Posts

Showing posts from July, 2008

Recognition of martyrdom

Image
You will have heard about the killings at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church this previous Sunday. The following account is drawn from the Associated Press story . (You may see further information at knoxnews.com .) According to authorities, the gunman "targeted the congregation out of hatred for its liberal policies, including its acceptance of gays." The attack Sunday morning lasted only minutes. But the anger behind it may have been building for months, if not years. "It appears that what brought him to this horrible event was his lack of being able to obtain a job, his frustration over that, and his stated hatred for the liberal movement," Police Chief Sterling Owen said. Amy Broyles was visiting the church to see her daughter in the play. She said [the gunman] "was a man who was hurt in the world and feeling that nothing was going his way," she said. "He turned the gun on people who were mostly likely to treat him lovingly and