Stop the equivocating

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Catholic League President Bill Donahue writes about the terror attack on the French publication Charlie Hebdo, “Killing in response to insult, no matter how gross, must be unequivocally condemned. That is why what happened in Paris cannot be tolerated. But neither should we tolerate the kind of intolerance that provoked this violent reaction.”

Let’s take a look at all the ways this statement is morally and logically flawed. First, how do equate murder and mocking religious views? Secondly, when you kill someone, you are being intolerant. When you criticize their views, whether such opinions are religious or not, they are still alive to hold those views. Thirdly, when you rationalize murder, even claiming that the killers had a right to be angry, you are not unequivocally condemning them.

I’m sure that if such a statement was made by a Muslim leader instead of the president of the Catholic League, that Muslim would be vilified by the news media and investigated by the federal government. But the reaction to Donahue has been mild.

Many countries today are ruled by Muslim governments. In the United States, we have a secular government. But numerous alleged Christians in the Republican Party have called this a Christian nation and advocated that it be ruled accordingly. Of course, their idea of Christianity has them forgetting that greed is one of the seven deadly sins. But they use the Bible as an excuse to intrude into people’s personal lives.

Every believer claims their religion is the true one that God recognizes. Whether or not there’s a God can be debated. I hope there is. But it’s obvious that these religions were all created by humans and have the flaws you would expect from imperfect beings.

But these religions do have an influence on our political process. So since we have the right and responsibility to criticize views we believe to be wrong when they come from political parties or ideologies, the same is true for views that come from religions. Therefore, any religion, just as any political party or ideology, is open to mockery.

While a lot of wisdom has come from religion, so has a lot of nonsense. Masturbation, fornication, sodomy and homosexuality are evil? I have never heard a logical argument to justify that view.

What about the view of some Christians who believe that if you don’t accept Rabbi Jesus as your savior, you can’t get into heaven? Is this true even if you’re the most decent person in the world? Is this true even if you follow the religion of Rabbi Jesus himself?

These same people believe you can be evil all your life, repent before your death and accept Rabbi Jesus as your savior and you’ll get into heaven.

Rabbi Jesus is quoted as saying about those who nailed him to the cross, “Forgive them Lord for they know not what they do.” So he forgave his murderers who obviously did not believe he was the savior but he won’t forgive a decent person with the same lack of belief?

Many people, including Rabbi Jesus himself and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., have used religion in a worthy way. But the ones who murder in the name of God are still murderers. The ones who draw cartoons are not.

Richard Warren is a retired transit worker and longtime Van Cortlandt resident. Point of view is a column open to all.

Charlie Hebdo, religion, Richard Warren

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