This isn’t going to be an article bashing Christians, who are an easy (and in many cases, unfair) target these days. Many of the Christians I have known have always dedicated themselves to love, charity, and the welfare of children. Of course, some of them have also changed their tune once they found out someone is gay, lesbian, transgender, or bisexual — then, they wanted that person dead. However, many Christians I know would never desire this.

However, about 90 percent of active Christians I have known have one thing in common: They absolutely worship Bill O’Reilly from Fox News. They have sat in front of Fox News nearly every evening since 2001 (some before that) and have not only listened to Bill O’Reilly’s words, but have taken them in as if O’Reilly is some kind of Christ figure. When I worked for a credit union that was run and managed by religious Christians, two managers had huge Bill O’Reilly posters in their offices. When I insulted O’Reilly in front of one of them, I was almost fired. The only thing I could have done worse was insult Sean Hannity, but we’ll get to that in another story.

Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images Bill O’Reilly has launched many hate campaigns against female and minority public figures.

Influenced by their master Bill O’Reilly, these people have taken action against anything or anybody Bill O’Reilly has wanted them to. They have burned Dixie Chicks albums (one woman I know even accidentally burned down her garage doing this), spent hours writing horrible comments about Rosie O’Donnell (perhaps O’Reilly’s biggest target during his career) after internet articles, protested at Madonna concerts, marched at anti-gay marriage rallies, and have figuratively called for Janet Jackson’s beheading after her breast was exposed at the 2004 Super Bowl (there was no condemnation for the man who actually ripped off her top). They have even attempted to organize boycotts against anybody who said anything remotely critical of George W. Bush when he launched a war in Iraq under false pretenses.

There have been several warnings for years that Bill O’Reilly should not be looked up to as a religious figure, but these clues were ignored. When Bill O’Reilly was accused of sexually harassing co-worker Andrea Mackris in 2004, they turned their cheeks. They ignored the fact that a multi-million dollar settlement came after tapes of phone conversations with O’Reilly that were destroyed (as part of the settlement) allegedly revealed Bill O’Reilly’s sexual fantasies with falafels, Thai sex shows, and Caribbean showers. There were even parts that dealt with O’Reilly’s use of vibrators on himself. When I told my strict Christian friend Rachel that O’Reilly, who harshly condemned the LGBT community in the early 2000s, could not be straight if he used vibrators on himself, she ended our friendship. I never heard of her again until it came out that her husband had sex with many underaged boys — inside of their church.

Many religious Christians turned their heads when it came to allegations of racism against Bill O’Reilly. In 2007, Bill O’Reilly acted so surprised that black people who dined at Sylvia’s in Harlem could actually behave decently. Recently, they defended Bill O’Reilly after he told his audience that slaves who built the White House were treated very well. Of course, it didn’t occur to O’Reilly that they were actually slaves, which means they, um, weren’t quite respected. While it’s true that many of O’Reilly’s racist statements have been blown out of proportion by his political enemies, the fact these statements even exist is telling.

I hope religious Christians aren’t defending Bill O’Reilly after it was revealed that more than $13 million was paid in settlements to several women who accused the Fox News star of sexually harassing them. Then, there is Wendy Walsh, a former Fox News guest who revealed that O’Reilly became very hostile towards her after she refused his sexual advances. It’s true that all of these are just allegations. But when there is smoke, there is fire. And the fire around Bill O’Reilly has burning way too long to be ignored.

Christians who still turn to Bill O’Reilly and treat his words as the gospel are doing a lot of harm not only to Christianity as a whole, but women and minorities who have become unfair victims of Bill O’Reilly’s tirades. Their fanatical support for the fallen Fox News anchor will overshadow their many good deeds. Furthermore, Bill O’Reilly simply defies everything that the Bible teaches.

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