The dancers at the Foxhole in Coschocton County, Ohio, are used to arriving at work to the sounds of protests from members of the nearby New Beginnings Ministries church. But the same couldn’t quite be said for the churchgoers, who showed up for services on Sunday and were greeted by the sight of bikini-clad protesters. For the last four years, the pastor at New Beginnings has led a protest outside the Foxhole every weekend. Beyond just voicing their disapproval of the strip joint, the church members also videotape the license plates of the bar’s patrons and then post the info online. So the crew at the Foxhole decided to give the churchgoers a taste of their own medicine, sitting outside the church in skimpy outfits and cooling each other down with Super Soakers as they grilled up burgers.
I’m not certain that the protest by the Foxhole dancers qualifies as either “living well” or revenge, but in my book they do score points for creativity and restraint. This is a situation that could have been quite ugly, what with all the self-righteous, uber-Jesus-y Christians in the midst of getting their weekly fix of righteousness. And the church members and their pastors said all the right things, of course, making it look as if they’re just trying to save the dancers from and Eternity spent roasting in Hell like a Safeway turkey. The only thing missing was a refrain of “It wouldn’t hurt if it wasn’t true….”
Yes, if you ain’t got Jesus, you ain’t got s—t. Then again, if the fine, upstanding, holier-than-thou Christians at New Beginnings Ministries Church are convinced that they’re morally superior to the dancers, perhaps the Foxhole isn’t such a bad place to be. I mean, with judgmental zealots like these, a life of sin, dissolution, and depravity really sounds pretty inviting, don’tchathink??
“I tell them, ‘I will put a roof over your heads, and your bills will be paid, and your children’s bellies will be full’”….
“They have now seen the evil firsthand,”…. “This has just made us stronger.”
That’s the beautiful thing about being a born-again Christian- the absolute certainty that you have the corner on Absolute Truth, decency, and morality. And then there’s the conviction that you’re going to Heaven, while the dancers and the Foxhole’s owner are breaking the speed limit on the expressway to Hell.
If your flavor of Jesus-y self-righteousness has you believing that you’ve been green-lighted to Heaven, that’s wonderful. If it gives your life meaning and a sense of purpose, then good on you. I do have one minor request, though: could you maybe somehow see your way clear to live and let live? Could you concentrate on living your life to the best of your ability, and let others do the same? You might not like the idea of a strip club, but here’s the beautiful thing about living in a free country: there’s nothing requiring you to set foot inside. If naked women offend you, stay home and read your Bible. Problem solved, eh?
You can thank me later…. ;-)
