Is this hate speech?

[Christian Post]

Matthew Murray, the gunman who is believed to have shot and killed four people in Colorado, appeared to have acted out of revenge against Christians, police officials indicated.

Authorities believe Murray, 24, posted an anti-Christian message online on Sunday – the day of the shootings – in a language almost identical to the text of a manifesto written by one of the Columbine killers, Eric Harris.

“You Christians brought this on yourselves,” Murray wrote, according to KUSA-TV in Denver. “Feel no remorse, no sense of shame, I don’t care if I live or die in the shoot-out. All I want to do is kill and injure as many of you … as I can especially Christians who are to blame for most of the problems in the world.”

Read about it here.

[From me]

This whole tragedy is just sad. I wonder if the hate crimes legislation will apply to this?

What do you think?

Westboro Baptist Church to pay $11 million for their hatred…

[From KSNT]

A jury in Baltimore is ordering Topeka’s Westboro Baptist Church to pay 11 million dollars to the father of a marine who was killed in Iraq.

“Matt and all of the military kept me going through all of this, “said Albert Snyder who sued the church after members demonstrated last year at the funeral of his son, Lance Corporal Matthew Snyder. He hopes Wednesdays ruling sets a precedent for the future.

“I hope it’s enough to deter them from doing this to other families and that was my goal the entire time,” said Snyder.

Wednesday the jury awarded 2.9 million dollars in compensatory damages, 6 million in punitive damages and another two million dollars for causing emotional distress.

The Phelps plan to appeal.

Read about it here.

[From me]

I’m grateful we have freedom of speech here in the US.  But a “minister” of the “Gospel” should be telling “Good News” not spewing hate.  I was able to meet Shirley Phelps-Roper of Westboro last summer.  You can watch my interview with her here.  It is sad.

Jesus told the woman caught in adultery to go and sin no more.  Many of these people whose funerals are being protested are not even involved in sinful lifestyles.  EVEN if they were, a funeral is NO TIME to be throwing stones.  I have participated in several funerals where the eternal condition of the person was in question.  Those were depressing services to say the least.  But the last thing in the world I would ever do is point out their sins after death.  Funerals are times to give comfort to people and give them hope.

Phelps and his crew should be pointing people to Jesus not scaring them away.

What do you think?

Is there any honor left in politics?

[Christian Post]

Conservative Christian groups were quick to denounce the senate’s attachment of a hate crimes amendment to the defense funding bill, criticizing the measure for elevating some violent crimes above others. Opponents of the political ploy argue all violent acts should be given equal justice instead of designating some worse than others when the end results are the same. They contend it is a “dangerous mistake” to rank crimes of violence based on purported motives or the identity of the victim as the proposed amendment would do.

The U.S. Senate voted to attach the hate crimes bill to the high-priority Department of Defense authorization bill Thursday in a political maneuver to pressure President Bush to pass the contentious amendment. The measure seeks to add violence against individuals based on sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and disability to the list of federal hate crimes involving prejudice against an individual’s race, color, religion, and national origin.

Co-sponsors Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) claim it is appropriate to attach the hate crimes amendment to the massive defense funding bill – which includes the Iraq war – because both combat terrorist behavior. However, opponents retorted that Kennedy’s action will delay funds to U.S. troops and that raising a “special interest” bill at such an urgent time is inappropriate.

Read about it here.

[From me]

Are there any politicians who don’t sell their soul?  Ted Kennedy is talking to me about morality?  Please!  Why don’t we find the truth about Mary Jo Kopechne.  I’m tired of people on both sides of the the political spectrum telling me about right and wrong when they are stealing money, padding their friends pockets, going to prostitutes, lying about their own sexual orientation but voting other way.

Is there honor left anymore?

Is this kind of “tolerance” coming to the US?

[Christian Post]

The Church of England has expressed fear over a newly proposed law that could allow homosexuals to sue the church if they felt discriminated against by religious authorities.  Under the proposal, a gay individual could sue the church if he heard a sermon that condemned homosexuality. The law is meant to protect homosexuals from hostile or humiliating “environments” as part of a revision of discrimination legislations.

The Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship in England further warned that an unrepentant, practicing homosexual could sue the church if it refused him membership under the proposed law.

England’s anti-discriminatory proposal is similar to the hate crimes debate raging in the United States.

Christian leaders and pastors in America are protesting the hate crimes bill in Congress that would add sexual orientation, gender and gender identity to the existing list of hate crimes protected under law.

Conservative Christian groups such as Focus on the Family warn that if a pastor preached against homosexuality and one of his congregants later commits violence against a homosexual, then the pastor could be charged for inducing a hate crime.

Read about it here.

[From me]

There are many groups in the US trying to get similar laws passed.   This is scary to me.  Why would someone want to join an organization that preaches the individual lives in sin.  I talked about this subject yesterday in my message on God’s design for family.  We don’t need the hate crime legislation because the ones who will be hated are Christians.

What do you think?

Murder suspect says he was doing God’s work

[Houston Chronicle]

A Cypress man charged in the death of a Southwest Airlines flight attendant said Saturday that he was doing God’s work when he went to a Montrose-area bar last month, hunting for a gay man to kill.

“I believe I’m Elijah, called by God to be a prophet,” said 26-year-old Terry Mark Mangum, charged with murder June 11. ” … I believe with all my heart that I was doing the right thing.”

Interviewed in the Brazoria County Jail Saturday morning, Mangum said he feels no remorse for killing 46-year-old Kenneth Cummings Jr., whom relatives described as a “loving” son who never forgot a holiday and a devoted uncle who had set up college funds for his niece and nephew. He worked at Southwest for 24 years.

Mangum, who described himself as “definitely not a homosexual,” said God called on him to “carry out a code of retribution” by killing a gay man because “sexual perversion” is the “worst sin.” Mangum believed Cummings to be gay.

“I planned on sending him to hell,” he said.

Read about it here.

[From me]

Where do people get there warped sense of religion.  Jesus would never condone killing someone.  Remember the woman caught in adultery?  He told her to go and sin no more.  Shouldn’t we be out sharing the love of Jesus to keep people out of hell?

What do you think?

Hate Speech?

[From The Washington Times]

The words “natural family,” “marriage” and “union of a man and a woman” can be punished as “hate speech” in government workplaces, according to a lawsuit that is being appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Read about it here.

[From me]

Huh? What’s next? Are we not going to be able to introduce our spouses as “husband” or “wife?” Will children be arrested for calling their female parent mom, mommy or mother? Will cops beat down the door when children refer to their male parent as dad, daddy or father? What can we call our children? Will we be required to call them “offspring?”

Does this mean that men can’t call their wives “the old ball and chain?” Can the term “trophy wife” be used? How about a wife referring to a husband as “Sugar Daddy?” Will terms like “gold-digger,” “cradle robber,” “sugar snookums,” “old man,” or “old woman” be added to the crime list?

How dumb is this nation becoming?

What other names will be outlawed? What do you think?

If people aren’t responding–Yell louder!

Have you noticed all of the venom  in the world today?  It is in politics, in newspapers, on TV, on blogs and even in church.  What is it that everyone is so angry about?

I’ve noticed that if people aren’t responding some people just yell louder.  Some people aren’t happy unless they have a battle to fight for.   Brian Kaylor in his book For God’s Sake Shut Up said believers need to find new metaphors.  He is so right! Have you read or heard some of these?

• Battle for the Bible
  • are there not enough Bibles?
  • Shouldn’t we be proclaiming and living it instead of fighting over it?

•  Takeover ___________ convention/church/school/nation (insert)
  • Really?  Does God need our help?
  • Did Jesus come to takeover the world or to serve?
• Fight for___________
  • Why are we fighting?
• Gain control of______
  • Didn’t Jesus say if we want to gain our lives we have to lose it?
• Win back our________ nation/church/denomination/seminaries/schools
  • Is everything a win or lose situation?
  • Can’t everyone win by having a relationship with Jesus?
• Debate
  • Can’t we just talk our dialog?

Maybe I’m too naive or just optimistic.  I think we can make a greater impact on our world if we talk to them in a language they can understand.  I know that when I yell my kids tune me out.  I’m the same way.  I a person is yelling at me I don’t hear a word they are saying.  They may actually have something good to say but human nature says to tune it out.