There was a time when Christians were pretty universally opposed to the practice of feeding people to lions. The reason was simple. They were the ones being fed to lions in the Roman Colosseum. These days, however, there’s a bit of division over the practice within the Christian ranks.
On Tuesday, an Oklahoma inmate named Clayton Lockett was slowly tortured to death after a botched execution left him conscious and convulsing while strapped to a gurney. He eventually died of a heart attack 43 minutes into this ordeal.
Oklahoma state Rep. Mike Christian (R), however, apparently sees no problem with Lockett’s slow and painful death. According to a local news report, Christian said that he doesn’t care if inmates are killed by lethal injection, electrocution, a firing squad, a hanging, the guillotine or “being fed to the lions.”
The tip-off to me that this state representative is a Christian was that he is named Mike Christian. But I would have been safe assuming he’s a Christian just by knowing that he is an Oklahoma Republican. He’s probably an evangelical, too.
The early Church fathers wouldn’t recognize him as one of their own.
I don’t think it’s any revelation that the ones who beat their chests and proclaim their ‘Christian’ bona fides the loudest are probably the furthest thing from what those who initially created the religion actually believed in.
I think it’s frightfully important to tar all people who consider themselves Christian with the same brush.
But it’s important to not stop there. It’s important to tar all people of faith with that brush.
Except for the Dalai Lama’s religion — I don’t know anything about it, but he’s pretty cool — he was in an Apple ad.
So that’s an o.k. religion. But not the others They’re props for the weak-minded and tools of the oppressors,
What’s In A Name?
It’s not black/white, there are shades of grey. Speaking of oppression: “Becoming a Marxist.”
I don’t think anyone was tarring all Christians. PsiFighter was referring to those who beat their chests the loudest, and I was comparing and contrasting the pro-lion feeding Christians of today with those who actually had to deal with lions.
I don’t know what you’re on about, but I read PF37’s comments to more or less echo this sentiment. Maybe you’ve seen it before:
And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
“They have their reward”
A safe GOP seat in the OK state senate?
The purpose of sarcasm and snark begins with understanding your target really well.
How far back in time would we have to go to find the “Christians” that practiced what their messiah preached?
The current crop are well within the traditions established with the Inquisition and witch trials. And they’ve been initiating wars their god since they acquired wealth and power.
How far back in time would we have to go to find the “Christians” that practiced what their messiah preached?
Ten minutes? Just don’t restrict your search to bishops and pastors, and it’s a snap.
I always try to remember the nice Christians, but the nasty ones make so much damn noise!
It’s the ignorant, vicious, assholish 90% of OK evangelical christianists that give the others a bad name.
They’re too nasty to feed to lions. Maggots would be just right.
It’s a fairly uniform phenomenon – those who proclaim themselves to be something usually aren’t. If you have to proclaim “I’m the man!” then you’re likely a wannabe. If you have to proclaim that you’re in charge then you’re likely trying to catch up. If you wear a Big Johnson t-shirt…
Shit…. it’s as if this could even apply to progressives!
“Oklahoma state Rep. Mike Christian (R)…”
This should even be funny for Conservatives and Republicans, if only they didn’t suffer from an “Irony Deficiency!”
This fat slob is trying to impeach 5 judges who are standing in the way of State sponsored torture.
Let that sink in. Your republican party is really happy with State sponsored torture.
Also, Mike is a three time disability moocher. Full time grif, full time hate.
Speaking of conservative Christians in support of execution by lion, I just learned that Princeton’s undergrad conservative journal is called the “Princeton Tory”, demonstrating nicely, I think, how truly patriotic they are by highlighting their affinity with George III and Lord North. There’s some kind of interesting pattern here…
So basically he’s saying he doesn’t believe in the eighth amendment, and I have yet to see a comment from an elected Republican who disagrees with him.
To paraphrase a Palinism, this Oklahoma guy named Christian is hollering “Crucify, baby, crucify.”
If you are at all Biblically literate, let that one sink in for a minute.
That ship sailed long ago. Just look up one of the Bush/Cheney torture techniques that they learned from the Israelis, called ‘Palestinian Hanging’
It’s not the ‘nails’ that make the ‘crucifixion’; it’s the ‘stress position’.
These red state white heterosexual (real or pretending) conservative Republican Christian religious bigots have a very simple paradigm:
where you is everyone that’s not me or not just like me.
‘Not me or not just like me’ covers:
non-white,
non-heterosexual,
non-conservative,
non-Republican,
non-Christian religious bigots.
Those subhumans can roast in gay, Kenyan, liberal, Mooslim Hell !!
Actually, once the early Christians achieved power, they fed the pagans to the lions. The Emperor who ended the practice was a minority pagan emperor. I think it was Julian the Apostate.
Until sometime around 350AD, for a Christian to kill another human being – for any reason – was an excommunicable offense.
When Constantine required all army officers to become Christians things went down hill.
Now it’s hard to find a Christian that questions the Christian ethics of joining the armed forces.
There are some progressive evangelicals. But a lot of views of the white evangelical churches are a complete, utter lies.
Here is a guy who has been studying the traditions of Christian non-violence for decades. I first ran into him at Pax Christi around 1980:
http://www.emmanuelcharlesmccarthy.org/