"Virtuous" Vultures Descend Upon Aurora, Colorado.
The largest mass shooting in American History has wreaked havoc upon the
American psyche, but perhaps the source of the most anxiety is coming from the
pulpit: not since 9-11 have we seen such an outpouring of accusatory broadcasts
and sermons. The onslaught was so huge and intense, it has taken taken as many
days for it to sink in as the tragedy itself.
Of course, tragedies like Aurora provide a stellar platform for the
self-righteous: they feed on them, reveling in making Americans feel as guilty
as possible while glorying in their misery. They usually come out with a field
team of what's been termed as God's Ambulance Chasers - those who anticipate
disasters when they can rain Bibles onto the heads of disaster victims*, place
digital speakers strategically among victims (as was done in Haiti), or call
for prayer over a heathen people.** They have not surfaced yet, but give 'em
time: God's Ambulence Chasers will no doubt descend upon Aurora Colorado in the
coming weeks.
Right now, a phenomena worse than God's Ambulance Chasers is taking place:
"Virtuous" Vultures are circling Aurora Colorado ... and the rest of
the nation. The term, of course, is an intended contradiction in terms (much
like the Christian Right itself), these vultures being anything but virtuous -
but touting themselves as such. As vultures, they pick over what they consider
a dead society, tearing at the flesh of humanity by placing the blame on
individuals and groups - like Obama and gays - all the while feeding their own
righteous arrogance.
These are not venial (forgivable) vultures:
denigrating man for your own gain (whether it be material or spiritual) is
unforgivable, because no matter what evil some men have done, the rest of
humanity deserves love and respect.
Solace From The Few, Condemnation From The Many
On Sunday, it [Mississippi Avenue Baptist Church of Aurora, Colo.]
was packed to capacity -- as were churches of other denominations throughout
this shattered Colorado town -- with worshippers seeking solace, and answers.
President Barack Obama was on Sunday touring Colorado to console
the families of the victims.
Around the country, Christian congregations were praying for the solace of the victims and their families, but "socially conservative" leaders and clergy were pointing contemptuous fingers at the rest of the nation: in sermons across the country, a Hell-less, God-less, Gay-accepting, Socialist-embracing America was to blame. And the hyphenated terms don't stop there: hell-fire dominates the Christian Right's landscape and it will be featured heavily in the future to effect as much guilt, shame, and misery as possible.
Below are just some of the parts of sermons and responses to the
tragedy. (Warning: disturbing views that are tactless and patently absurd may
cause physical illness).
Fred Jackson, the American Family Association's news director,
while discussing the Colorado movie theater shooting today said that liberal
Christian churches and liberal media helped contribute to violent incidents by
supposedly deemphasizing the fear of God and the Bible.
And continued to attack other Christians:
"The AFA Journal has been dealing with denominations that no
longer believe in the God of the Bible, they no longer believe that Jesus is
the only way of salvation, they teach that God is OK with homosexuality, this
is just increasing more and more."
"In our perverse society, a woman exercising her 'right to
choose' death for her innocent child represents 'courage,' while the Batman
shooter's 'choice' to kill innocent moviegoers represents cowardice.
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