As the network for real American Christians, Fox News knows that God hates fags and that real American Christians should be free to discriminate against the LGBT community because religious liberty - which, on Fox, is not extended to atheists. For Fox, ordinances which forbid anti-gay discrimination are Satan's work. Thus, Fox brought us a campaign of real Christian lies about how the San Antonio non-discrimination ordinance was, yes, discriminatory towards Christians. Fox also provided extensive validation of Christian indignation over Vanderbilt U's policy which requires that campus organization elections be open to all. This morning, Anna Kooiman provided the patented Fox & Friends sympathy to a Christian college group that, according to Kooiman, is being denied recognition by the Univ. of California system over its religious beliefs. What nobody mentioned was that the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship Group has a real big (but biblical) problem with teh gay but hey, religious freedom?!
Sweet lil Christian Kooiman, at the beginning of this "Trouble with Schools" segment, reported that a Christian group is, OMG, "no longer recognized at 23 state universities in California for requiring its leaders to hold Christian beliefs." She read the school system rules which say that campus groups will not be recognized if their leadership isn't open to all enrolled students. She asked if this is "political correctness going too far." She introduced her guest "intervarsity Christian field director" Greg Jao.
Kooiman immediately framed the Fox message with the leading question, "how has this hurt your organization already?" Jao recited a litany of problems including the message that the university system doesn't think that these Christian groups are important. He whined about how this policy "delegitimizes you." Kooiman asked if the new status of the group "diminishes its power." The chyron reinforced the propaganda: "Campus Chopping Block, Group Forced to have Non-Christian Leaders."
Kooiman talked about how long this group has been on campus but didn't mention that the policy was established in 1972. The chyron brought home the patented Fox message about how non-discrimination statutes are discriminatory against Christians: "Equality on Campus, Are Rules a Discrimination of its own Kind." (Right, that silly Civil Rights law was so discriminatory towards those who believed in segregation!) She asked why Jao's group hasn't been "grandfathered in the same way fraternities and sororities are based on gender." Of course, she didn't mention that a 2010 SCOTUS decision "ruled a public college can refuse to recognize a religious student organization with an “all-comers” policy if its religious beliefs are effectively discriminatory."
When Jao said that this policy would require non-Christians to be leaders, Kooiman provided us with the genius analogy that this would be like saying that the president of the chess club doesn't have to know how to play chess, "it's silly." More propaganda messaging with the chyron: "Students Suffer." She read a statement from California State Univ. Chancellor's office about how non-complaint groups can meet on campus but "not be eligible to receive the benefits of official recognition."
Kooiman tossed another propaganda talking point with her speculation that "this is hard for you to deal with." She asked if this is "testing" the student's faith. Jao said that the Christians are unwilling to sell out their religious beliefs for campus recognition. He added that they want to be be "a group that's authentic to their traditions, that's faithful to what they believe." To Kooiman's scripted question of whether they will change their beliefs, he responded that "we don't think we can with any integrity." Kooiman reverentially thanked him and praised Intervarsity as "a great organization."
As the SNL "Church Lady" would say, "isn't that special" that, during this interview, Kooiman and Jao talked in generalities about how the California policy is discriminatory towards Christian groups. Meanwhile, they avoided addressing the crux of the issue which is that the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship's Christianity is not exactly inclusive when it comes to its members. In other words, God hates fags and that's why the "great " Intervarsity doesn't want to be "forced" to accept them.
Ain't no party like a persecuted Christian party and Fox & Friends knows how to bring it!
