God Bless Tom Fox. He gave his life for Peace and Justice.

[Faygo Kid]

You can be an atheist and still appreciate Tom Fox's ideals. We are using his death to bash the FReepers, but I am profoundly moved by his courage and commitment. I may not totally agree (bring it, FReepers), but I respect the hell out of this man, and his life. We can yet stop the madness, if we remember martyrs like Tom Fox. His values are those that have been forgotten by those who wear Christianity upon their sleeves, and those whose checkbooks are opened to James Dobson. Here's a reminder of what I believe. If this isn't clear enough, let me know. The Declaration, Gettysburg Address, Lincoln's Second Inaugural and Eisenhower's Farewell Address are all here for you, BushBots.

Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are they who mourn,

for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,

for they shall possess the earth.

Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for justice,

for they shall be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful,

for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure of heart,

for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they shall be called sons of God.

Blessed are they who suffer persecution for justice sake,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

[MuseRider]

1. Bravo.

I mentioned him to my husband tonight. His response was that you have to be crazy to go there to do that. I had a totally different look on it. He was committed to peace and justice. I have so much respect for him. I could not do it, that is my lack of courage. He was a courageous man with heart enough for all of mankind and their futures.

Freepers are bashing him? Why am I not surprised? Well, who cares what they think (?), they are apparently as heartless as they are mindless.

[Faygo Kid]

2. Few of us are as courageous as Tom Fox. Not me. Let us remember.

It could be a way to bridge this gap between fundamentalists and liberals, Muslim and Christian. We need to work it, but let's let his death mean something. We simply can't go on this way. But, we have to work it. I intend to.

[MuseRider]

3. You are, of course correct.

I am not certain I understand how you think we could use this to bridge the gap. If what I have read is true about what they are saying I don't know if there is any footing for a bridge.

I would be happy to join you, I guess I just don't know how at this point. I am too raw dealing with GLBT issues and fundamentalists to be able to cut them any slack at this moment. I do realize that is my failing but there it is. I have to work on that.

[Faygo Kid]

4. Thank you. I have no answers. Only role models. We have to beat this.

There is so much greatness and nobility in human history. The Declaration. Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. King's Letter from a Birmingham Jail. All these, and so many more. And this, so very forgotten from the Right Wing Bushite crowd. I am humbled. I have no answers. But I know passionately that together we can do so very much better.

Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are they who mourn,
for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,
for they shall possess the earth.

Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for justice,
for they shall be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure of heart,
for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called sons of God.

Blessed are they who suffer persecution for justice sake,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

[MuseRider]

5. That is what it is all about.

I stopped doing organized religion years ago, could not take what I read and what they said and put it together.

The Beatitudes always said so much to me too. I always used to wish I could be pure of heart, really pure of heart. That one is kicking my butt right now.

So where do they fit in these days? Where is all the hate coming from? The religious right are certainly aware of these so how do they reconcile this?

That seems to be my biggest problem, I can't figure them out. What they are doing in the name of God and Jesus does not seem to represent what the Bible says. I just don't get them.

I don't normally get into religious discussions but this is interesting tonight. I like what you are saying. You know what the beatitudes mean, so do I so how do we use that when apparently they are using a different version?

[Maru Kitteh]

8. The Freakers are bashing him? Who would Jesus bash, right?

I think their Jesus is filthy rich, has stock in Haliburton and drives an SUV.

They don't really get the whole "peace" thing. That's like so, the "before 911" Jesus, you know?

[MuseRider]

10. I have not looked but I have

seen a few posts here that say that they are. I don't go there. It is hard to imagine bashing anyone who works for peace but unfreaking believable that they would bash him after his death.

Faygokid is correct, we have to do something to correct all of this but I can't for the life of me know how to bring someone back from that kind of mindset. (they are probably saying the same thing about us)

[IsItJustMe]

6. Tom Fox represented true christianity to me.

[Faygo Kid]

9. I don't define Christianity. I know the Beatitudes are what I live by.

We need to fight back. Tom Fox is my hero. Who is yours?

[IsItJustMe]

12. People like Tom Fox, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King.

These are the types of people who are true leaders and allows us to transcend our baser human instincts.

[Maru Kitteh]

7. Mr. Fox, from what I have seen was a true Christian, the real deal

He fought for peace, love and acceptance. May the lord welcome him home, his toil and pain are done and the world is better for it.

[Raine]

11. Tom Fox a TRUE Christian and

a TRUE hero, this World is so much poorer for the loss of him. :cry:

[Seabiscuit]

13. My only question about Tom Fox is: what was he doing in Iraq?

I hope he wasn't trying to spread Christianity in a muslim nation.