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SpongeBob, Part 2
...Is the position of Christianity really that we shouldn't have respect for other people, including those with whom we disagree? What happened to "love your neighbor as yourself" from the Sermon on the Mount? What happened to the phrase that's become a mantra for social conservatives, "hate the sin and love the sinner"? Please keep in mind the Tolerance Pledge doesn't say that we should respect the differences, it says that we should have respect "for people".

To be honest with you, I think things are getting pretty crazy out there when our side attacks a cartoon character for appearing in a video that's produced by a company that has a Tolerance Pledge on it's website (not in the video) for a statement of respect (not agreement, endorsement or approval) of cultural, religious and sexual differences. It's becoming increasingly clear to me that homosexuality has become, to some degree, an obsession of the religious right. After all, where are the complaints about respecting differences in beliefs in the Tolerance Pledge? We're all worked up about something that might imply respecting homosexuals but don't seem to have any concern whatsoever that tells us we should respect atheists and Islamists. I think for many in our tribe who say homosexuality is a sin (which indeed it is), they actually believe that it is more than a sin. It's kind of like a Protestant Evangelical version of mortal and venial sins.