Is There A Christian Word For Fatwa?

Last week, a Texas judge ruled that publicly praying for harm to be done to another person is perfectly okay.  In the time-honored tradition of giving religion a free pass for behavior - inciting violence - which could be prosecutable as a felony in any other context - especially, say, if people use their freedom of speech to demand justice when a brown person is murdered in cold blood - District Court Judge Martin Hoffman  made a summary judgement against Mikey Weinstein in favor of the former navy chaplain who had publicly posted an imprecatory prayer - Psalm 109, to be precise - for Weinstein's annihilation.

Non-Christians poised to gobble up Christians! Wait...

In its crowing report about the lawsuit, the religious website WNDfaith defined "imprecatory prayer" thusly:

 "An imprecatory prayer is a prayer asking God to protect the weak and faithful from the strong and wicked."

It is hard to believe that any Christians in the USA could possibly not know that they comprise nearly 80% of the population, while other religious groups account for another 5-6%.  People who do not subscribe to any official religion but still believe in a god make up a further few percentage points. So, the claim that the "faithful" in the military - who are even more numerous relative to the non-religious than those in the general population of the USA - are "weak" is incredibly disingenuous.

Gordon Klingenshmitt was one of nearly 2000 evangelical Christian chaplains who aggressively proselytize to American soldiers using public funds and with virtually no oversight. These chaplains, with the backing of COs, charge soldiers with a mission to proselytize everywhere they are deployed. Weinstein started the MRFF (Military Religious Freedom Foundation) several years ago in an effort to represent the small constituency of soldiers who suffered personal and even professional discrimination - some might even call it officially- sanctioned persecution - as a result of this unconstitutional establishment of the Christian religion within the United States military.

The judge ruled in favor of Klingenschmitt who claimed in his widely published prayer that he was "surrounded by wicked men" who were the "enemies of religious liberty".  In a military overwhelmingly staffed with Christians, where non-Christians are estimated to be outnumbered by nearly 90 to 1, it is difficult to imagine how this former navy chaplain concluded that he was "surrounded" by people who did not share his beliefs, much less how he could believe that he and his fellow Christians were the "weak" victims of the "strong and wicked" MRFF - the group whose raison d'être is to advocate for freedom from religious coercion, don't forget - and whom the Christians greatly outnumbered. It was like Goliath whining that David was looking at him during forced religious worship of Goliath's god.

Though they vastly outnumber their critics, and although they have used pressure and suppression, both through official channels and off the radar, to punish soldiers who protest the suffocating Christian crusading in the American military, people like Klingenschmitt claim to be persecuted for their beliefs. Klingenschmitt denied any ulterior motive, but by invoking Psalm 109 - notorious verses in the Old Testament inciting violence against "enemies" - he sent a message to the fringe elements among his co-religionists that the MRFF, and Weinstein and his family in particular, were legitimate targets for Christian vengeance. Then, he pretended to be the injured party, innocent of any wrongdoing.

What? This is just an

innocent coffee mug!

How do Christians justify such shockingly blatant lies?

As outrageous as it is that the courts have failed to protect a private citizen from the brazen call for his destruction by a powerful religious leader, this is not the first nor even the most shocking example of how religious privilege in the USA allows the elite leadership of the powerful Christian majority to threaten its enemies with impunity. A recent, and chilling, example of this type of perniciously subversive incitement of violence came to light shortly after the 2008 election of President Barack Obama.

Psalm 109 has been passed around the internet and referenced on bumper stickers, hats and t-shirts ever since shortly after the election of Barack Obama in November 2008.  Christians who sported the hats, t-shirts and bumper stickers disingenuously claimed no harm, no foul. Some columnists - once again in the time-honored tradition of giving religion a free pass on egregiously bad behavior - speculated that the people behind the imprecatory prayer (including pastors and devout bible-studying Christians) may not have been familiar with the full text of the psalm. Considering the emphasis on Bible study in fundamentalist Christianity, this assertion beggars belief.

Pretending that they are not using coded language or political dog whistles is yet another example of the stealth conservative strategy of the religious right, backed by powerful corporate interests in the unholy alliance formed during the Reagan era. Creating social tension to win political power has been the stock in trade of the Christian Coalition for two decades. Establishing plausible deniability in the event of an outbreak of the very violence incited by the coded language is the purpose of using secrecy and coded language. In the words of Ralph Reed, Christian Coalition leader:

What? This is just an

innocent teddy bear!

"But that's just good strategy. It's like guerrilla warfare. If you reveal your location, all it does is allow your opponent to improve his artillery bearings. It's better to move quietly, with stealth, under cover of night." Continuing, "I want to be invisible. I do guerrilla warfare. I paint my face and travel at night. You don't know it's over until you're in a body bag. You don't know until election night." Ralph Reed, 1992

Feigning innocence of having any wish that actual, physical harm might come to progressives, including the President - and under the protection of the privilege which religion enjoys in this culture - right-wing conservative elites were able to send a message - put out a de facto contract - to the most radical members of its much-vaunted "base". Psalm 109  was a coded reminder of all the Sunday morning exhortations that good Christians were under attack by a wicked, powerful enemy and that if anything should happen to these "enemies", it would be a righteous judgement from God.

Bible-believing Christians are proudly familiar with their Bible verses.  There is little doubt that most Evangelicals were "in on the joke" even as they were protesting that it was just a bit of post-election "fun". Just to be clear, however, here is a fuller passage from Psalm 109 from the Book of David, in the Bible:

What? This is just an
innocent prayer for our president!

8 Let his days be few; and let another take his office. 
9 Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow. 
10 Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg: let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places. 
11 Let the extortioner catch all that he hath; and let the strangers spoil his labour. 
12 Let there be none to extend mercy unto him: neither let there be any to favour his fatherless children. 
13 Let his posterity be cut off; and in the generation following let their name be blotted out. 

Having sent up the alarm, brazenly and in plain sight, while professing innocence of any subtextual motive, the right-wing conservative powerhouses and their political arm - the Republican party - continued to spout patriotic platitudes while they worked tirelessly to undermine the foundations of the Republic for their own political and financial gain. If the strategy is successful, they will need only to sit back and let paranoia and delusions of Christian persecution - well-stoked for over two decades in the nation's megachurches and home-schooling movement - take their natural course as the fabric of society unravels in the face of the constant onslaught of religious and social strife.

What? This is just an

 innocent cell phone case!

The deployment of a Bible verse to commit or incite retaliatory action against one's perceived enemies is the one way that a person in a Christian- dominated culture might be able to get away - sometimes literally - with murder.  That a federal judge threw out the Mikey Weinstein case - and punished him for seeking a legal remedy by making him pay court costs and damages - is an indication that this situation may get worse before it gets better.

One small, significant irony in the situation should not be missed, however.
In declaring that there was no real harm - or potential for harm - suffered by Weinstein as a direct result of the imprecatory prayer for his destruction, the judge was ruling that Klingenschmitt's god does not exist.  If the court believed that the god actually existed - the Biblical god capable of smiting Weinstein - then the prayer would have been as dangerous as a mob contract, and Klingenschmitt would be facing trial for a felony offense.

By ruling that the prayer was irrelevant and caused no harm, the judge threw the weight of a U.S. federal court behind a ruling that God does not exist. Classic.

Digital Cuttlefish at FreeThoughtBlogs wrote an excellent poem summing this up far better, and far more succinctly, than I have done here:

Suppose you ask a hired gun
To wipe somebody out—
Could you be held responsible?
Of that there’s little doubt.

Protect yourself from legal woes

What? This is just an innocent t-shirt!

Behind this false façade—
When issuing a mortal threat,
Pretend you’re asking God!

So long as God is impotent
And cannot have His way—
You want your God to smite my ass?
Then go ahead and pray.

If someone overhears you, and
Decides to be God’s sword—

You’re innocent, cos you were only
Talking to the Lord.

Your prayer was posted publicly,
Where anyone could see—
The claim is still “It’s just a talk
Between the Lord and me.”

It’s funny… if there was a God
You’d ask, your soul to spare—
And if you tried out this defense…
You wouldn’t have a prayer.

What? These are just innocent bumper stickers!

Update:  Chris Rodda at This Week in Christian Nationalism blogged about the kind of ridiculously offensive mail that Mikey Weinstein regularly receives.  For a sickening glimpse into the mind of the true believer,  check out Chris's birthday post for Mikey Weinstein here.  And a belated Happy Birthday to you, Mikey Weinstein.

Midweek Madness - Stand Your Ground

Cartoon by Matt Bors for comics at Daily Kos

I'd like to be able to write with eloquence and insight about the events surrounding the murder of Trayvon Martin, but I simply cannot.  A roundup of news and views will have to suffice.  My apologies. 


CBS is reporting this morning that the investigation into the shooting of Trayvon Martin has been dialed back to 'start'. 


CNN reports witnesses remarks about the shooting. 


The blogosphere has been lit up with discussion, outrage and horror over the incident.  I am linking to some of the ones that I found thoughtful and/or thought-provoking. 


Al Stefanelli, as usual, forces you to think from a slightly different angle.  Why George Zimmerman hasn't been arrested yet. 


The Digital Cuttlefish summarizes the terrible quandary of black youth in verse, and recaps with links to other FTbloggers. Headline Muse. 


Melissa McEwan provides updates at Shakesville.  Trayvon Martin Updates.

Here is the full text of the Florida statute known as the "Stand your ground" law.  The full text reveals the language which might provide loopholes for a person determined to use this law to commit legal murder, in spite of passages which reflect what one would hope was the real intent of the law.  (Emphasis mine)

776.012 Use of force in defense of person.—A person is justified in using force, except deadly force, against another when and to the extent that the person reasonably believes that such conduct is necessary to defend himself or herself or another against the other’s imminent use of unlawful force. 

                                                              and:

776.031 Use of force in defense of others.—A person is justified in the use of force, except deadly force, against another when and to the extent that the person reasonably believes that such conduct is necessary to prevent or terminate the other’s trespass on, or other tortious or criminal interference with, either real property other than a dwelling or personal property, lawfully in his or her possession or in the possession of another who is a member of his or her immediate family or household or of a person whose property he or she has a legal duty to protect. However, the person is justified in the use of deadly force only if he or she reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony. A person does not have a duty to retreat if the person is in a place where he or she has a right to be.

When You Get Garbage Email

You know how from time to time, we all receive group or chain emails which are sometimes cute but often pretty annoying?  Sometimes it is a harmless fluff piece about friendship (Celebrate Girlfriends!) or a sweet little piece about family relationships (Celebrate our wonderful moms/ dads/ aunts/ uncles/ sons/ daughters!). Often it is an urgent communiqué bursting with homeopathic woo or simple common sense (This secret may save your life! <Drink more water ;)>), but let's be honest:  more often than not, these mass mailings are right-wing rants about the unpatriotic liberal/ commie/ socialist/ godless/ not really American/ OBAMA-monster!

"It" again?!

These screeds don't just clutter up your INBOX.  They don't just stink up mine. They infest email inboxes all over the country - all over the world - and they spread dirty lies.  They are sent via email "trees" to thousands of people who receive them from people they trust. Some of the recipients may just delete these emails without opening them, but many others' attention is snagged by the catchy subject lines, so they open the emails and read the poisonous contents. All too usually, the recipients suspend their disbelief. They suspend all critical thinking skills. They accept these vile messages as gospel truth because it comes to them from a friend or relative. None of us wants to believe that a trusted source like a friend or relative would send us frightening or disgusting lies, and most of us still hold fast to the "where there is smoke, there is fire" folk wisdom. These groups depend on that general tendency to trust; they create the smoke using unconscious and conscious bigotry, photoshop and sheer blatant lies. Then they disseminate the disgusting product throughout the inter web via unsuspecting networks of friends, coworkers and families.

Most progressives simply delete these awful emails and try not to think of them when we see the friends or relatives who sent or forwarded them to us. But is there something more we could or should be doing?  I am inclined to think that yes, we could and, more importantly, we should do something more about this. These emails are not benign.  They are not in the same league as the "Let's celebrate girlfriends!" chain mail, but I think the strategy is to have them fly under the radar pretending to be just as harmless and/or benignly "informative" as those.

What?! 

No. These emails are like the spreading of a cancer.  Email tree chains quickly spread to thousands and then millions of people. This is a propaganda tool which we have ignored at our peril.  Most of the time, we ignore it because we do not want uncomfortable confrontations with friends or relatives. But here's the thing: the groups spreading this vicious garbage are counting on that.

I think there is at least one way that we can fight back.  One way to counteract this sort of vicious campaign of lies which most progressives can get behind.  Fight the lies with - it's so obvious - the truth!  Of course, if it were that simple, the truth would have worked all along.  Unfortunately, people who are caught up in this sort of chain mailing propaganda - mail coming from trusted friends and relatives remember - are often caught with their guards down, therefore prime targets for lies and smear tactics.

During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.George Orwell

Getting people to accept the truth - when it contradicts what trusted friends and relatives are telling them - is a challenge, but it can be done.

 Photo may cause apoplexy

Here is advice I've adapted from the excellent methods shared by Aratina Cage, a blogger and frequent commenter on Pharyngula.  I think it is brilliant.

-Create an anonymous email account (a nice touch - and truthful! - might be to give your new email account a patriotic-sounding moniker. Something like trueblueamerican@?mail.com). You will have to give the email server your info, but the recipients of the mass emails will just see the patriotic sender's address.  Maintain your usual email for your regular email.

-Generate a new mass emailing to all recipients of the original obnoxious "patriotic" hate email. Include yourself and the sender of the original email.

-Copy and paste the Time cover photo of Obama and Reagan (pictured left).

-Beneath the picture, remind the recipients that President Obama is the current head of state,  and you just know that they are all very interested in his accomplishments.

-Helpfully provide links to political tracking sites such as PolitiFact.  The Obameter there keeps track of the President's accomplishments and his fulfillment of campaign promises. It also keeps track of where he has failed to deliver.

-Encourage the recipients to keep tabs on the President's daily activities via the White House Blog. There, they will be kept informed of news, videos and ideas directly from the administration.

-Last, provide a link to Snopes where you can urge the recipients to fact-check chain emails to be sure that  they are always armed with the truth and can never be fooled by fiction presented as fact.

-Keep everything in a file labeled "nuisance emails" and repeat every time you receive a propaganda email.

Aratina Cage has come up with a great idea and I plan to start using it immediately.  In fact, I now find that I welcome these types of emailings!  With this method, freethinkers and progressives can refute the destructive, fear-mongering false claims of the anti-Obama reactionaries using their own methods.  And for those of us who shy away from confrontation with relatives and friends, it is all anonymous.

These mass emailings spread lies and frighteningly damaging propaganda. It's time to fight fire with water. Or, more appropriately perhaps, we ought to fight filthy garbage with powerful cleansers!

(Courtesy of chigau, Pharyngula commenter) Check out the name on the plumbing truck the white knight is charging towards. Classic: