The God Squad

Do you remember a few months ago when some guy went on a killing spree in an Atlanta courthouse? He was in court on assault charges, and he grabbed the bailiff's gun, shot the judge and a few cops and fled. He then took a woman named Ashley Smith hostage in her apartment for a day or so before he surrendered.

The way the story was told, Ms. Smith read him passages from the spiritual best-seller "The Purpose-Driven Life" - and after contemplating his life and relationship with God, he surrendered. The Christian Coalition, famous for admonishing everyday people for sinful lifestyles and neglect towards God, jumped all over this story. As an institution (note: I have nothing against the right to practice Christian beliefs) their hypocrisy has always urked me; publicly telling people how to have a moral relationship with a higher power, while they completely ignore their own words in their personal lives. In my mind, your relationship with God, Yahweh, Allah, etc. is too personal an issue to be dictated by people who don't even know you - as if they have all the answers, some secret phone line with Heaven. And they are especially harsh on us "blue staters", constantly accusing us of lacking morals and sound values - while divorce, crime, abortion, and polygamy are nearly twice as high in the "red states" in which they live. Well, they seized upon this Atlanta story to demonstrate their message - how God loves all, and had shown himself and his power and mercy through Ms. Smith; how that power and mercy, brought through Ms. Smith, saved the gunman's life and soul, etc.

I just want to take a minute to point and laugh at them. Turns out Ms. Smith was a meth addict, and she gave some to the gunman during their encounter as well. For all we know, they could have been reading The Little Engine That Could and had a "spiritual awakening". I wonder if the God Squad would agree that methamphetamine use saves souls?