Just thought this quote was spot on and wanted to relay it.
The best way to keep your perspective is to understand that Osama Bin Laden and fundamentalist zealot Muslims are about as representative of Islam as Jerry Falwell, Jack Chick, and Pat Robertson are representative of Christianity. Once you get that, the rest is cake. – Toastrider, explaining the basics
BUT, would the latter group (or did the latter group) murder thousands of people, steal property, and destroy property? Somehow, I can’t put these 2 groups on an even scale, although I admit to not knowing much about Jerry Falwell, Jack Chick, and Pat Robertson.
They would if a Muslim nation was the last global superpower.
I believe that Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson already are responsible for property destruction and death–look at the abortion clinic crazies. I don’t have any cites but I believe that Eric Rudolph is responsible for killing people at the behest of Falwell and Robertson. The two differences between Osama bin Laden and Falwell and Robertson is:
Falwell and Robertson whip their constituents into a frenzy and generalize about getting rid of the abortionists but never openly order their followers to action, and
Their body count is much lower than Osama bin Laden’s.
When Falwell and Robertson apologized for their remarks, I noticed that they didn’t seem particularly sorry; they just regretted the timing.
:eek:
You must be joking.
Falwell, Robertson etc. suck, but as brother Jules said, “it ain’t the same ballpark, ain’t the same league, ain’t even the same fuckin’ sport.”
bin Laden funds and operates military training camps, where people learn and are encouraged to participate in the killing of innocents. He and his liutenants are directly involved in the planning and execution of terrible atrocities. He pours huge amounts of money into this exercise, and his widely distributed words are not even slightly vague in their direction for the killing of innocents, even when they are worshippers of his own god, whom he claims drives his actions.
To compare Fallwell to bin Laden is to admit a terrible ignorance. And this from somebody who has no respect for Falwell.
Robertson, Falwell, and other members of the Televan have been stealing money from gullible viewers and the U.S. government in the form of tax free status for decades.
When abortion providers received letters supposedly tainted with Anthrax in '98 & '99 there was no outcry…
Don’t blame the terrorists, the victims brought it on themselves.
After the 9/11 attack occurred, they came out with the following:
JERRY FALWELL: And, I know that I’ll hear from them for this. But, throwing God out successfully with the help of the federal court system, throwing God out of the public square, out of the schools. The abortionists have got to bear some burden for this because God will not be mocked. And when we destroy 40 million little innocent babies, we make God mad. I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way - all of them who have tried to secularize America - I point the finger in their face and say “you helped this happen.”
PAT ROBERTSON: Well, I totally concur, and the problem is we have adopted that agenda at the highest levels of our government. And so we’re responsible as a free society for what the top people do. And, the top people, of course, is the court system.
The level of rhetoric and vitriol in their statements doesn’t seem to me to be that far off. Taliban/Televan, both interpreting God’s word and passing judgement on whoever is not onboard with their take on it.
If not the same ballpark, it sounds like the same sport.
However, if the point of the OP was “Don’t think bin Laden represents Islam. There are plenty of wacky people in all religions.”, then yeah I agree.
Not really a poll, so I’m moving this to MPSIMS.