This is, of course, a visual representation of irony.  It can be pretty ironical sometimes.

Here is a message that John Marty tweeted over the issue we discussed on this blog about the “in God we trust” controversy in the Minnesota Legislature.

May 6

Irony? Absurdity?  Came home from church this morning to a vile, obscene voice message attacking me for hating religion. Also, several angry emails and Twitter messages attacking me as anti-religious and un-American. 
This is from John Marty’s twitter account.  Irony and absurdity are good words.
Irony – a state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects and is often amusing as a result.
Absurd – wildly unreasonable, illogical, or inappropriate.
I’m trying to figure out the logic.  What would be expected from folks in the public who are seeing Christianity pushed not only out of public spaces, but out of public conversation.  I am glad that Mr. Marty goes to church, but what has he ever done as a public official that would let people know that he is a Christian?  I think the response of the folks that called and wrote him are wildly inappropriate but I don’t get the irony.  In a religion based upon evangelism and sharing the faith why is it ironic that people think you are anti-Christian if you deny what some people believe is a witness to Christianity that is on our money and the motto of the country?
There is a lot of room for discussion here, but of course that is kind of the point – keep Christianity and the faith out of the discussion.  There may be room for Christianity but it is in a closet unless it can be dragged out and used to support illegal immigration or some kind of aberration.
It reminds me of the old story about the young Christian man that went off to college and wrote home to his parents that he had kept the secret and no one at his school knew that he was a Christian.
John Marty should be proud.  The son of a Pastor and commentator on Christianity and Christianity in public life, he is a respected legislator and he seems to have kept a secret.  I wonder if the people in his church know he is a legislator?