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| The Pulse Nightclub - Post Shooting |
“There’s no tragedy... I wish the government would round them all up, put them up against a firing wall, put a firing squad in front of them, and blow their brains out.”
-- Pastor Roger Jimenez, Verity Baptist Church
Note to my many readers: To save me having to rehash the points in my previous post, please follow this link and brush up on it at your leisure: Verity Baptist and the Gospel of Hate. This particular post still holds the number four position of my most read out of 593. I'm not sure what that says about it, but considering it's only six months out there, I think it must hold meaning for many. It is my hope this post will help to underline the issue which runs contrary to peace and fellowship - hate.
It is sad what evils man visits upon man; it is even more so when the evil exposes yet more evil amongst us. Let us revisit the tragedy of which I speak. 29 year old Omar Mateen, a security guard, entered the Pulse nightclub on the evening of June 12, 2016. He targeted this gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, as a radicalized message of hate toward the gay community. When his night of radicalized Islamic terror was over he would kill 49 innocent people and wound 53 others in the name of Allah. The police ended his costly, albeit short lived, reign of terror... and his life. Then, there is Roger Jimenez and his Verity Baptist Church.
I'm not up on what shooter did inside the club, but we can all see what the police did to the outside of it. From the photo above the scene is that of a war zone, an image reminiscent of battle scarred Fallujah, Iraq. Kind of makes one wonder who really killed 49 people and wounded 53 others. Some have spread the conspiracy theory that this was a Government Staged hoax, and the people interviewed were so called "crisis" actors. The goal was to get guns off the street and nullify the 2nd Amendment. Well, I'd say it's a dismal failure if this is the case and, as moronic as our government is, I wouldn't put it passed them to come up with another dismal failure just like it. Having said this, I doubt our government had any more to do with it than they did flying jets into the World Trade Center. This is another conspiracy theory we can file with "swamp gas"; a great read that holds little or no truth.
The world would be a much different place were it not for the countless contributions of the gay community. Their tireless sacrifices for equality throughout history procured for us art, music, literature, medicine and so much more which we may have never enjoyed were it not for the gay community, and several were even instrumental in beating back the Nazis in World War II. I have included a list of famous gay men and women provided by Wikipedia, for those interested in learning more. Fair warning, however, the list is extremely long: Wikipedia - List of gay, lesbian or bisexual people.
"Pastor" Roger Jimenez of the Verity Baptist Church wasted little time supporting the radical Islamic terrorist, this religious heretic, is his crime against humanity, "There’s no tragedy... I wish the government would round them all up, put them up against a firing wall, put a firing squad in front of them, and blow their brains out." His comments in the California media drew a thousand protesters to the front of his church. Many of the protesters were Baptists showing their support for the innocent dead. You will understand if I stop using his title of "pastor" for the duration of this post, as his own heresy insults my faith, my God, and my Christ.
"Pastor" Roger Jimenez of the Verity Baptist Church wasted little time supporting the radical Islamic terrorist, this religious heretic, is his crime against humanity, "There’s no tragedy... I wish the government would round them all up, put them up against a firing wall, put a firing squad in front of them, and blow their brains out." His comments in the California media drew a thousand protesters to the front of his church. Many of the protesters were Baptists showing their support for the innocent dead. You will understand if I stop using his title of "pastor" for the duration of this post, as his own heresy insults my faith, my God, and my Christ.
July 28-31, A month and a half after the massacre in Orlando, July 28-31, Jimenez' "Red Hot Preaching Conference" drew more protesters of his hate speak.
"The preachers’ conference drew participants from around the country and as far as New Zealand. That included Steven Anderson, whose Arizona church was designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center after Anderson called for the death of President Barack Obama."-- Ellen Garrison, Sacramento Bee article
The conference spotlighted 3 other Baptist ministers and touted, "This will be a once in a lifetime opportunity. Many fantastic men of God will be preaching at this conference. This is your opportunity to meet many great men of the faith and potentially go soulwinning with very experienced soulwinners that can help you reach to the next level. Don't miss out on this opportunity!" As a Christian I have to admit my brow furrowed as I read this passage. I invite you to follow along as I take it line by line:
"This will be a once in a lifetime opportunity."
For whom? If people don't agree with Jimenez' hateful rhetoric, then true Christians will have three Baptist hatemongers in one place, then what do we do with them? Remember, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Really? They are hate mongers; surely they hang together more often.
For whom? If people don't agree with Jimenez' hateful rhetoric, then true Christians will have three Baptist hatemongers in one place, then what do we do with them? Remember, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Really? They are hate mongers; surely they hang together more often.
"Many fantastic men of God will be preaching at this conference."
Pope Francis wasn't touted as a speaker, though I was a bit surprised Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton weren't invited to add their rhetoric of divisive racism to the evening, until I read one of the listed speakers had called for the death of President Obama. So it became clear their culture of hate extends to race as well as sexual orientation.
The last sentence screamed at me to be taken one thought at a time.
Pope Francis wasn't touted as a speaker, though I was a bit surprised Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton weren't invited to add their rhetoric of divisive racism to the evening, until I read one of the listed speakers had called for the death of President Obama. So it became clear their culture of hate extends to race as well as sexual orientation.
The last sentence screamed at me to be taken one thought at a time.
"This is your opportunity to meet many great men of the faith..."
Again, the Pope was not listed, nor was the Dalai Lama, and even little Joel Osteen seemed to be slighted here. His list of questionable "men of God" would seem to consist of a few unknown hate mongers. Perhaps they are better known to the Baptist community at large, and at least one is on a list of hate groups recognized by the Southern Poverty Law Center and, probably, the FBI, and the Secret Service.
Again, the Pope was not listed, nor was the Dalai Lama, and even little Joel Osteen seemed to be slighted here. His list of questionable "men of God" would seem to consist of a few unknown hate mongers. Perhaps they are better known to the Baptist community at large, and at least one is on a list of hate groups recognized by the Southern Poverty Law Center and, probably, the FBI, and the Secret Service.
"and potentially go soulwinning with very experienced soulwinners..."
If you choose to walk the path of "soul winning," I would recommend picking better role models than misguided "Christian" ministers who have more in common with the Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan than with men of God.
If you choose to walk the path of "soul winning," I would recommend picking better role models than misguided "Christian" ministers who have more in common with the Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan than with men of God.
"that can help you reach to the next level."
I'm not certain what level I could hope to attain with these intolerant lunatics. Thoughts of spiking fruit punch with cyanide for my parishioners, comes to mind. Offing myself in some underground Nazi bunker like that famous hate monger, Adolf Hitler, perhaps. Or, maybe I can reach a criminal level of hate which will be rewarded with a hangman’s noose by the World Court after a trial for crimes against humanity. Certainly none of what I expect to hear from this group will garner me entry into the glorious realm of my sweet Jesus.
"Don't miss out on this opportunity!"
This would be the opportunity to join those who would condone the building of furnaces so we can begin the horrors of Nazi extermination camps anew. And the group would be led by people like Jimenez, who deny the fact that they, themselves, meet their own criteria of defective difference to qualify for extermination by their own hands. But Jimenez is nothing more than another cowardly mouthpiece for hate. His hands will not be soiled by personally offing anyone. Their kind equate to the cockroaches of society. They inflame the sickness of hatred and intolerance in others, and convince them to follow like mindless lemmings; soldiers leading the lambs to slaughter from the train cars of Auschwitz. Step in to the showers, the water is fine.
Theirs is a misguided faith in their own poor interpretation of Christ's loving nature, an interpretation which twists gentle love, tolerance, understanding, and forgiveness, and foments instead a culture of hate we are, all of us, better off without.
Hate is bad enough when there is reason for it. Hate is beyond the pale when it is leveled at an individual or a group for no other reason than they exist. We can find many valid reasons to not like something, but when our reasoning is flawed, when we reinterpret in order to find reason, or if we simply make a reason up in our narrow little minds, intelligent society has the God given capacity to see through our ignorance. If intelligent people can't see it, then those people with good sense surely will. Either way, you being a hateful dumbass will be out in the open.
Hate is bad enough when there is reason for it. Hate is beyond the pale when it is leveled at an individual or a group for no other reason than they exist. We can find many valid reasons to not like something, but when our reasoning is flawed, when we reinterpret in order to find reason, or if we simply make a reason up in our narrow little minds, intelligent society has the God given capacity to see through our ignorance. If intelligent people can't see it, then those people with good sense surely will. Either way, you being a hateful dumbass will be out in the open.
Of course, I could be wrong... but, I doubt it.
Editor's Note
(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card)
Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider another viewpoint.
It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.
We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.
Pastor Tony spent 22 years with Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, and instructor. He is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path," which offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination.
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