So What Is He, Christian Or Not

Just two normal guys...that blow shit up.

OooooKaaayyyyy, now I don't know what to think. There is great debate on the airwaves and in the blogesphere as to whether the Norway Killer is a true Christian or not. In my weakened state I'm so easily influenced. If I read one article that is pro, I go for that, and visa versa. You guys tell me...

"Is Anders Breivika a Christian terrorist" is from Religion News Service which, as of late, is my go to place for religious news and commentary. Good article about cherry picking from the bible to justify your political agenda and what is a true Christian.

My other go to site for religious commentary is Religion Dispatches. Is Norway's Suspected Murderer Anders Breivka a Christian terrorist compares dude to the Oklahoma bomber Lil' Timmy McVeigh. Both dudes, I believe, did what they did because of political reasons. RD's articles are a little longer and packed with lot's of info.

And then there are these guys. Leave it up to the Atheist Blogesphere to be totally awesome with the point counter point stuffs. These guys are so smart I've changed my mind two days in a row. Steve's No True Christian is good good work and the day before The Mad Norwegian convinced me that dude is not a Christian terrorist.

So there is some of what I have read in the past couple of days. What do I think...I dunno. What I do know is that, yes, religion is a good influence on many peeps, but it is also the justification to do very very bad things. The believers with a Child Like Faith will say he was not a true Christian, and Team Atheist will say he did exactly what Christians have been doing for centuries.

Kind gentle and very goodlooking reader(s)...what do you think (and check out this awesome picture below. soooo funny). Lates.

Google Jesus and guns and be entertained.

Oops, I Made A Mistake

What if we armed ourselves and did training maneuvers...that would be wrong also. 

OK, I have to admit that I was wrong (1) about the Norway killer dude. I called him a Christian terrorist but he is really a terrorist that just said he is a Christian. C'mon now atheists, we can't have it both ways (even tho sometimes I would like that). When believers say that Pol Pot was an atheist mass murder, we retort with "yes he was a mass murder, but his atheism did not motivate him to do that," and that is correct. P P was a mass murder that happened to be an atheist. Well the same thingy goes for the Norway killer dude. He is a mass murder that happens  to be Christian, and after reading a little, it seems that he is not a mass murderer because he is Christian.

CNN Belief Blog has a pretty good article on this as well as the super powerful and awesome Left Hemispheres. I think we made the same mistake with the Arizona Shooter. Team Atheist immediately jumped on the slightest suggestion that dude was a crazy believer...as it turned out, he was just crazy.

There are real threats out there like the group pictured above called Hutaree and Repent Amarillo and WBC. The real threat is evangelical colleges that teach evangelical science. when those peeps go out into the real world they become politicians like "Crazy Eyes" and they try to get their beliefs injected into valid disciplines like history and science.

The Norway killer dude is not a Christian terrorist, he is just a terrorist. And that  believers and nonbelievers is something we all must be wary of. Take care our yourselves, yo.

Kriss

(1) Way back in the early 90's I made a mistake. But then it turned out I was correct after all. So I don't know if I've been wrong twice or once (that is a super long way for a lame attempt at a joke. le sigh).

Update 7:44 OK, this article says he is a Christian terrorist. I'm still not convinced tho. I'm avoiding reading the manifesto myself (I don't want to read all that shit). Whatever.

God's Test and Norway

Oslo in better times.

I just finished reading Prof. Bart Ehrman's "God's Problem" and I think it is very topical considering the haps in Oslo, Norway. The book opens with the Holocaust and that thingy Team Atheist keeps saying...if there is an all powerful, all knowing and all loving God, then why is there suffering in the world? If there is this God that Team Believer keeps talking about, then why did that horrible, horrible massacre happen in Norway yesterday.

NOT good times in Oslo.

Prof. Ehrman's book is about how the bible views suffering and he breaks it down into chapters. Of course I forgot the book and my notes at home so I'm going to go off the top of my head (and I feel rather confident right now).

According to Ehrman's interpretation of the bible peeps suffer because they have sinned, other people make them suffer and the good 'ol we don't know why people suffer (but God will take care of everything in the afterlife). Well what did those kids at that summer camp do, did they sin. I don't think so.

Was it a case of someone else making others suffer. Sure. The gunman Anders Behring Breivik, 32, certainly made many people suffer. As Prof. E states in his book there will be some kind of divine justice when people make other people suffer. God has that plan that people are always talking about and in a sort of karmic retribution kind-a way, the Big G has it all under control. In the mean time...people suffer tremendously like in Oslo.

White power, not just American.

The third reason for suffering, the bad 'ol we just don't know, we can't know we are just dumb humans is the lamest of the lamest answers for suffering because it doesn't explain anything. It takes faith to accept that answer and as a card holding member of Team Skeptic I just can't accept that. God tested Job (1) to see if dude had faith and was obedient, but if God is all powerful then why does he need our obedience. Why would he kill the kids in Oslo, or why would he command Job to kill his son? It seems petty to me. We do not know why there is suffering but have faith and God will take care of everything, but in the afterlife...no thanks.

Our perspective is that humans created God in our image, not the other way around. Humans are petty therefore God is also. Those kids in Oslo didn't sin and try telling their parents that God is testing them because he needs...attention. Try telling those parents that we do not know why bad things happen to good people (suffering) but in the afterlife everything will be cool so don't trip and just have faith. I certainly wouldn't want to be the one to tell them that.

I couldn't find it but there is a weirdo anti Muslim video called Knights Templar that the gunman is in. Knights Templar is associated with the Crusades and get this, also white supremacy. There is also a 1,500 page manifesto online somewhere that dude wrote. In it he says things like "cultural Marxists" and "doomsday would be imminent" referring to Norway politics. I think these are the reasons why dude massacred those kids, not a plan or test from a heavenly father that may or may not exist. These are things based here on earth, things that we can touch and acknowledge and know. And that is why this horrible massacre happened...that and dude is crazy.

(1) God told Job to kill his only son because he wanted to test him to see if he was devout and sincere. God killed Jobs whole family (I think, like, 7 kids) but he passed the test and proved his faith to God. Job didn't do anything wrong and totally questioned God "why." So dude passed the test and then God gave him a new family (I think this time 10 kids). So God killed those innocent 7 kids, punished and tortured an innocent Job, but then gave him a new family later. Try telling that to the parents in Norway. "Yea, everything is cool, your kid(s) is dead but if you show faith in God then you will get some more kids later down the line." Good luck with that.