Monday, March 14, 2011

A Response to One Who is Thankful for the Tragedy in Japan

I was wondering when we'd start seeing things like this. And, by "things", I mean "crap". I guess I was hoping and praying that the wackos would keep quiet about the horrific tragedies in Japan. Sadly, we're not that lucky. I simply do not understand how it is that people can say these kinds of things.

(I warn you that this video is, in my opinion, incredibly offensive. If you are one of those people who is prone to throwing things when you get angry or such like that...well...you've been warned.)



To say that I am disgusted by this person's words is, perhaps, the understatement of the century.

At first, I figured that this must be a prank video - intended to parody so-called Christians like Pat Robertson and John Piper. But, alas, I don't think that is actually the case. I looked at her profile on YouTube, and I'm fairly certain that she attends (or is at the least greatly influenced by) the Chalcedon Presbyterian Church in Cumming, Georgia. I saw the word "Presbyterian" and nearly came unglued. I quickly checked to see what particular "flavor" of Presbyterian this church claims, and I discovered that they identify with the Reformed Presbyterian Church in the United States. I have a few friends who attend RPCUS churches -- and the RPCUS is quite different from the PCUSA -- but I don't think that this person in the video is a good spokesperson for that denomination.

The real Christians that I know aren't cruel, hate-filled people who think that we should celebrate when tragedy strikes -- they are kind, love-filled people who reach out to friends and enemies alike in the name of Christ. The real Christians that I know don't believe that God is all about separation -- they believe that God is all about reconciliation. The real Christians that I know leave pronouncements of judgement and damnation COMPLETELY up to God -- they don't pretend that they can make those kinds of pronouncements themselves.

The creator of the video posted above calls Christians to prayer. And I say, let's do it. Let's pray fervently throughout this Lenten season. But, I would encourage us all to pray in ways that don't put words into God's mouth. Instead of praying for things like destruction and vengeance, let's dare to pray for those things for which Christ suggested we pray: pray for your own ability to forgive (Mark 11:25); and pray for your enemies and those who persecute you, so that you might demonstrate your love for them as God demonstrates love for you (Matthew 5:43-48). May we learn to pray in ways that answer God's call for us to love as Christ so loved us...

5 comments:

Jane said...

Did I hear her right? Did she say "lentil season?"

Beloved Spear said...

It's not real. tamtampamela was a well known presence on YouTube. She's not Christian, but an adolescent atheist posing as a Christian. On YouTube, she had gotten well known as an attention troll...saying horrible, outrageous Westboro Baptisty things...to offend both less-discerning atheists (who assumed, from bias, that she was real) and less-discerning Christians (who made the same mistake.) She fled YouTube, after admitting she was a fake, when this post angered some 4chan hackers, who found her home address and telephone number and posted it repeatedly to her YouTube.

Whichever way, it's sad.

Beloved Spear said...

And, realizing that comment might sound a bit smug, it is hard to tell. Parodies of fundamentalism are hard to parse out from the real thing. I had to do some digging to figure it out.

Amy said...

Indeed. I'm glad to discover that it was "fake". But, what is so sad about this is that what she said as a spoof as been said by others - and they meant every word. Take this artcle for example: http://www.outofur.com/archives/2011/03/horror_and_hope.html

Lord have mercy!

Amy said...

@Jane - yes... I do believe that she used the phrase "lentil season". In retrospect, this could have been a big clue to this being a fake...

And now I'm hungry for lentil soup...