Diary of a Christian Terrorist
Offline http://www.huffingtonpost.com/max-blumenthal/diary-of-a-christian-terr_b_49167.html
Some horrifying and terrifying information. The full article has comments on HuffPo (Huffington Post). There are also links within the text to things like Uhl's MySpace page.
~susan
Diary of a Christian Terrorist
Visitors to Mark David Uhl's Myspace page will quickly learn that Uhl is a student at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University, that he is a devoted Christian, that his name means "Mighty Warrior" -- and that he likes Will Smith's saccharine tear-up-the-club track, "Switch." Uhl reveals his career ambitions on his page as well: "I will join the Army as an officer after college." Already, Uhl was preparing in Liberty's ROTC program.
Uhl waited until he was offline, however, to reveal his plot to kill the family of itinerant Calvinist provocateur Fred Phelps (famous for their "Fag Troops" rallies outside soldiers' funerals). The Phelpses planned to protest Falwell's funeral, a bizarre stunt designed to highlight Falwell's somehow insufficiently draconian attitude towards homosexuals. Uhl made several bombs and allegedly told a family member he planned to use them to attack the Phelps family.
He was arrested soon after and charged with manufacturing explosives. On the surface, Uhl appears to be the latest version of Virginia Tech rampage killer (and "Richard McBeef" author) Cho Seung-Hui. Indeed, both Uhl and Cho were alienated young men who conceived or carried out campaigns of mass murder on college campuses.
But there is a crucial difference between Uhl and Cho: while Cho's motives remain a source of intense debate, Uhl was an a devout evangelical Christian who advocated religious violence in the name of American nationalism. Uhl's blog, featured on his Myspace page, offers a window into the political underpinnings of his bomb plot. In one post, Uhl implores Christians to die on the battlefield for "Uncle Sam." He justifies his call to arms by quoting several Biblical passages and reminding his readers that the "gift of God" is eternal life.
"Christians, we have been given life after death and we should help others receive it and not sit here in our big buildings and sing to ourselves so we can go home and feel good about ourselves," Uhl writes. "Christians, fear of death, fear of death. The fear of death shows you don't believe."
Uhl concludes, "God needs soldiers to fight so his children may live free. Are you afraid??? I'm not. SEND ME!!! "
Uhl's imploration sounds eerily like the battle-cries of another, more notorious religious radical: Osama bin-Laden. Consider what bin-Laden told the Independent in 1993. "`I was never afraid of death... As Muslims, we believe that when we die, we go to heaven. Before a battle, God sends us... tranquility."
Christian right leaders from the late Falwell to James Dobson have turned Muslim-bashing into a cottage industry, using the words of bin-Laden and his acolytes to allege that Islam is an inherently violent religion that "breeds" terrorism. After meeting with President George W. Bush two weeks ago about Iran and Iraq, Dobson conducted a hysterical five-part broadcast hyping the threat of radical Islam. (CD's of those broadcasts will soon be available on Focus on the Family's website, with all proceeds going to support Dobson's kulturkampf -- and his paycheck).
The response of Dobson and his allies to Uhl's arrest will reflect more on themselves than on any impressionable 19-year-old college student. The Christian right has warped religious doctrine to advance a Utopian political worldview that promises to purify the land of liberal decadence. Through one of its flagship universities, the Christian right produced a terrorist. Their hysterical warnings of the threat of radical Islam sound increasingly like projections.
But then again, maybe it's all Will Smith's fault.
Atheist Books, purchases on Amazon support the Rational Response Squad server.
- Login to post comments
99.9~% of the time I'd be disgusted once again at the theist terrorist. Too bad his target was one I'd have liked to see him succeed in hitting.
Enlightened Atheist, Gaming God.
Why do people assume that there is only one reason people become a terrorist: religion?
Do you know of any non-religious terrorists?
Yes. Do the Russian Seperatists that took over that school count? Does the FLQ Front de liberation du Quebec count?
Uhl said "God needs soldiers to fight so his children may live free. Are you afraid??? I'm not. SEND ME!!! "
I don't think that leaves much to the imagination in this case.
Atheist Books, purchases on Amazon support the Rational Response Squad server.
That last sentence hurt SO MUCH. I'm really curious how many theists realize what it really means.
Inquisition - "The flames are all long gone, but the pain lingers on..."
http://rigoromortis.blogspot.com/
What is religion? re·li·gion play_w("R0140600"
(r
-l
j
n)
n.1. a. Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe.b. A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship.2. The life or condition of a person in a religious order.3. A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader.4. A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion. Look at number 4. Religion at it's most basic definition is a belief persued with zeal. So, religion IS the reason behind terrorism. Communist Agena, Islam, Christianty, or otherwise. It's some radical belief that must (Edit: Sometimes. Not always. :]) be enforced through terror and violence. fas·cism play_w("F0045700"First, I'd like to say that, the me, this article come off as saying that Christians want to kill everyone. I don't know if that's why Susan posted it or if she believes differently.
Well if you think only religous people can commit terrorism, then of course to you only religous people will commit terrorism.
The Russian School shootings was an act of terrorism. They did it for a reason. To try to seperate from Russia (I think they were Chzeck or Siberian).
AW HELL NO!
Dude! That would have been four birds with one stone! First, crazy fundy blows himself up. Second, crazy Phelps family blows up. Third, crazy people at Falwell's entombing ceremony blown up. Fourth, America faces the fact that Xians can be as dangerous as Muslims!
I think I just blew my own mind!
"Tis better to rule in Hell than to serve in Heaven." -Lucifer
Not really. Will Smith got in one little fight and then his mom got scared and said 'you're moving with your auntie and uncle in Bel-Air'. See, Will Smith isn't immune to violence!
I realize that this is a diabolical idea, but I couldn't help laughing...
Inquisition - "The flames are all long gone, but the pain lingers on..."
http://rigoromortis.blogspot.com/
Most people assume things because of past experience. However I don't think only religion = terrorist, but it is a good motivator for it for it. Like saying swimming in sewage isn't the only way to get an infection.
Sounds made up...
Agnostic Atheist
No, I am not angry at your imaginary friends or enemies.
Thank You. So many people think that religion is the only cause for terrorism. I can bet any amount of money that atheists are capable of murder and terrorism as much as theists are.
Every time I eat Mexican food, I see it as my own little act or terrorism.
Pineapple's correct. The Baader-Meinhoff gang were hardly religious.
I wouldn't say that religion is the only way, but it is a great motivator. Freedom is another good one. And one that a lot of people have died for. But, today, I think you'll find that the vast majority of terrorism does happen at the hands of religion.
The main reason is that a lot of terrorism is one way trips, and you need a major motivator for one way trips. Religion is a great way to rally people to make a 1-way trip when their direct freedom and other things are not being threatened.
Terrorism is an ambiguous term. The US is the most terroristic nation in the world, and has committed it's acts without religion being a primary motivator. Nationalism, repression, and more can all lead to the motivation for terrorism. One of the biggest factors would be the inability to fight any other way. Which is what we see when looking at terrorist groups today. Were any of them to band together and form an army, it would be squashed within minutes.
Enlightened Atheist, Gaming God.
I haven't read this book yet:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dying_to_Win:_The_Strategic_Logic_of_Suicide_Terrorism
But I want to
Ch. 1: The Growing Threat
Pape claims to have compiled the world’s first “database of every suicide bombing and attack around the globe from 1980 through 2003 — 315 attacks in all” (3). “The data show that there is little connection between suicide terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism, or any one of the world’s religions. . . . Rather, what nearly all suicide terrorist attacks have in common is a specific secular and strategic goal: to compel modern democracies to withdraw military forces from territory that the terrorists consider to be their homeland” (4). It is important that Americans understand this growing phenomenon (4-7).
Cpt_pineapple
None of us is saying that religion makes someone a terrorist. Just that If you believe in an afterlife it's easier to die for a cause and if you believe in a magical arbitary absolute law giver you can be convinced to do even the most irrational thing - strap explosives to yourself and kill a group of men women and children who have never done anything to threaten you or your people in order to scare people like them into doing what you want. The reasons are the same as the reasons for any war, greed, feelings of being wronged or politics. Faith just makes it easier to justify it and motivate your soldiers.
As someone who thinks this life is all we get it would take a lot more to convince me to give it up and as someone who does not get my moral guidance from imaginary beings (via humans with their own agendas) It's much harder to convince me to kill someone else.
Oh, a lesson in not changing history from Mr. I'm-My-Own-Grandpa!
I couldn't have put it much better. Hopefully the next US administration will recognize this, since the current one is completely oblivious to reality.
Enlightened Atheist, Gaming God.
1st problem: Most suicide bombers target military/government/police installations or personnel, certainly not children. Not to say it doesn't happen, but it's very rare.
2nd problem: I'm as against religion as one is likely to get, and I can see myself strapping explosives to my chest under the right circumstances. The only likely factor that would stop me is my knowledge that I could cause more damage to the enemy by continuing to live than in one big bang that does some slight collateral damage. But that's a realisation born of education and training. Two things most suicide bombers lack.
Enlightened Atheist, Gaming God.
Oh my goodness NO! I do not believe that xians want to kill everyone. There are theists right here at the RRS that I like immensely and it wouldn't even cross my mind that they would be homocidal.
There might be a few crazy xians that want to kill everyone just as there might be a few crazy folks of other belief systems that feel that way.
I found the article on HuffPo and posted it simply for interesting discussion. I was not posting the article as an indication of what I think.
My sincere apologies if you are offended, Cpt!
Atheist Books, purchases on Amazon support the Rational Response Squad server.
Vastet
I can see myself strapping explosives to my chest under the right circumstances.
My point was that you would take more convincing to do it than someone with an unquestioned faith. Not that you wouldn't do it.
Oh, a lesson in not changing history from Mr. I'm-My-Own-Grandpa!
It's not you Susan, it's just that there are many people think terrorism is the by-product of religion.
That's a different subject.
I answered your comment saying that you didn't know if I thought all xians wanted to kill everyone. (No, I don't think that.)
However, I do think a lot of terrorism is the byproduct of religion.
Can you say 9/11?
I think there are other kinds of terrorism, too, they just don't involve airplaines and bombs strapped to the terrorists' chests.
How about some of the stuff fundamental mormons do? If you don't believe me, read Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer .
How about folks that get in your face and forcefully tell you that you're going to hell to suffer for eternity if you don't believe exactly as they do? Granted, they (probably) aren't armed, but in my opinion, that's terrorism all the same.
Just my opinion.
Atheist Books, purchases on Amazon support the Rational Response Squad server.
There were many factors to the 9/11 attack. Yes, relgion was one of them, but some argue it was also U.S foreign policy. There are too many factors involved in any terrorist attack to pin it on just one (either political or religious).
Be careful who you call a terrorist. Yes, the fundies are self-rightous douches, but doesn't make them terrorist. I could just as easily call Paris Hilton's CD an act of terrorism, since I think it's worse than the fundies.
They were Chechen. From Chechnya.
-Triften
Well, Paris Hilton.... need either of us say more?
Atheist Books, purchases on Amazon support the Rational Response Squad server.
Pol Pot's Khmear Rouge. They killed anyone who believe in any type of religion... even Buddists.
Also, the rebels in Africa, killing hundreds of thousand of people.
Anyone who kills in the name of a pseudo-religious ideology like nationalism, fascism or communism is a religious terrorist also. There's so little difference between "religious" and "pseudo-religious" that I can say this. There are non-religious terrorists, though. Some military dictators have no religion, unless you count greed as a religion. The U.S.A. isn't officially a theocracy yet, and has committed more terrorism than any country in the last 100 years aside from Russia (MAYBE) and China. So it happens, but it's rare.
Look at my blog! It's awesome!
I'm also on this Twitter thing
Hang on, I already stated that nationalism, faxism or communism aren't religous terrorist.
If the nationalist said 'God gave us this land so we will take it' THEN it will be religous terrorism.
If they said 'we were here first, so get out', then it isn't religous FLQ 'The French were here first, so English people get out of Quebec'. Or the seperatists in Russia.
Hang on, if it's pseudo-religious, like such philosophies as nationalism and communism and fascism, then I count it as religious. Are you denying the pseudo-rleigious nature of these?
Look at my blog! It's awesome!
I'm also on this Twitter thing
Hold on, I said I counted pseudo-religions as religions. Do you deny that communism and fascism and nationalism are pseudo-religious?
Look at my blog! It's awesome!
I'm also on this Twitter thing
I feel like we've had this conversation before
Anyway, They do what they do because of a common belief. (Driving out the English from Quebec for example). But that is basically the only requirement. They could be Christian, atheists, or Muslim, it doesn't matter as long as they share that political goal(s).
In my mind that is what distinguishes them from religious extremists.
I'm not denying they are working on a political 'dogma' system.