Listening to some of the quotes from the Amish people this week reminded me of what religion should be like - kind, non-judgemental, forgiving.
“As we were standing next to the body of this 13-year-old girl, the grandfather was tutoring the young boys, he was making a point, just saying to the family, ‘We must not think evil of this man,’ ” the Rev. Robert Schenck told CNN.
Wow. Of course I was slapped back to the reality of what religion really is when members of the Westboro Baptist Church first decided to picket the Amish funerals and then thought better of it. Apparently they believe Governor Rendell’s sins are responsible for the deaths in Lancaster. And me thinking it was a homicidal child molestor. That God’s will is performed through the hands of someone like this.
These are the type of religious zealots that have me down on religion. How can these people pretend to be peaceful or christ loving?
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Kristen
October 6th, 2006 at 11:20 am
I just keep being astounded by the strength of the Amish community’s beliefs. I’m just reading here in an article about the funerals that the family of one girl reach out to the lunatic’s wife and invite her to the service. A fund set up for the families to defray medical costs has been getting a lot of publicity, but Amish leaders also asked for one to be set up for the wife and three kids left behind by the gunman. These people don’t preach…they practice the true principles of Christianity. Showing kindness, granting forgiveness, turning the other cheek, demonstrating tolerance, and caring about others in the face of your own pain.
And all this without ministers thumping Bibles and hogging camera time on Fox News talking about how they know what values are and what God is and everyone not with them is doomed. The Amish just shut up and do it; they don’t have to decalre how spiritual they are, judging everyone in the room whilst distorting the very values Jesus taught his disciples.
It’s amazing to see their brand of compassion in action, especially at such a difficult time, and I admire their community so much for it.
Merujo
October 7th, 2006 at 10:54 pm
I cried when I saw the coroner crying on TV, and I knew just how awful it was. I cried again when I read a quote from a local Amish woodworker who said of the killer’s family, “I hope they stay here. They will find a great deal of support and many friends.”
And the freaks from Westboro Baptist Church? Wouldn’t it be divine if, when they reached the Pearly Gates, they found out that God was a work-boot-clad lesbian veteran? (And she was pissed?) I honestly thought their website was just a sick joke when I first saw it years ago. I’m torn between “scary” and “sad” when I think of them. Whackjobs.
Spencer
October 9th, 2006 at 1:32 pm
And to add to it all, the Amish were a visible presence at the killers funeral. These people are thoroughly amazing. At a time when they should want to pull away from our overly violent, self-centered society, they do the opposite.