Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Radical Stupidity
One of the most difficult aspects of opposing the war in Iraq is knowing that I must share a position with Rosie O'Donnell. Don't get me wrong. That's about all I share with Rosie, except perhaps a strong sexual attraction to women. Yesterday, however, Ms. O'Donnell turned her opposition to the war in Iraq into a segway for one of the most vicious attacks on Christians I've heard from the mainstream media in some time.
On the Tuesday edition of her new show, The View, Rosie stated in response a co-host's seemingly innocuous comment that militant Islam poses a grave threat that "radical Christianity is just as threatening as radical Islam in a country like America."
Wow. What an insult to all Christians when you consider that from the perspective of someone in Rosie's world, a radical Christian hardly needs be another Pat Robertson or Bishop Fulton Sheen. So are we everyday radical Christians here in America as threatening as radical Islamists in the Middle East? Let's briefly compare:
Radical Islam:
-- Hijacking airplanes
-- Car bombs
-- Terrorist training camps
-- Bombs planted on mass transit systems
-- Unprovoked attacks on embassies
-- Widespread use of houses of worship to store armaments
-- Proliferation of opium in order to fund terrorism
-- Open opposition to human and equal rights
Radical Christianity:
-- The occasional and widely denounced quack like David Koresh leading a suicide cult
-- The occasional and widely denounced quack like Paul Hill murdering a doctor who performs abortions
-- The Gideons taking up all that valuable hotel drawer space
-- Televangelists monopolizing all that good Sunday morning television
-- Traffic cops preferentially disrupting the flow of traffic to allow cars to leave church parking lots
-- The killing of billions of innocent trees in order to make the Bible the best-selling book in history
Or we could just crudely compare body counts over the past few decades? That may be especially appropriate since Rosie O'Donnell made this insulting remark just one day after the 5 year anniversary of 9/11. Does she not realize that the families of the slaughtered largely turned to those very same "radical" Christian churches to deal with their grief?
And I'm actually one who may be more sympathetic to the broader point. You see, I'm not ready to declare World War 3. I'm not ready to invade Iran. And I think there's even some hope for common ground with the Muslim world. However, let's not confuse the issue as Rosie has. Radical Islam is a BIG problem. Radical Christianity is NOT. Even if you disagree with Jerry Falwell or Pope Benedict, I'm pretty sure their words this Sunday morning won't include instructions on rigging an IED for maximum casualties. That's not to say all Muslim clerics preach like this, but a lot do.
This radical Christian hopes that Ms. O'Donnell makes a goodwill trip to visit the Taliban since they're merely as threatening as any old Methodist in Rosie's world. She can even bring along her wife too. I'm sure Mullah Omar would have a warm welcome planned for them. Especially if she's into whips and chains. I'm pretty sure they could arrange that!
On the Tuesday edition of her new show, The View, Rosie stated in response a co-host's seemingly innocuous comment that militant Islam poses a grave threat that "radical Christianity is just as threatening as radical Islam in a country like America."
Wow. What an insult to all Christians when you consider that from the perspective of someone in Rosie's world, a radical Christian hardly needs be another Pat Robertson or Bishop Fulton Sheen. So are we everyday radical Christians here in America as threatening as radical Islamists in the Middle East? Let's briefly compare:
Radical Islam:
-- Hijacking airplanes
-- Car bombs
-- Terrorist training camps
-- Bombs planted on mass transit systems
-- Unprovoked attacks on embassies
-- Widespread use of houses of worship to store armaments
-- Proliferation of opium in order to fund terrorism
-- Open opposition to human and equal rights
Radical Christianity:
-- The occasional and widely denounced quack like David Koresh leading a suicide cult
-- The occasional and widely denounced quack like Paul Hill murdering a doctor who performs abortions
-- The Gideons taking up all that valuable hotel drawer space
-- Televangelists monopolizing all that good Sunday morning television
-- Traffic cops preferentially disrupting the flow of traffic to allow cars to leave church parking lots
-- The killing of billions of innocent trees in order to make the Bible the best-selling book in history
Or we could just crudely compare body counts over the past few decades? That may be especially appropriate since Rosie O'Donnell made this insulting remark just one day after the 5 year anniversary of 9/11. Does she not realize that the families of the slaughtered largely turned to those very same "radical" Christian churches to deal with their grief?
And I'm actually one who may be more sympathetic to the broader point. You see, I'm not ready to declare World War 3. I'm not ready to invade Iran. And I think there's even some hope for common ground with the Muslim world. However, let's not confuse the issue as Rosie has. Radical Islam is a BIG problem. Radical Christianity is NOT. Even if you disagree with Jerry Falwell or Pope Benedict, I'm pretty sure their words this Sunday morning won't include instructions on rigging an IED for maximum casualties. That's not to say all Muslim clerics preach like this, but a lot do.
This radical Christian hopes that Ms. O'Donnell makes a goodwill trip to visit the Taliban since they're merely as threatening as any old Methodist in Rosie's world. She can even bring along her wife too. I'm sure Mullah Omar would have a warm welcome planned for them. Especially if she's into whips and chains. I'm pretty sure they could arrange that!
# posted by Jeff Briscoe : 11:30 PM
