A suspected Islamic terrorist opened fire at a gay nightclub in Florida, killing 50 people and wounding another 53 before he was killed by police. While authorities continue to investigate to determine whether this man had ties to ISIS, the terror organization has not been quiet in praising the attack. This comes three days after ISIS announced they would attack somewhere in Florida. Today's attack marks the largest act of terrorism on US soil since 9/11.
takyon: The gunman reportedly called 911 emergency services to pledge allegiance to ISIS. The President will hold a briefing momentarily. Compare this article to the original submission.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by quintessence on Sunday June 12 2016, @08:10PM
Actually, I think it is perfectly appropriate to put those aspects of Christianity on point: where do you stand?
Let's not forget the KKK is a Christian organization (and at its height, the largest fraternal organization in the US) that used the Bible as a justification for slavery and condemning blacks, but that interpretation of Christianity has been beaten to the dirt, and is so far removed from mainstream Christianity that most Christians would be deeply offended by the implication.
And so it is with homosexuals, with at least aspects of Christianity adopting a more tolerant "hate the sin, but not the sinner" stance; the parallels to the KKK's take on race relations and a vocal part of Christianity on homosexuals is unmistakable: where do you stand?
Having Christians answer to the virulent rhetoric is a good thing, and at least they can discuss among themselves where the "God Hates Fags" path leads.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Sunday June 12 2016, @09:08PM
It leads to broken bones and severe lacerations if those Westboro wack-a-doodles ever show up at a funeral I'm attending.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Monday June 13 2016, @03:42PM
Inb4 they sue you and win because they're all lawyers and that's part of the plan.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday June 13 2016, @07:26PM
Still worth it.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by SecurityGuy on Monday June 13 2016, @12:53AM
I'll take this one. I was raised Roman Catholic, though I've been nonpracticing and am growing more and more comfortable with atheism.
There's no part of this that any part of the church I used to belong to would endorse. Killing people because they don't follow the rules of the RC church would be murder, and a first-class, do-not-pass Go ticket to hell. They do have this weird (to me) deal where you can be forgiven pretty much anything as long as you confess it (and really mean it, and really stop doing it), but seeing as this guy was killed in the act, my old church would say he's irrevocably in hell forever.
Where do I stand? I don't think other people's sexuality is any of my concern unless they're a potential partner. I think many of the world's problems could be solved if we just left each other alone.
(Score: 2) by quintessence on Monday June 13 2016, @02:14AM
Killing people because they don't follow the rules of the RC church would be murder
Apparently you haven't heard of the Inquisition or the Crusades.
Point being institutional change doesn't happen in a vacuum, and even for the long storied history of the Catholic Church, there are reformers, there are doubts as to how the Church should progress, and, most importantly, the Church can admit mistakes were made and change course.
God may not be infallible, but perhaps our understanding is.
I'll even give the Church credit: with the long history it has, the present Pope is about the best you could ask for in maintaining tradition with an eye towards social change.
(Score: 2) by SecurityGuy on Monday June 13 2016, @03:44AM
I have. I was a big medieval history buff as a kid. The church I was part of in the 1900s didn't have inquisitions or crusades. They were a lot more about bake sales and the occasional carnival or bingo night.
If you want to extend the question to "Was the Inquisition wrong? Were the Crusades wrong?" Yes and yes.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 13 2016, @07:52AM
The church I was part of in the 1900s didn't have inquisitions or crusades.
They were a lot more about bake sales and the occasional carnival or bingo night.
Don't forget protecting pedo-priests. Also there is the matter of complicity in the rwandan genocide. [theguardian.com]
Neither of which the church has fully come to grips with yet.
Anecdotally, my friend was forced to marry her rapist at the age of 18 in the phillipines, and she wasn't even from a poor family - she attended the most prestigious university in the country. (15 years later she was granted an annulment by the very same priest after her husband had cracked her head open and left her for dead in the street).
I don't say that to bag on catholicism, but rather to point out that individuals can experience the same religious institution in wildly different ways.
(Score: 2) by SecurityGuy on Monday June 13 2016, @01:59PM
I haven't. That's why I left. I had kids and the fact that people knew that was happening and didn't stop it was a deal breaker.