As far as we can tell — and we’re read up a bit on the Bible (hey, the Old Testament is in the hizzy!) — Christianity is usually all about forgiveness and acceptance. At least that’s what the Jesuits and nuns told us before breaking out the rulers when we were in high school and college. So we were more than a bit surprised when we read the ST. PETERSBURG TIMES story about the junior varsity basketball team at Westside Christian School, in Largo, Fla., which had to quit the Suncoast Christian Conference so that Aliyah Farley could play on the team.

(Aliyah Farley: Why the SCC is now a 10-team league.)

Yup, you read that right. The Suncoast Christian Conference (SCC) refused to let girls play with boys, even when there’s nowhere else for the girls to play. What makes the decision even less defensible are the grounds upon which the decision was made: By a vote of 8-2 (with one abstention), the SCC decided that the risks were too great that boys and girls playing together could lead to sin.

Welcome back to the 18th century folks, and stay tuned for Nathaniel Hawthorne’s next best selling novel.

One of the biggest ironies of the entire scenario is that the vote was originally proposed by a coach who was hoping to make it easier, not impossible, for girls to play on boys’ basketball teams. West Hernando Christian School athletic director Rick Preslicka, who serves as the conference’s president, originally proposed the vote to make it easier for girls to play after one of his daughters played in her senior season. That year, Preslicka moved four girls from the junior varsity to create a varsity team so she’d have same-sex compatriots to play with. Now Farley won’t get that chance.

The vote was moved from a physical meeting to a telephone tally after media attention swirled out of control, leaving no faces to tie to the discrimination foisted on Farley. Needless to say, all those who had campaign for Farley to get a spot are as disappointed as you’d imagine.

“It’s sad,” Westside Christian School administrator Vicky Jones said. “I just wanted Aliyah to be treated fairly.”

When Farley was told she couldn’t play, the school immediately withdrew from the SCC so she could remain on the team. While there’s no resolution about where Westside will play, Farley is already excited and relieved that she’ll keep playing with teammates.

“I was sad about the leaving the conference,” she said Wednesday night, “but I’m happy because I can still play.”

So is Susan B. Anthony. And Jesse Jackson. And Cesar Chavez. And Harvey Milk. And just about any other civil rights leader. It’s common sense, and any group that wouldn’t let girls play because they’re concerned about incidental contact leading to sexual intercourse is patently ridiculous and outright bigoted. End of story.