Christopher Manion posting on Lew Rockwell’s blog links to this article reporting remarks made by George after attending Easter Sunday services at Ft. Hood. The sermon was delivered by chaplain Maj. David Scheider who equated the Resurrection with American tragedies like 9/11, Pearl Harbor and the JFK assassination.
“But God was already on the move, doing something new,” Scheider said.
“Christianity is based on one historic event_ it happened Easter morning.” Members of the congregation responded with cries of “Amen!”
Amen? This Onward Christian Soldiers tripe is nauseating. Jesus Christ did not ask his followers to avenge his death but to repent and strive towards being a living, breathing example of his love and compassion in everything they do. So why do Christians disgrace his memory by continuing to commit the most heinous sins of all in his name?
“These incidents were basically thrust upon the innocent Iraqi people by gangs, violent gangs,” he said.
“Today, on bended knee, I thanked the good Lord for protecting those of our troops overseas, and our coalition troops and innocent Iraqis,” he said.
I’m ashamed and alarmed that the most nefarious manipulator of all matters he claims to represent well to have ever shat upon the American political stage continues to define this illegal occupation as a modern Crusade. He should be impeached for gross incompetence on this issue alone.
I happened to be researching Karen Armstrong yesterday, a scholar and authour that was unknown to me until recently. While I differ with her views on a couple of points so far in my brief readings she’s also a tireless advocate of the best that religion has to offer. I’m surprised to find that she’s someone who appears to enjoy a large measure of respect.
Armstrong speaking on compassion:
ARMSTRONG: For God.
MOYERS: … for the glory of God.
ARMSTRONG: Yes. Yes. Well, this is … this is bad religion. Compassion is not a popular virtue. Very often when I talk to religious people, and mention how important it is that compassion is the key, that it’s the sine-qua-non of religion, people look kind of balked, and stubborn sometimes, as much to say, what’s the point of having religion if you can’t disapprove of other people? And sometimes we use religion just to back up these unworthy hatreds, because we’re frightened too.
MOYERS: Fear?
ARMSTRONG: There’s great fear. We fear that if we’re not in control, other people will cut us down to size, and so we hit out first.
From the beginning, violence was associated with religion, but the advanced religions, and I’m talking about Buddhism, Hinduism, monotheism, the Hebrew prophets, they insisted that you must transcend this violence, you must not give in to this violence, but you must learn to recognize that every single other human being is sacred.
On the pluralism of Islam:
George and his Christian Taliban enforcing their man-made message despite the misery created by its inconceivable timing.