Snippy Christians Peeved at Loudmouth Dyke

This interesting item came through today courtesy of the American Family Association (AFA) concerning actress Rosie O'Donnell:

ABC's Rosie O'Donnell told a nationwide audience this week that "radical Christians" are the same as radical Muslims who piloted hijacked jetliners into New York's Twin Towers, who chop off the heads of individuals and who bomb innocent children in suicide attacks. O'Donnell made her comments as host of ABC's "The View."

Well. The fact is, radical extremist groups of all types *do* share some common characteristics:

* They are authoritarian, with leadership at the top of a pyramid-like
organizational structure.
* They follow a charismatic leader (or leaders, within the pyramid).
* They deceive people as they are recruiting them or trying to raise funds from them.
* They isolate their followers psychologically (and sometimes physically).
* They use coercive techniques to maintain control over others, such as:
--milieu control (e.g., communication and physical environment)
--mystical manipulation (e.g., "God is in control," "God allowed
it to happen").
--Demand for purity--the long skirts, pantyhose and loose clothing I was required to wear as a Bob Jones student are just a milder version of the burqa. Many Muslim women wear the hejab (head scarf/covering); so do the Amish and the Mennonites. When I was a student at Bob Jones, we women were required to wear hats to attend the Sunday service.
--Confession (true of Christianity--see James 5:16, among others; I don't know enough about radical Islam to say whether this is a component of their teachings).
--Sacred science--the group believes that *their* ideology--and ONLY their idology--is "the ultimate moral vision for the ordering of human existence"
--Loading the language: Here is one page of a glossary of "loaded language" specific to the last church I belonged to. It was compiled by other former members of the same group.
--Doctrine over person--rules are rules, no exceptions.
--Dispensing of existence--"if you leave the [our] church, you're leaving God." "They're just sinners going to hell anyway."

(Source: REFOCUS website, http://www.refocus.org )

But I guess the AFA was afraid too many people would agree with Rosie. They wouldn't leave Rosie's words to stand on their own, for the hearer or reader to decide for him/herself about. They felt compelled to twist Rosie's words, by stating later in the e-alert:

O'Donnell was saying there is no difference between the radical Muslims who kill in the name of Allah and Bible-believing Christians who follow the teachings of Jesus.

Uhhhh... that's NOT what Rosie said. Note the false premise the AFA tries to pass off as truth in their twisted version of reality:

Muslims KILL... Christians FOLLOW.

It is true that Muslims have "killed"--but so have Christians. It is true that Christians "follow"--but so do Muslims.

Some Christians, as well as some Muslims, clearly believe it is a sacred duty to "kill the infidel."

I don't have a particular bias either toward or against Rosie. I don't care if she's gay--what consenting adults do with each other in their bedrooms is not my business. I work for a living, so I haven't usually been home to tune in to any of the programs she's been on. But the fact is, Rosie is correct.

In addition to the linked information above regarding Christian violence perpetrated upon pro-choice workers, I also think of the Spanish Inquisition (though Protestants blame Catholics for this). So-called "witches" burned at the stake--not to mention, under the most flimsy of pretenses. The Crusades. Chapter upon chapter of the Old Testament (I've read it, you see... many, many times over the years). In one of the most disturbing of these Old Testament stories, a man allows his concubine to be raped unto death, then cuts up her body sends the 12 dismembered pieces of it around to the 12 tribes of Israel (Book of Judges, chapters 19-20).

How about televangelist Jerry Falwell blaming a broad swath of non-Christians for the 9/11 attacks. Or televangelist Pat Robertson calling for the assassination of Hugo Chavez, the democratically elected president of Venezuela. Conservative "talking head" Ann Coulter calling for the death of pretty much anyone who doesn't agree with her (most lately, Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island). Fred Phelps and his "God Hates Fags" group protesting military funerals, approving the deaths of American soldiers. I could go on and on.

PLEASE, fundies--STOP trying to convince the rest of us that your shit don't stink.

I know better.