Religious Left

by Mindy Boggs The Huntsville Times We cannot simply dismiss the recent Knoxville Unitarian church shooting with "There's another lunatic among us, and you just never know, so let's beef up security in the parking lot." No, we need to do much more than that. We need to examine "public opinion" and the people and institutions who "shape" that opinion. You do not have to be "crazy," or the town lunatic, to commit murder, as this man did. You just have to believe strongly enough about something. When someone places all responsibility for society's ills (or their personal ills), as they define them, on a group of people who share a different ethnic background, religion, or political beliefs, one may come to hate this group so much, it triggers the desire to commit a crime and "sacrifice" oneself, along with the "guilty" ones. Generalizing, stereotyping, blaming can lead to ideological fanaticism. When we hear it, read ...

by Will Moredock The Charleston City Newspaper When Jim Adkisson walked into a Unitarian Universalist church in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 27 and opened fire with a 12-gauge semiautomatic shotgun, he said he did it because he was angry at "liberals." Among the Americans who called themselves Unitarians were Thomas Jefferson, John and John Quincy Adams, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Adlai Stevenson. There are too many hate-mongers in the pulpits and on the airwaves in America, telling people like Jim Adkisson that the source of their pain is liberals or blacks or homosexuals. (He probably found all three at the Tennessee Valley UU Church on July 27.) So when we hand out responsibility for this tragedy, let's not forget Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Pat Robertson. Without the culture of hate they have been brewing over the last 20 years, this could not have happened. full article

Editorial The Anniston Star On Sunday, a gunman shot up Knoxville's Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, killing two worshipers and injuring a half-dozen more. Jim David Adkisson, the man police are charging in the shooting, was on a mission. Authorities say he picked the Knoxville congregation "because of its liberal teachings and his belief that all liberals should be killed because they were ruining the country, and that he felt that the Democrats had tied his country's hands in the war on terror and they had ruined every institution in America with the aid of major media outlets." His views line up with the nasty, dehumanizing invective found on countless outlets, including talk radio, Fox News and conservative Web sites. On Monday, police reported that a search of Adkisson's residence revealed three book titles: The O'Reilly Factor by Bill O'Reilly, Liberalism is a Mental Disorder by Michael Savage, and Let Freedom Ring: Winning the War of ...

by James Nimmo OpEd News On Sunday, July 27, in Knoxville, TN a Unitarian Universalist Church was turned into an abattoir by a deranged man who shot seven people. Two, so far, have died. The killer is in police custody after being subdued by others in the building. The church, Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, had just recently advertised itself as a welcoming gay/lesbian affirming congregation which means exactly what it sounds like. When was the last time an openly gay/lesbian opened fire on a collection of bible fundies hot with the fire of righteousness for the cause of religious purity? When did you last hear an openly gay/lesbian legislator use their personal privilege on the floor of their state legislature or Congress to lobby for the passage of a bill that would limit any demographic group's aspect of their protection of the law as outlined in the Bill of Rights? To commemorate, but not to honor, this twisted manipulation of the public forum and society I...

By DUNCAN MANSFIELD, Associated Press Writer The York Daily Record KNOXVILLE, Tenn.—An out-of-work truck driver (Jim D. Adkisson) accused of opening fire at a Unitarian church, killing two people, left behind a note suggesting that he targeted the congregation out of hatred for its liberal policies, including its acceptance of gays, authorities said Monday. Adkisson's ex-wife once belonged to the church but hadn't attended in years, said Ted Jones, the congregation's president. Adkisson remained jailed Monday on $1 million bond after being charged with one count of murder. More charges are expected. Four victims were hospitalized in critical condition. full article