A Christian Liberal is NOT an oxymoron.

Posted by XT on July 30th, 2008 in Progressive Faith

Rev. Debra Haffner writes:

According to news reports, Mr. Adkisson, frustrated by his inability to find employment “targeted the church because of its liberal teachings” and that he “hated liberals in general, as well as gays.” Surely, in a few days, these murders will be labeled a hate crime and calls will go out for better mental health care services and gun control. Horrifically, the blogosphere already contains hateful comments about how the shootings were a rational response to the Unitarian Universalist Association’s commitment to full inclusion and social justice.

I read this and thought, “What kind of sick world are we living in where a church - a house of worship - is specifically sought out for violence because it offers haven to all?” Barely had the thought been completed before I realized that this may be the least of our sickness.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a hate crime or not - I have always felt that hatred is inherent in every crime and no crime is made more or less heinous because of the emotional state of the criminal. Better mental health care would likely not help - a person can walk into any hospital and say, “I need help before I shoot someone” and get it. Gun control won’t stop it - there were no, as far as I know, felonies on this man’s record.

Like so much gun violence - like so much violence, firearms or no - this seems almost entirely random. But unlike the school shootings that we’ve seen in recent years, there was no history of antagonism towards the shooter. And there was no connection to the church itself, as there was in Colorado. Rather, the church was a symbol of a hated ideology. No one could predict that this church would suffer on this day, but it is rather predictable that the symbol of so much hate from so many directions would suffer one day, soon or late.

It is right for those who preach hatred to be called to task. It is appropriate to examine the roots of our own beliefs as we try to deal with such a thing. We can identify and catalogue the types of sickness, but it amounts to the same equation - we live in a sick world.

I would not presume to say anything about how a congregation should deal with such trauma. I can’t imagine it. It is a struggle to even get my mind to contemplate it.

I wish I had more to say about this. I wish I had some words of wisdom or comfort. All I have is this: We live in a sick world.