Lindsey Blansett killed her 10-year-old son by stabbing him and bashing him a rock so he could “go to heaven” rather than face a life full of “suffering and pains.” I haven’t heard anybody blame Jesus Christ for this woman’s actions. But I’d bet she was driven by her own mistaken perception of Christian ideology. I suspect that she considered herself a Christian. But Christians don’t stab and bash their children with rocks. An effective shortcut to heaven? That, I can safely say, is a misreading of the Bible.
So where are the Christian priests condemning Blansett’s actions? To date, I have seen no statement from Bartholomew, His Most Divine All-Holiness and Ecumenical Patriarch of the Greek-Orthodox Church. Does this mean 23-million Greek Orthodox, myself included, secretly condone Blansett’s actions? Of course not. Some times homicidal people are just crazy.
I mention this because it really is no different than blaming all Muslims (or Islam itself) when self-proclaimed “Islamic” terrorists kill people. We don’t blame all Jews (or Judaism itself) for the actions of Baruch Goldstein. Nor do we blame Christianity for Lindsey Blansett. See, when you kill innocent people, you’re not a good follower of any religion. That really should go without saying.
Merry Christmas!
One horrific murder committed by one deranged murderer does not a trend make. Now if organized groups of deranged murderers started committing series of murders and invoking their religion while doing it, well, the Churchies would have some explaining (ex-communicating) to do. I write this as an atheist who thinks all Believers are at a minimum a bit off.
I basically agree with you. Certain with regards to the past few decades.
But we do tend to be blind to our sins while not being willing to forgive others who trespass against us.
(Also, Christianity does have a pretty long and horrible history against Jews, Native-Americans, and well, hell, the whole non-Christian world… and other Christians, too. The Fourth Crusade was a bunch of so-called Christians terrorizing and sacking a major Christian capital!)
True enough on the concept of self-directed blindness and the horrific history of Christianity throughout the ages. To bring it home. I don't feel that every activist calling for police accountability over the last few months has any need to make a public denouncement of today's execution of two NYPD officers. …if you were part of a march where certain chants were prominently screamed, however, you might want to distance yourself from that.