like the blast of an open oven. For some out-of-state extremists, it was a gust from hell.

They call themselves Operation Save America. The group, formerly known as Operation Rescue, brandishes huge pictures of aborted fetuses and harasses patients trying to enter clinics that perform abortions.

They gathered along the sidewalks of Alpine Avenue, in front of the Boulder Abortion Clinic, spilling around the corner onto Broadway. There, they hoisted their repulsive signs and tried to get drivers' attention.

Many wore red T-shirts proclaiming that "Truth is hate to those who hate the truth." A few wore black shirts reading, "Homosexuality is sin. Islam is a lie. Abortion is murder."

On Broadway, the sidewalk exclamations continued. "Babies are being killed here," said a boy who was not much more than a baby himself. He edged toward a car, which drove away. Another red light presented another captive car. "Babies are being killed here," the boy repeated.

Dozens of protesters engaged in largely futile attempts to pass out literature, shock the citizens or, one presumes, draw any kind of response. OSA director Flip Benham roused his followers with a short sermon. "Everything will be tolerated in the city of Boulder," Benham shouted, "except the truth."

With the help of loudspeakers, Benham's booming voice could be heard a half-block away, on Broadway. "The gospel of Jesus Christ is not tolerated" in Boulder, Benham intoned.

No one interfered. Nearby, several police officers and a few curious hospital workers watched, tolerantly.

"It takes a village to kill a child," Benham said. Among those he said were complicit in the "killing" are "newspapers that cover up the truth" and "a police department that will not prosecute" doctors who perform abortions.

Benham seems to have a persecution complex, believing that Christians alone are criticized here. "If I were a part of the homosexual lifestyle, there wouldn't be anything said; there wouldn't be anything dared to be said," he said.

About that time, a Boulder officer asked the group to turn down its amplifiers. Benham suggested the request came because he'd dared to criticize homosexuals.

"They are bolder in Boulder about parading their sin in the streets ... proud of people like Ward Churchill, who advocates violence," Benham said. Boulder is, of course, anything but "proud" of Churchill. As for the "sin" parading in the streets, Benham said Boulder women sashay around topless.

Right. You see that all the time.

Benham led his group in prayer. He asked God to "pierce the spirit of darkness of this evil and wicked city." Then he asked the group to head toward the University of Colorado, which he described as the "gates of hell."

As men dismantled the sound system, I approached Benham and asked him why he disliked CU. Benham was amiable but said the university was a "bastion of liberal hate," a place that incites a "hatred for God." CU, he said, will "tolerate any behavior except the gospel of Christ."

At the Boulder Valley Women's Health Center, the scene was similar, though smaller. A few drivers gestured their disapproval. A few honked supportively.

Meanwhile, a shirtless man who said he lived nearby emerged to complain about the noise. With a broom in his hand, he yelled at a small phalanx of protesters, calling them "sick" and arguing that someone who is "pro-life" wouldn't eat animals.

"Vegetarianism is not His way," replied a man with a loudspeaker, adding, "You are the work of the devil." The fruitless argument, which the agitators seemed to relish, continued in this manner for some time.

The protesters soon headed up University Hill to take a stand at the gates of hell. Before joining them, Benham said Boulder had been more hostile than other cities.

That's hard to believe. Sure, there were occasional angry shouts and gesticulations. But mostly, Boulder seemed to ignore these angry extremists. That was the appropriate response.

As the Christian soldiers marched onward, they left a scattering of leaflets, a portion of which said: "Every stronghold, every false ideology, everything that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, must be brought down and totally destroyed." This is their brand of tolerance, flaunted in the name of Christ.

Reach Clint Talbott at (303) 473-1367 or talbottc@dailycamera.com

http://www.dailycamera.com/bdc/opinion_columnists/article/0,1713,BDC_2490_3938469,00.html