Archive for category Religion
Mourning the dead. Enduring the living.
Posted by Lab Kat in 9/11, Current Events, Racism, Religion, Religious Extremism on November 6, 2009
JS stopped on his way out the door this morning and admonished:
“Don’t read the blogs. You’ll just make yourself angry and frustrated. You don’t need to get really upset right now.”
The boy knows me pretty well.
He was, of course, talking about all the spew going on regarding the shooting at Fort Hood yesterday. The event brought back ugly memories of being a young, new reporter sent to cover what was then the largest mass murder in U.S. history: the Luby’s shooting in Killeen in 1991. It took me years to come to grips with what had happened that day. I knew no one inside that restaurant, but watching people being told someone they loved had died, looking into the blank eyes of those who survived… it was slow-moving nightmare. The major networks came and went, but for those of us who lived there, it hit you on a personal level. They were our neighbors. Pulling baseless accusations and guesses out of our asses to fill space and airtime was akin to firing bullets at those people all over again.
And, here we are again. My heart goes out to all those poor souls involved. The horror, the pain, the mind-numbing confusion of it all. It saddens me because I’ve seen that kind of horror up close. It fills your nose for days. Your mind can’t find the right file to put the images. Your heart feels torn in two.
So, Jim was right. I can’t read the insanity today. It was bad enough that someone I’ve know since college (a conservative christian) wrote “Anyone who does not believe Islam is a religion of violence is either naive or a fool” on his Facebook page yesterday. While I have not commented on his equally stupid posts before, the anger at the utter contempt and hatred of that statement forced me to respond. And, to my surprise, many others did as well, a great many christians who were admonishing him on his unchristian-like behavior.
The filth that bubbles up like sewage from the gutters is reeking today. The self-proclaimed “good” christians denouncing all Muslims (or anyone with a last name other than Smith), screaming “terrorism” and somehow linking this horrific crime to our President… it all makes me choke. I feel for Muslims or anyone from the Middle East who lives, peacefully, in our country right now. Somehow, in the minds of all the raving pundits and blogging idiots, all of these people are evil and responsible for what happened yesterday.
The blood spilled on 9-11, in the name of Allah, is no more horrific than the blood spilled at the Salem witch trials in the name of God. Or the Inquisition. Or the Crusades. Or that of a doctor shot to death entering his church. No religion is free of its extremists and violence. No religion is exempt.
But, in the face of such carnage, we want immediate answers and someone or something to punish. We want someone to suffer. We, as a nation, somehow think the answer to violence is always more violence. Eye for an eye. Arm for an arm. Death for death.
It makes me tired. And sad.
So, I’m trying very hard not to read blogs and much of the news today. There will be nothing new. The investigation has barely started. No one knows why yet. So, the vacuum will be filled with endless speculation, no matter how hatefully, incendiary or wrong.
I wish peace to those involved… the families of both the victims and the suspect, the law enforcement and emergency personnel and those who live and work at Fort Hood.
And, I wish peace for those of us who just hurt today. Because while, in times such as this, humanity can be at its best, it is also at its absolute worst.
*bimbles off*
Our chaplain-in-chief
Posted by Lab Kat in Conservatives, Government, Politics, Religion on September 25, 2009
Frankly, I thought this would come sooner. Like five minutes before President Obama was sworn in on Abraham Lincoln’s bible.
Christians of, shall we say, a more conservative bent are a little peeved our president has not chosen an “official” church to attend for the duration of his term(s). And, his attendance is not up to snuff as well.
I’m sorry. When did our Commander-in-Chief become the Chaplain-in-Chief? Why is it required he go to church? Oh, wait. Back that up. A christian church, of course. Imagine the national meltdown if President Obama chose a mosque or temple as his place of worship. I’m sure god would immediately smite us with all his holiness. Or something like that.
Look, I want the president to guide our country with regard to law, order and the occasion family photo-op. He is not, contrary to what some think, the go-to person for spiritual guidance in this country. In fact, I’d rather he keep his spirituality to himself. First, his personal faith is none of my business. Second – and I do realize there are people in this country right now who believe our country was founded by fundamentalist baptists with sprinkles of catholicism for nifty fashion sense – this is NOT a christian nation. It is a nation made of up people who happen to be christian. And, muslim. And, jewish. And, those who reject all of the above. Having our highest leader invoke god while in a official capacity is the worst breach of the separation of church and state.
Ironically, one of the most frequent church-goers in recent history was former President Clinton, who has been demonized by the conservatives. And, former President Reagan – the Republican patron saint – rarely attended.
Look, if I decide I want spiritual guidance, I will go to the clergy, not to my government. And, while we’re on the subject of extreme right-wing thought, if I want a medical opinion, I’ll go to the doctor, NOT my government.
I want my president and government to GOVERN, not preach, convert or invoke the name of god for indefensible choices, like starting wars and such. Because we know that god is all about killing other people in the name of national security.
I hope our president keeps his faith private and his head clear when making decisions of national and international importance. Quite frankly, you can’t be a good president on your knees.
*bimbles off*
Lest we forget
Posted by Lab Kat in 9/11, Anniversaries, In Memorium, National Rememberance, Religion on September 11, 2009
“One of the lessons of 9/11 is that there is no greater source of terrorism, strife, bloodshed, persecution or war than religion.” ~~ Freedom from Religion Foundation
*bimbles off*
Religious extremism and the catholic church
Posted by Lab Kat in Religion, Religious Extremism on July 20, 2009
The hypocrisy of “ordinary” christians who seek to distance themselves from atrocities committed in their god’s name never ceases to amaze me. Mothers who drown their babies because “god told them to” or men who shoot doctors on the steps of their churches are decried as fringe elements, not representative of christianity as a whole. Funny, the same people will hold up 9-11 as an excuse to hate all muslims, but hey, let’s not get bogged down in details.
Well, here’s one you ordinary christians, you denouncers of “extreme religious behavior” can’t duck.
You may recall earlier this year, a nine-year-old Brazilian girl – raped by her stepfather and pregnant with twins – underwent an abortion to save her life. The Brazilian Roman Catholic Church first tried to get the government to intervene and stop the procedure (abortion is illegal in Brazil, but judges can make exceptions if the mother’s life is in danger or the fetus has no chance of survival). When the government refused, the church responded by excommunicating everyone involved in the procedure and the girl’s mother. Apparently, raping a nine-year-old is not a grave enough crime to merit the same “punishment” as the stepfather was exempt from the church’s wrath. According to Archbishop Don Jose Cardoso Sobrinho of Recife, “A graver act than (rape) is abortion to eliminate an innocent life.”
The ruling outraged the Brazilian community and the world. The Brazilian church was trying to force a child who had suffered the trauma of rape to carry twins to term – at risk to her own life. But, hey, those wacky Brazilians. They aren’t “real” christians. Surely, the Vatican would step in and stop this atrocity being committed against those who would seek to help a child in the direst of circumstances.
Apparently, not just no, but a heavenly “Hell, no.” In an official pronouncement on the case, the pope has stated the girl’s mother and the doctor and medical team who performed the procedure will remain excommunicated.
“We have laws, we have a discipline, we have a doctrine of the faith,” the official says. “This is not just theory. And you can’t start backpedaling just because the real-life situation carries a certain human weight.
And, there you have it. From the Vatican itself. A rapist remains in the church while her mother and those who helped save her life are punished. By the way, the girl was spared excommunication due to her age. Funny, that. Old enough to be a mommy, but not old enough to understand the inner workings of the catholic church.
So, the next time you catholics want to argue “fringe elements” and “acting on their own” and “true” christians don’t act that way, save your breath. Your church is not interested in caring for people, in helping those who need it, in “doing unto others” and all that warm fuzzy stuff. It’s an institution concerned with one thing – retaining power and control over the indoctrinated.
Because when “principle” trumps the well-being of a child who has been abused, raped and impregnated, I’d say that’s extreme religious behavior.
*bimbles off*
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