Episcopalian priest Tom Erich:

American religion isn't helping. With relentless attacks on homosexuality, conservative evangelicals communicate the message that diversity is dangerous and discrimination acceptable.

Even though our shared Savior intentionally cut his culture's bigotry, we prowl the Scriptures looking to justify ours. We line up to cast the first stone. No "love thy neighbor" when it comes to Christians debating "values." No "one in the Spirit" when it comes to chasing alliances with politicians. No "dying to self" when it comes to purging nonconformists. No "love thy enemy" when it comes to church conventions....

This should be our problem to solve. If Christianity knows anything, it knows how to help people join hands in song, blend efforts in mission work, pray for people we don't know, welcome strangers, "fling wide the portals of our hearts."

All the news that's fit to print... This is news, why? I guess it's just another obligatory "news article" to kick conservative evangelicals for all of society's problems. In this case (amazingly) it seems to be their fault that characters in the film "Crash" aren't getting along.

I confess that you have sinned... The author speaks of "our problem" and says "we add fuel to the a fuel of intolerance." Yet it's completely clear the author is referring to "conservative evangelicals" a group not his own. How pious, to freely confess and repent of the sins of someone else.

When Jesus tells me to love my enemy, he means to be charitable and assume the best about the group or person I personally am most tempted to dislike. Yet no such charity is on offer here from Father Erich towards the group he clearly likes least: as you will see: his oponents aren't merely mistaken, they are immoral: hateful and bigoted.

Love, or agreement? The author sounds like he is accusing his opponents of being "unloving". But look at the specifics:

(a) "Relentless attacks on homosexuality". We didn't vote for gay marriage.

(b) "Chasing alliances with politicians". Yet aren't leftist churches doing precisely that with each new declaration and alliance? Good heavens, the leftist National Council of Churches is being run by a former Democratic Senator!

(c) "Purging [religious] nonconformists" -- again, an odd complaint from a man whose denomination is currently defrocking conservative priests.

Really, this comes down to: "How dare you vote! How dare you oppose our agenda! How dare you refuse to allow people who reject your beliefs into your church leadership!" (Like his church did at one time.) That's not a plea for love and tolerance, that's a demand that we hand all power over to the religious and political left.

Prowling the scriptures... The author implies that Christianity is all about "diversity" [moral and religious, in this context] and "tolerance" [meaning, of course, agreement], but then complains that Christians "prowl" the scriptures -- using language usually reserved for an unsavory red-light district -- to see what is actually written there. His opponents, he implies, only cite the bible to justify their inherant bigotry.

My. Well, I'm sure that will help open up a constructive dialog.

I think I would buy his plea for "tolerance" if he would display more of it, and assume the best, not the worst possible, about his enemies: that they simply, out of good conscience, disagree with his policies and hold different views -- not that they are all immoral, hateful bigots.