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| Fred Jackson |
I have held off from commenting on the horrendous Aurora shootings for three good reasons.
One, it seems appropriate to show some restraint in the face of an unimaginable tragedy. Two, it takes time for a clear picture of what the suspect's motivations were. No one knows yet. Three, it would be appalling to rush to politicize this tragedy whilst the victims are still reeling from its utter senselessness.
Not everyone has shared my own restraint, I notice. In particular America's high profile evangelical spokesperson's have already rushed to judgement all over the media.
I am not surprised by this. Religious people often want to reassure the faithful when the nation is faced with a chaotic act of nihilism. But these days they are sounding a battle cry rather than a call to prayer.
Evangelist Fred Jackson, the American Family Association’s news director, firmly placed the blame for the Colorado movie massacre not on 24 year old James Holmes and his easy access to a lethal assault rifle, but on the gays.
People, said Jackson, 'no longer believe that Jesus is the only way of salvation, they teach that God is OK with homosexuality, this is just increasing more and more. It is mankind shaking its fist at the authority of God.'
Evangelist Pat McEwen, head of Operation Save America, had no doubt who was to blame either: the Democratic Convention.
'James Holmes is the product of the Culture of Death that the DNC has embraced. There is not a police force big enough to make a young man do what is right. The only answer - there is a King whose name is Jesus."
Matt Barber, vice president of Liberty Counsel Action writing for World Net Daily, with equal certainty wrote:
'Am I comparing this incredibly wicked, illegal mass murder at Aurora’s Century Theatre to the incredibly wicked, legal mass murder committed at Planned Parenthoods across the country each day? Absolutely – and you can quote me on it.'
Barber continued: 'We as a nation – as a people – have turned our backs on God. We have rebelled against Him and have forgotten that it was He and He alone who gave us 200-plus years of prosperity, unprecedented in world history. We have left Him, so why are we surprised He’s leaving us?'
Evangelist Greg Stier knows where to pin the blame on for the shootings: Satan.
Wondering if Colorado was a demonic stronghold he wrote: 'Frankly, as broken hearted as I am for the victims I’m infuriated with Satan. I’m sick and tired of his twisted, anti-God, anti-life ways.'
For good measure Jerry Newcombe, an evangelical spokesperson for Truth In Action, said during a discussion he participated in to understand the shooting tragedy in Colorado:
'If a Christian dies early, if a Christian dies young, it seems tragic, but really it is not tragic because they are going to a wonderful place.. on the other hand, if a person doesn’t know Jesus Christ.. if they knowingly rejected Jesus Christ, then, basically, they are going to a terrible place. '
So there you have it. It was the gays, it was the DNC, it was abortion, it was man's rebelliousness and defiance of God, it was Satan. And if you weren't a Christian when Holmes shot you, you'll be burning in Hell now.
This is what Christianity sounds like on the nation’s airwaves now. It's an echo chamber of blistering righteousness, judgement and condemnation. I have parsed those lines for a sign of love and healing but I can find any.
The questions that were not asked by evangelicals yet include, could the shooting have been caused by yet another unhinged twenty something male with access to an automatic assault rifle more suited to a war zone? Should everyone have access to a submachine gun that can shoot one hundred bullets per clip? Are lax gun laws sensible?
The term assault rifle is a translation of the German word Sturmgewehr (literally 'storm rifle') by the way. The name was coined by Adolf Hitler. Many Americans seem to think we should all have easy access to the weaponry Adolf Hitler admired. Many Americans seem to believe there is nothing either God or man can do to protect us from them anyway.
Did you know there are more guns than people in the United States? Did you know that those who own guns are statistically more likely to die in gun exchange than those who do not? If you do know these facts don't they ever give you pause?
I understand why evangelicals would want to protest abortion. What I can't understand is why we never hear them protest the men and women killed in state executions, or the thousands of US soldiers killed in war waged over WMD that failed to produce any WMD. We don't hear them call for a ban on America's guns. It seems only some kinds of mass murder concern them and not others.
When will they get serious about guns? Why haven’t they mentioned them once? What it really looks like now is the failure of evangelicals to confront the preventable tragedies of the modern world. So instead they double down on condemnation and judgement.
38 Comments
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.seanomelb | Jul 27, 2012, 07:26 PM EDT
Stick to the point Briano
BrianO | Jul 26, 2012, 09:37 PM EDT
I suppose you can abandon your birth country seano.
seanomelb | Jul 26, 2012, 09:12 PM EDT
Tyrannical regimes like Columbine!!
BrianO | Jul 26, 2012, 02:21 PM EDT
the second amendment is to prevent tyrannical regimes. If you want to do senseless violence you can do worse than this guy, I wouldn't recommend it. ex. Tim mcveigh. Those that want to blame peter because of what paul does does are dangerous.
seanomelb | Jul 25, 2012, 08:01 PM EDT
Irishandproud the majority of Americans want gun control but the politicians in certain areas are afraid of losing their seats due to the gun lobby and the enablers of mass murderers like the NRA,GOP and the Fox channel
IrishAndProud | Jul 25, 2012, 05:38 PM EDT
...and this, from today's NY Post (begin quote): "Seattle's home county, King, saw nearly twice as many requests for concealed pistol licenses than the same timeframe a year ago. Florida recorded 2,386 background checks on Friday, up 14 percent from the week before. Oregon checks on Friday and Saturday were up 11 percent over the month prior. Four days of checks in California were up 10 percent month-to-month." (end quote) Gun sales are brisk, in the wake of this thing. Also interesting that Cahir states he didn't want to 'rush to judgement' about this tragedy...but it would seem his side of the aisle already has. Anyone catch what ABC News tried to do, the very night of the shooting? They brought up the name of a Tea Party person in Colorado that happened to have the same name as the shooter, and mused on-air if there was a connection...before having to walk it back later under pressure, with a face-full of egg and a mouthful of crow. Jump to conclusions? Ya think, maybe?
DevilsAdvoKate | Jul 25, 2012, 01:36 PM EDT
I have to shake my head on this one. "Guns are Not the problem" (or something along those lines gets echoed quite often. Really? Now, granted, the gun did not enter the theater alone and start firing; but I would like to pose a question. What "other" weapon, would empower a scraggly kid to go into a theater, and put the ultimate fear in the minds of the moviegoers? Give me an example of "other" weapons which would empower him so. Think of the countless other weapons he could have used; but had he, two or three gung-ho types would have charged him (even at the risk of injury), and brought him down with minimal loss of life. They didn't charge him, because no matter how big, how strong, or how much bravado they spoke in public (or wrote in formums); they were trying to save their own lives. And to the big boys from Texas who say, "we'd a took this here pecker-head down in an instant... we'd a used them thar' concealed weapons, we was a carryin'!" ...all I can say is, you think that pea-shooter of yours was an effective challenge to a rapid-firing rifle???? Wow... just, wow. Sorry for my rant, but some things defy all logic and reason. Back to the story though, I will give the one fellow (who said it was because of the devil) a bye on this one... but the DNC???? Hope sanity may again prevail, but it does make one wonder.
TimInNC | Jul 25, 2012, 02:52 AM EDT
Ajreaper | Jul 24, 2012, 05:09 PM EDT "And cars are the cause for drunk driving. Way to easy to get one." - AJReaper Actually, AJ, it's a whole lot harder to get a car, they are far more expensive, and the restrictions on the sale and consumption of alcohol are are a lot more stringent. Case in point...you can give a gun to a minor.
irishpjk | Jul 25, 2012, 12:28 AM EDT
wtf When someone says guns don’t kill the point they want to make is this, someone has to use the gun, so don’t try to blame the gun for the death. At the moment there are people out there saying this killer has social and mental problems and needs our help. Talk about trying to give him the death penalty is also upsetting many people, he should be tried, sentenced and have his sentence carried out within the next six months. But that would disappoint the layers and the news media, six years from now they will still be playing it up and the anti-gun people will still be trying to get their names in the media by talking about it. By the way how many of the anti-gun people own guns or have armed body guards protecting them, check it out you might be surprised.
jamthecat | Jul 25, 2012, 12:04 AM EDT
IrishandProud's stupid referral to the Second Amendment aside, he does say on ething that's true -- guns are here to stay. The time for serious gun control was 30 years ago; it's too late now. We'd never be able to get all the guns off the streets, and the religious order of the NRA would raise a jihad against anyone trying. M-16s have replaced the cross as the new symbol of "christianity" and "Americanism." The right-wing-nuts have taken our civilization back 150 years to the Wild Wild West, and are despicably proud of themselves for it.
GeneM55 | Jul 24, 2012, 11:35 PM EDT
IrishAndProud - I would hope a person who was armed would have better sense than to open fire in a theater that was dark, with people milling about, and with tear gas in the air. And gods forbid there should have been more than one such irresponsible person in the theater at the time. The massacre that occurred could easily have been doubled, with multiple shooters each trying to be Rambo. That being said, the Second Amendment is not, no matter how you may try to skew it, pertain to private ownership of guns. It was clearly designed to arm a citizens' militia that could be called up when required. As regards Ice T's remarks, I hope you don't mean to imply that a handful of wanna-be John Waynes armed with assault weapons they practice with on weekends when NASCAR isn't racing would be able to do anything against a squad of professional soldiers. "Red Dawn" was fiction, not a documentary.
IrishAndProud | Jul 24, 2012, 10:43 PM EDT
Sorry, folks...but guns are here to stay (in the USA). Not only did the Second Amendment survive another lone abuser of it, but even Barack Obama knows the foolishness of attacking gun ownership when it has such overwhelming public backing (it is an election year, after all) and left that matter entirely alone. Get this, from the Denver Post (this is in Colorado, where the shooting happened), quote: "Background checks for people wanting to buy guns in Colorado jumped more than 41 percent after Friday morning's shooting at an Aurora movie theater, and firearms instructors say they're also seeing increased interest in the training required for a concealed-carry permit." (close quote) Apparently, folks now realise how much of a difference a concealed-carry weapon might have made. And no, I'm not a Christian...not even close. But I'm sure happy that gun ownership has spiked, after this. As Ice T said, guns are the last form of defense against tyranny.
alisaann | Jul 24, 2012, 08:53 PM EDT
i am so DAMN SICK of everything that goes wrong in this world being BLAMMED on the GAYS...or the lack of prayer...prayer is NOT the answer to every wrong in the world...and the bad things happening is NOT the fault of HUMAN beings who happen to LOVE their own gender. alisa
Stropaire | Jul 24, 2012, 07:55 PM EDT
I completely concur with the sentiments expressed here. I was surfing last night and came across a right-wing article, (can't remember it now) but the biggest topic of argument was caused when the writer called the main weapon used an "assault rifle" rather than a "semi-automatic assault weapon". In between a "who can piss the highest" contest with regard to how they were such great patriots in the manner in which they served in the military. I've just taken a look at the NRA site -no reaction yet, but the mistruths and falacied expounded are unreal.
seanomelb | Jul 24, 2012, 07:08 PM EDT
The American family association Jackson and the NRA and the Fox/GOP media are the enablers of mass murders committed in the USA.Condoning the sale of military style weapons and 100 clip magazines is immoral.The gombeens should ask themselves why only in America are there massacres on a regular basis.
JimmieM | Jul 24, 2012, 06:28 PM EDT
Read some of these things.....the hate..dirty religious dirty non religious all those evil others? who's fault everything is...I think I'll go buy a couple more guns.
Ajreaper | Jul 24, 2012, 05:09 PM EDT
And cars are the cause for drunk driving. Way to easy to get one.
hollabackgurl | Jul 24, 2012, 04:53 PM EDT
No one is disputing the right to bear arms. Conservatives always overplay that. What we object to is easy access to sub-machine guns and magazine clips by nutters. There needs to be tighter control.
PiperMac52 | Jul 24, 2012, 04:05 PM EDT
In America we have a 2nd amendment o the Constitution which guarantees the people the right to bear arms. Millions of law abiding Americans ow guns and do NOT go on rampages to kill. So obviously there is another aspect to this which liberals always fail to admit.
PiperMac52 | Jul 24, 2012, 03:08 PM EDT
HorsesInMdstrm "Portia - get a grip. Your post is deranged."Yes, the mirror never lies.
PatriciaMarya | Jul 24, 2012, 01:46 PM EDT
Cahir O'Doherty you have written a wonderful, insightful essay. Thank you so much. I immediately thought back to a very chilling comment made by that Christian evangelist, Pat Robertson, on his 700 Club TV show. It was right after the assassination attempt on Congresswoman Gifford in Tucson. Giggling, he goes, after commenting on the tragedy "But that Glock is a sweet little weapon." This observation from a leader of a movement that professes religion but gives "permission" to his flock of sheep to think of the Glock in this manner? Thought - you need to take a written and a driving test before you are approved for a driving license. When I was studying for my degree in Physical Education, one course had us take a gun safety course on the grounds at the Remington gun company in Connecticut. Why not use the same standards before someone is given a gun license - a written and a target shooting score with standards for passing. And these people that if all were armed, people would have been saved? Yeah, right, if all gun-holders were sharp-shooters and tested under extreme stress. Think of this - how would the police know who was the initial perpetrator if all were going nuts and shooting? Get the big picture, please, folks. Life is not a TV show or a film - it is not choreographed and rehearsed. Again, thank you for this essay - it is to the point.
eiriamach | Jul 24, 2012, 01:30 PM EDT
2) Others, like Chuck Baldwin, stir up paranoia about the federal govt's power, and these "Christian" groups will fight for the right to keep arsenals of assault weapons and ammunition. Many are militaristic: "These days, 18- to 34-year-olds even have their own evangelist, a pop culture-savvy Christian hardliner with the word 'zealot' tattooed on his forearm and wrath emblazoned in his heart. His name is Jason 'Molotov' Mitchell, he’s 33 years old, and he’s a self-declared 'Christian Supremacist' who wants his co-religionists to shove aside 'effeminized American Christianity' and start 'advancing the Kingdom on earth.'” The challenge for Christians is first, to understand the danger that the UnChristian agenda of these haters poses for our society, and second, to put a stop to their exploiting the name 'Christian" as a euphemism for hatred.
FastEddy | Jul 24, 2012, 01:27 PM EDT
... that's because guns did not do it: a Crazy Man did it.
eiriamach | Jul 24, 2012, 01:25 PM EDT
1) Christian-Identity hate groups: The Southern Poverty Law Center tracks hate groups that have "beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people, typically for their immutable characteristics." The SPLC list includes self-proclaimed Christian groups that slander, or try to control the activities of, gays, women, Jews, Muslims, immigrants, etc. In 1998, SPLC found 94 such "active Christian Identity ministries in 34 states." In 2011, SPLC sounded another warning: "Opposition to equal rights for gays and lesbians has been a central theme of Christian Right organizing and fundraising for the past three decades – a period that parallels the fundamentalist movement's rise to political power." Nearly all on the SPLC list, like TheCall Ministries, practice hate speech against gays. Some individual leaders, like Jon Weaver, recruit racists.
Skylar5 | Jul 24, 2012, 01:15 PM EDT
I strongly believe that if our founding fathers here in the U.S. could have looked into the future, they would have hastily scrapped the 2nd Amendment. I hate guns but, hey, if you want a hunting rifle (for animals), a pistol to safeguard your home (although statistics show that most people who are shot in their home are by family members not intruders), or for whatever reason you might want to own a gun if you're responsible and sane..whatever, you're free to do it! But assault rifes, grenades, body armor, bomb making material, 6,000 rounds of ammunition..what's wrong with this picture! Why would you possibly need an arsenal like that? And it's all legal..except the massacre part. What a crazy country. My guaranteed right being a U.S. citizen is to get murdered by a nutcase with a grudge.
hollabackgurl | Jul 24, 2012, 01:15 PM EDT
Another gun massacre? Let's buy more guns!
Porickseantuny | Jul 24, 2012, 01:01 PM EDT
Guns are illegal in Chicago. More people are killed in Chicago than troups in Afghanistan.
PhlutiePhan | Jul 24, 2012, 12:47 PM EDT
A gun is an inanimate object with no mind of its own. The shooter has responsibility and not the gun.
lokionline | Jul 24, 2012, 12:44 PM EDT
Christians are afraid. Religion is loosing it's influence and it scares them.
9/11 changed the way the many secular people in the world viewed religion. It made many like me -- a cradle Catholic, who had treated religion with a kind of benign neglect during the 70s,80s and 90s to have a really hard look at the consequences of religious ideology and we didn't like what we saw.
What is different since 9/11 is that we have been strongly expressing this concern regarding all religious ideology. Christian militancy is a reaction to this and is to be expected.
My own reaction to this? despite the recent bad press the Boy Scout movement have been getting of late, I will always be grateful for the advice "be prepared".
rugbyplayer | Jul 24, 2012, 12:31 PM EDT
Sadly, the USA has become the home of religious fanatics and lunatics who are attempting to create a hateful theocracy with the help of pandering politicians and bigoted millionaires in the USA. These evildoers call themselves evangelicals. I call them "diabolicals."
lokionline | Jul 24, 2012, 12:25 PM EDT
The "guns don't kill, only people do" argument is tired, old and stale. Put a gun in the hands of anyone and you are dealing with totally different mentality.
HorsesInMdstrm | Jul 24, 2012, 12:22 PM EDT
Portia - get a grip. Your post is deranged.
carrickcourt | Jul 24, 2012, 11:41 AM EDT
The argument about needing 'actors' to use bullets and weapons is not too logical when it is so easy for nut cases to obtain weapons and bullets. Why are military weapons so easy to obtain anyway? How was this nut able to obtain so many bullets? It is a lot easier to kill folks when you have easy access to weapons whose sole purpose is to kill people.
McNamara31 | Jul 24, 2012, 10:59 AM EDT
The GOP's Karl Rove married God and gun's long ago as a strategy to win elections. There is no more powerful lobby then the NRA and its reach in the Christian (Evangelical) media. The religion that was started by a man who spoke of only Christian empathy and kindness (turn the other cheek) has been derailed by a party who (on tv) wear crosses around their necks and try to justify (enable) gun violence and the slaughter of children in movie theaters.
Portia777 | Jul 24, 2012, 10:06 AM EDT
The guns did not kill the people. The man killed the people. Who programmed the man to murder and create shock and awe energy to feed the evil grid? That is the real question. Look at his eyes.He has been seriously traumatised and has disassociated.Which alter murdered these people? Who is his handler? The shock and awe has worked. People are now prepared to hand more of their sovereign rights to the powers that be. They are being led like lambs to the slaughter and unable to see due to them buying into the drama portrayed on the Goggle Box
JimmieM | Jul 24, 2012, 10:03 AM EDT
Well fact is we are not living in some pie in the sky alternate universe...we are living here and now....in this town they had very strict gun control laws, this enabled the monster to plan his shooting knowing that it was at least a 95% probability that he would be unopposed. The dirty little coward would never had this kind of thought in El Paso Texas where he would have been shot down after his first shot.....wish for the pie in the sky universe all you want we don't live there.
Nicopernicus | Jul 24, 2012, 09:49 AM EDT
Guns need bullets..Bullets need actors to install them in the said gun and then proceed with something heinous. Pretty simple, The language always suggests that somehow the gun just does it on its own..remarkable.
Liam3494 | Jul 24, 2012, 09:34 AM EDT
To paraphrase... It's The Guns Stupid!