Awakenings
Sep. 13th, 2006 05:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lurkittyHello deep end.
Steve "Crocodile Hunter" Irwin's death was shocking to the fans who followed his exploits for many years. His passion for conservation of the environment and love for all animals was apparent in his work. What is now apparent is that some "fans" just didn't get it. Maimed stingrays are being found off of Queensland in a grizzly series of apparent revenge killings.
Steve Irwin spent a lifetime trying to convey a message to find beauty in creatures people traditionally have found ugly and fearsome. He was fully aware that one day, one of those creatures may kill him. He tried to prepare his fans for that day. We find it sad that some of his fans ignored the message he worked his whole life to convey.
We read with interest Mr. Bush's statements yesterday that there is a Third Great Awakening in America. For those not tracking Awakenings, historians have tracked several religious ones in the period from 1730 to 1960. In dispute is how many there have been. The first is said to have spawned Methodism. The second, in 1830, is said to have been the source of The Church of Christ, The Latter-Day Saints, and The Seventh-day Adventists. Some track a third starting in 1858, that spawned the Salvation Army, the YMCA and Christian Science.
We are reminded of last month's pyrrhic talking point tactic identifying this as WWIII...or WWIV...or WWV. Because no one could agree how many World Wars we have fought (clue: 2), and because real WWII vets are very angry to have their hellish experience marginalized, the World War talking point died. Now we have the foundation of an argument for a religious war. Listen to what is being said here:
"A lot of people in America see this as a confrontation between good and evil, including me," Bush said..." Thus we link being a good Christian with supporting the war. If you don't support the war, you are supporting evil. You are not part of the Great Awakening!
His aid was quick on cleanup duty. "He's drawing a parallel in terms of a resurgence, in dangerous times, of people going back to their religion," said one aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the session was not open to other journalists. "This is not 'God is on our side' or anything like that." We have heard such public denials in the past. We wonder, however, what talking points have been sent to conservative churches by the RNC to be delivered from the pulpit in the coming weeks?
We do agree it is time for an Awakening. It is time to wrest the Bible from the clutches of the mega-churches. It is time to actually read the Book instead of relying on someone else's interpretation. If this is a war between good and evil, Mr. Bush may be truly surprised as to who is perpetrating the evil.
Steve "Crocodile Hunter" Irwin's death was shocking to the fans who followed his exploits for many years. His passion for conservation of the environment and love for all animals was apparent in his work. What is now apparent is that some "fans" just didn't get it. Maimed stingrays are being found off of Queensland in a grizzly series of apparent revenge killings.
Steve Irwin spent a lifetime trying to convey a message to find beauty in creatures people traditionally have found ugly and fearsome. He was fully aware that one day, one of those creatures may kill him. He tried to prepare his fans for that day. We find it sad that some of his fans ignored the message he worked his whole life to convey.
We read with interest Mr. Bush's statements yesterday that there is a Third Great Awakening in America. For those not tracking Awakenings, historians have tracked several religious ones in the period from 1730 to 1960. In dispute is how many there have been. The first is said to have spawned Methodism. The second, in 1830, is said to have been the source of The Church of Christ, The Latter-Day Saints, and The Seventh-day Adventists. Some track a third starting in 1858, that spawned the Salvation Army, the YMCA and Christian Science.
We are reminded of last month's pyrrhic talking point tactic identifying this as WWIII...or WWIV...or WWV. Because no one could agree how many World Wars we have fought (clue: 2), and because real WWII vets are very angry to have their hellish experience marginalized, the World War talking point died. Now we have the foundation of an argument for a religious war. Listen to what is being said here:
"A lot of people in America see this as a confrontation between good and evil, including me," Bush said..." Thus we link being a good Christian with supporting the war. If you don't support the war, you are supporting evil. You are not part of the Great Awakening!
His aid was quick on cleanup duty. "He's drawing a parallel in terms of a resurgence, in dangerous times, of people going back to their religion," said one aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the session was not open to other journalists. "This is not 'God is on our side' or anything like that." We have heard such public denials in the past. We wonder, however, what talking points have been sent to conservative churches by the RNC to be delivered from the pulpit in the coming weeks?
We do agree it is time for an Awakening. It is time to wrest the Bible from the clutches of the mega-churches. It is time to actually read the Book instead of relying on someone else's interpretation. If this is a war between good and evil, Mr. Bush may be truly surprised as to who is perpetrating the evil.
