Eric Rudolph: "Xian Terrorist"

[Modem Butterfly]

He's a Xian who committed several terroristic acts in the name of his god and with the stated goal to advance his religious agenda. Isn't it as accurate to call him a Xian terrorist as it is to call Mohammed Atta a Muslim terrorist?

[beam me up scottie]

1. I thought the same thing

on the way to work today.

[Squatch]

2. What in the hell is a Xian terrorist?

[Modem Butterfly]

4. There is no such thing

The only religious terrorists who are identified by their religion are Muslims. Which is curious, because the vast majority of terroristic acts in the US that have been committed in the name of religion have been committed by Xians in the name of Christ and the Xian church.

[Squatch]

22. I thought by "Xian terrorists", terrorists who hail from Xian, China

were being referred to. I've got some close friends from that city, so you ahve to understand my cornfusion.

[Village Idiot]

27. Xian equals "Christian..."

Like "USAsian" equals those people unfortunate enough to live in the USA.

I like "USAsian," since it is much more accurate than th term "American," which better describes all North and South Americans...

[rucky]

28. They're from Xian and they "hate freedom and love terra..."

cotta.

[Squatch]

30. LOL...that's what I thought, at first.

[Catholic Sensation]

3. Yes he is a Christian fundamentalist terrorist

and every other a-hole who bombs an abortion clinic. People who blow shit up they disagree with (and the Earth Liberation Front with their anti-Hummer shit is included in this) are simply terrorists. Simean minded terrorists.

[leveymg]

16. I wouldn't equate a luxury truck with a human life, would you?

The Earth Liberation Front's acts make them arsonists but I would reserve the term "terrorists" for those who intentionally target people for death and bodily injury.

[Modem Butterfly]

20. Terrorists attempt to terrorize people

ELF, the tree spikers, and others certainly qualify, just as the Klan's cross burnings qualify.

[beam me up scottie]

19. Right, because the ALF and ELF are the biggest threat

to national security according to the FBI and this administration, even though they have never harmed anyone and never intend to.
:eyes:

[blondeatlast]

5. Yes, indeed.

And I am a Christian.

[anarch]

6. yes -- see what "fundamentalism" leads to?

All stripes of it.


Edited to add: so is the damn KKK, basically, but nobody calls them that.

[bryant69]

7. I'd say so

In that, neither Christian Terrorist or Muslim Terrorist is all that good, but if you are going to use the one, you should use the other.

There is a growing spate of articles from conservative commentators (Diana West, Cal Thomas) on how we are at war with Islam.

Are the actions of a Rudolph or an Atta aberations or a betrayel of their repective religions? Or, as Thomas would argue, is terrorism at the heart of Islam? Is repression at the heart of Christianity? I would argue that in both cases those are corruptions of what the religion actually teaches, but we should have the discussion.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[Nevernose]

8. He's NOT a Christian

It was here or in some blog (can't remember -- I'll try and find a link), someone pointed out that Eric Rudolph's prison diaries decry all the attention he gets from Christian fundamentalists, claiming to prefer Nietzsche to the Bible.

"Many good people continue to send me money and books," Rudolph writes in an undated letter. "Most of them have, of course, an agenda; mostly born-again Christians looking to save my soul. I suppose the assumption is made that because I'm in here I must be a 'sinner' in need of salvation, and they would be glad to sell me a ticket to heaven, hawking this salvation like peanuts at a ballgame. I do appreciate their charity, but I could really do without the condescension. They have been so nice I would hate to break it to them that I really prefer Nietzsche to the Bible."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-07-05-rudolph-cover-partone_x.htm?POE=NEWISVA

[Modem Butterfly]

10. I guess all that Army of God stuff was just a put-on, right?

:eyes:

[Nevernose]

15. From the quote I edited in:

"Many good people continue to send me money and books," Rudolph writes in an undated letter. "Most of them have, of course, an agenda; mostly born-again Christians looking to save my soul. I suppose the assumption is made that because I'm in here I must be a 'sinner' in need of salvation, and they would be glad to sell me a ticket to heaven, hawking this salvation like peanuts at a ballgame. I do appreciate their charity, but I could really do without the condescension. They have been so nice I would hate to break it to them that I really prefer Nietzsche to the Bible."

If he is a Christian, it would seem that -- at least from this letter -- he's not radically so. He seems to have a problem with "born-agains" (i.e., fundamentalists), and a Terrorist for Christ probably wouldn't spend his time reading Friedrich "God Is Dead" Nietzsche. From the USA TOday article that was taken from and a few others I've read, it seems to me that the Christian thing was used by Rudolph as a cover to gain aid and sympathy for a relatively mundane right-wing nutjob anti-liberal-government bombing spree.

[beam me up scottie]

17. Sorry, but he was a follower of Christian Identity. nt

[Modem Butterfly]

18. I disagree

The letters Eric Rudolph sent after the bombings make it quite clear he was not a fan of Nietzche at the time of the bombings:

"We declare and will wage total war on the ungodly communist regime in New York and your legaslative bureaucratic lackey's in Washington. It is you who are responsible and preside over the murder of children and issue the policy of ungodly preversion thats destroying our people."

http://www.rotten.com/library/bio/crime/terrorists/eric-rudolph/

[Lecky]

41. Would you label Islamic terrorists to be true Muslims?

Many Muslims would disagree.

[anarch]

14. yeah, well neither are any whacked out fundamentalist "Islamist"

terrorists Muslims. They are roundly condemned by most leaders of the religion to which they claim to adhere. They are nutjobs. Their whole concept of religion has been warped to serve the purpose of their violent ideology. Same with any "religiously"-motivated terrorists.

[bryant69]

21. That's the question

How representative are terrorist Muslims or terrorist Christians of their representative faiths?

Bryant

[Modem Butterfly]

23. By jove, I think he's got it!

The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain!

[bryant69]

32. Not to ask a direct question or anything

But would you charactize repression or terrorism as essential Christian traits?

[beam me up scottie]

34. Why would you ask MB if she's a religious bigot ?

That's not very nice, she's done nothing to you.

[bryant69]

35. because of the way she responded to my post

I am sorry if I offended.

I wouldn't hold it against her if she did think that.

Bryant

[beam me up scottie]

36. I think she was just pointing

out that you were right about how unfair it is to attach a religion to terrorists.
She just does it in a round about way.

;)

[bryant69]

38. OK - if that's what she meant

Than I apologize for my insinuations - I would agree with her on that point, obviously.

But let me say there's nothing particularly troubling or even surprising about an atheist concluding that Religion or Organized Religion is corrupt to the core and should be phased out if possible. Some believers not attached to any organized religion might feel the same way, actually.

[beam me up scottie]

39. Oh, you're right, a lot of us do feel

that way about religion, but not about its followers.
That's what I meant about bigotry.

[REP]

47. Of Some Sects, Yes

Of course it is the essential trait of soe Christian sects. Whether or not you agree that they are Christian is beside the point; they call themselves Christian and aid and abet terrorists.

christiangallery.com
armyofgod.com

[really annoyed]

26. Thank You

I'm glad you pointed this out.... Most people just assume all Muslims are terrorists.

[anarch]

33. I really, really hope most people don't assume this

But it is certainly encouraged by the corporate media, who, despite any lip service that they might pay to tolerance and equal treatment, consistently give us the "Muslim Terrorist" stereotype as a matter of course...but I doubt seriously that we'll hear much about the "Christian Terrorists" any time soon.

I almost gagged on my damn toothpaste this morning at some virulently racist, anti-Muslim "commentary" on the news radio station here (traffic and weather reports are all I tune in for, not a morning dose of reactionary screed) -- I mean, basically to the point that Britain has been way too welcoming toward Muslims, and with the recommendation that Blair should perhaps boot a great many of them out of his country, or lock them up, etc...the kind of thing I might expect to hear about Christians on "Radio Taliban" or something, and here this pure hatred is, riling people up as they sit in traffic or drink their coffee or whatever. Disgusting. OK, rant over for now...

[LibertyLover]

37. Morning rant

Oh, I see you caught Cal Thomas' commentary on WTOP AM this morning. I was happily driving on Rt. 50 headed for the New Carrollton metro station when that little gem was played. Normally when they air Cal (3 times a week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday) I turn the radio off. I'm like you - I listen to it for the weather and the traffic. Today I didn't bother as I was in the process of changing lanes and got to hear the whole thing. Yuck. Next time I'll risk an accident rather than listen to that fool.

[James T. Kirk]

9. Absolutely! He is a terrorist.

I'm glad the administration has kept up the case on him. He's going away for a long time.

http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,162790,00.html

[Maddy McCall]

44. What administration?

Bush? Bwahahaha! Quite the Bush defender you are.

[James T. Kirk]

45. So you wanted them to stop the hunt and prosecution?

Huh? Some Rudolph defender you are.

[James T. Kirk]

11. /

[Puzzler]

12. Eric Rudolph...

... is clearly a terrorist by any deinition of the word. And yet, it seems the MSM refers to him as just a "bomber". They won't even call him a terrorist, let alone a Christian terorist.

-P

[Warren DeMontague]

13. Definitiely. CHRISTIAN TERRORIST.

Maybe we should be a little broader, and just start catalogueing how many of these nutjobs believe in different versions of, essentially, the same invisble man in the sky who is obsessed with sex, fears women, and hates gays.

Like, "Monotheist Terrorists", maybe?

[Ladyhawk]

24. OT: I love your avatar, but...

...that looks more like a NIC than a modem. :) :) :) :) Hehe.

[Lecky]

25. Yep, I would consider him a Christian terrorist

or a Christian Crusader...

Anyone who uses their religion as an excuse to commit terror is beyond contempt.

It's not religion that is bad, it's just bad people.

[delhurgo]

29. I wonder if FoxNews will refer to him as a "Homicide Bomber"?

Nevermind, I know the answer to that, even though they should. He's a real 'homicide bomber', he didn't even have the courage (if you can call it that) to blow himself up.

[Modem Butterfly]

31. In the Atlanta Women's Clinic bombing, he delayed the 2nd blast...

...for over an hour in order to stand a better chance of hitting someone (i.e., emergency responders, reporters, victims, etc.).

[Fescue4u]

40. Whats an Xian?

Sounds like an creature from another planet.

[Modem Butterfly]

42. It's short hand for Christian

The X stands for the Greek word Chi, the first letter of Christ's name in Greek. Early Xians used the X to symbolize Christ. The practice continued well into the 19th century.

[Lecky]

43. Just imagine how people here would react

if the KKK was ever labeled a Christian Terrorist Organization. It WAS a terror org. back in the day, most of those idiots considered themselves to be Christians as well. Just the thought of the KKK being labeled as a Christian org. today would make people go insane. A lot of Christians would freak, and rightfully so...

Are abortion bombers Christian terrorists? Is Christianity the cause of abortion bombers...I'd say ignorance paired with hate and other nasty personality traits is.

I don't like how our society promotes the idea that Islam is the cause of terrorism. Just leads to more prejudice and makes the ignorant think this war is righteous.

You know the more I think about it, the war in Iraq could be perceived by some as a type of modern day crusade. I honestly think that a good number of people don't give a damn if innocent Iraqi's are dying because of racism and their contempt for Islam.

Even though I'm not especially religious anymore, I believe it to be a positive force for the most part. Religion does NOT cause terror it's much more complex than that. I feel like we are seeing a lot of terrorists from the Middle East because of our foreign policy and occupation combine that with an individual (or group of individuals') hatred, helplessness, and ignorance and viola.

We should leave the religious labels out of it; it's irresponsible that the our media does not. The majority of Muslims do not condone terrorism.

Why is the media constantly linking terrorism to Islam? Surely they know by now that most Muslims do not condone terror. I want to say it's due to ignorance but maybe some are trying to send out a message. Look what happened, right away most people started equating Islam with terrorism...in full support of any Middle Eastern nation that Bush wanted to attack. Propaganda is a powerful tool that can easily sway opinion of the ignorant masses.

[slackmaster]

49. "WAS"???

The KKK is still a terrorist organization at heart. It can't operate effectively now only because it's been bankrupted by lawsuits filed by the SPLC and other organizations.

[REP]

46. Yes, He's "Army of God" Crazy Christian

Demented Donald Spitz (who sends me a death threat every now and then) has a shrine up for terrorist Rudolph at http://www.armyofgod.com/EricRudolphHomepage.html

Nice to see the "war on terra" means cutting deals with terrorists when their agenda is the same as the administration's.

[slackmaster]

48. The only real difference I see is Rudolph is basically a loner

He rationalizes his crimes based on a degenerate interpretation of Christianity but had the support of only a couple of other like-minded individuals.

The Muslim fanatic terrorists are much better organized.