Seattle shooter: A Christian?
posted at 1:35 pm on August 1, 2006 by Bryan
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That’s what the Seattle PI reports, as filtered past OTB. James Joyner uses the report that Haq was baptized to insist that Haq isn’t a jihadi, or something. My response, which I left in comments there:
Being baptized doesn’t make one a Christian in and of itself. Baptism is an outward symbol of an inner change, and the change isn’t always sincere or longlasting. Since you base part of your argument on that misunderstanding James, the rest of your thinking has fatal cracks. The SPI is making a similar mistake, taking a momentary flirtation with Christianity on Haq’s part to have been an actual conversion that changed his whole life. It obviously didn’t. At best, he seems to have been a “seeker” looking for something to believe in.
The biggest tell with Haq wrt to his faith is what he said before he opened fire: “I am a Muslim American.” His flirtation with Christianity obviously didn’t take.
James and the SPI make a category error: Misunderstanding what makes a Christian a Christian. From that error flows the errant conclusion that Haq was a Christian because he attended a Bible study and got baptized.
The guy identified himself as a Muslim when he opened fire and used that identification to justify his actions, actions which find justification in the Koran but not in the New Testament.
Enough said.
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Now that they can claim he’s a Christian, the media will have no problem mentioning the perp’s religion.
JammieWearingFool on August 1, 2006 at 1:42 PM
“That’s what the Seattle PI reports, as filtered past OTB. James Joyner uses the report that Haq was baptized to insist that Haq isn’t a jihadi, or something.”
Oh, puh-freakin’-leeze. This guy is about as Christian as Cindy Sheehhan is pro-war.
Chalk up another newspaper, the Seatlle Post No-Intelligence(er) as a terrorist enabling/supporting media entity.
thirteen28 on August 1, 2006 at 2:11 PM
What the media is not tell you (they probably don’t know because they seldom do real research) is that Jesus Christ (Isa) has reverence with the muslims as a prophet only second to Mohammed so there is in some muslim circles a natural convergence to Isa (Jesus Christ) in their faith. This does not however make a muslim a Christian because they, the muslims, do not believe that Christ is also God as the Christians do.
docdave on August 1, 2006 at 2:12 PM
What JWF said.
StephC on August 1, 2006 at 2:26 PM
Bryan,
As I responded in my comments section,
The things one has to do to be “Christian” varies according to one’s faith, apparently. Some require mere saying that one believes Christ is one’s savior, others believe Baptism is necessary, others believe good works are necessary. I’m quite literally agnostic on the issue.
By your definition, though, no one who commits murder is actually a Christian and therefore the faith is always blameless. That’s a pretty good trick. Too bad it’s not one available to Muslims.
My take on Taq remains that he’s just some sick idiot rather than a terrorist. I don’t discount that his mosque and his idiot father poisoned his mind against the Jews; then again, the same can be said for Mel Gibson and I don’t hold that against Christians.
drjjoyner on August 1, 2006 at 2:37 PM
Maybe he killed all those people to make up for ‘leaving Islam’ (which can involve a death sentence).
Some would mention that Jesus and Mohammand are exact OPPOSITES.
Jesus advocated peace, life, and love (even of your enemies) and the conversion by ‘witnessing’ and showing an example.
Mohammand advocated war, death, and hatred (of his enemies) and conversion by the sword.
CrazyFool on August 1, 2006 at 2:38 PM
And Mel Gibson didn’t go shoot up an office.
And your reading of my comments, as I explained at your place, is entirely in error and stretches what I said beyond any reasonable understanding of English.
Bryan on August 1, 2006 at 2:40 PM
Dead on, Bryan, although I wouldn’t expect the jihad-apologist media to remember that “…by your fruits you will be known”.
Kid from Brooklyn on August 1, 2006 at 2:54 PM
Well said.
High Desert Wanderer on August 1, 2006 at 3:07 PM
You can’t be both a Christian and a Muslim, from the point of view of either religion.
Christ said (John 14:16) “None comes to the Father except through Me”
Muslims insist Christ is merely a prophet, not the son of God.
entagor on August 1, 2006 at 3:54 PM
Let the christian bashing commence! God knows that there are enough scared Americans out there who are afraid to bash anyone for their Muslim Islamic beliefs so now they can follow their path of least resistance.
DannoJyd on August 1, 2006 at 4:09 PM
It is not a secret that terrorist cells in the U.S. would generally not try to call attention to themselves as Muslim radicals. You would expect that they would NOT have beards and that they WOULD plaster U.S. flags on their cars, wear the Pledge of Allegiance on t-shirts, “convert” to Christianity, etc.
Therefore, what is so surprising that this Seattle Muslim terrorist would have “converted” to Christianity?
Better question: What is it with being a liberal and having no common sense?
januarius on August 1, 2006 at 4:47 PM
It seems to me that your question answers itself … think about it!
thirteen28 on August 1, 2006 at 4:51 PM
Bingo. Find me anyone running around killing for Jesus. They don’t exist. On the rare occassions that they do pop up, they get locked up, by other Christians. And some shape their “faith” around their hate like the World Church of the Creator and their ilk.
Christians don’t abide by that. Yeah, you’ll find the odd nut, but it isn’t so odd in Islam. Haq has says so himself.
What kind of religion makes you angry? In what communities to you see regular physical manifestations of naked rage? (Allowing for the possibility of staged naked rage…Ed) What devout religious group storms building and sets fires and demands the death of those who offend them?
Do the math.
Pablo on August 1, 2006 at 5:00 PM
I say we play along like he’s a Christian. No prayer rug for you and pork chops are on the menu…
Perchant on August 1, 2006 at 6:20 PM
januarius, right.
Remember Atta and the other 911 perps? They went to topless bars, drinking and dropping cash, dressed in Dockers and lived in a Florida apartment, where inside, surprise, they covered up a picture of a female on the wall with a cloth.
For them going to strip clubs was acting like an American. They had instructions to blend in. It would not be against their faith to drink, if it furthered their aims.
entagor on August 1, 2006 at 7:57 PM