I admit it. When I heard about the attacks in Oslo, I was absolutely sure, dead certain that it was a Muslim. To find out it was this guy, really blew my mind:
I mean, seriously. He’s kinda hot. Looks a bit like me. I mean, I’m hotter, of course, but still. Similar eyes. Similar skin tone. Never thought I’d see that. In fact, I’ve often joked that the current US policy of screening EVERYONE at airport security is dumb because those who predominantly attack others, and obviously the 9/11 hijackers, pretty much don’t look like me.
D’oh!
That’s just the first thing. The next thing that shocked me was that he’s a Christian. My reservations on Christianity aside, they don’t usually do shit like this. I mean, not in a long time. Sure, other atheists bring up the Crusades, the Salem witch trials, the KKK, the Inquisition, that Mormon massacre of men, women, and children for no other reason than the Mormons •suspected• their would-be victims were vaguely related to the Mormons’ earlier persecutors. But it really has been a while. Okay, so that mom who drowned her kids because God told her to do it. But that’s an isolated case. Alright, yes, Timothy McVey was a Christian. Oh, and David Karesh. But my point is that Christians don’t •frequently• and indiscriminately kill people in the name of their god.
So to see one so brazenly do so was a bit of a shock. And then came the bullshit. Take it away, Bill!
Ah, the beloved No True Scotsman fallacy. But here’s the thing. I get what Bill’s saying. He doesn’t want to be associated with a mass-murderer. He doesn’t want his family and friends to be associated with a mass-murderer. Who would? I don’t want my self-identity as an atheist to instantly ring up images of Chinese communism (although I have less of a problem with it than I think Bill does). In my case, though, I can’t deny that if someone doesn’t believe the claims of gods they’ve heard, he is an atheist, even if he has killed, tortured, or otherwise caused or contributed to the suffering of his fellow man. With Bill’s denial, it begs the question, what is a Christian?
I have my own preconceptions, but let’s go to a couple of sources who don’t… Read more »
