Sunday, October 08, 2006

Real Christianity - Part 2


To hear members of today's Religious Right talk, you'd think Christianity was all about self-righteousness and judgment of others. Please remember, however, that Jesus taught us to love our enemies and to forgive our brother from our heart. Here's what that looks like:

GEORGETOWN, Pennsylvania (AP) -- Dozens of Amish neighbors gathered Saturday to mourn the quiet milkman who killed five of their young girls and wounded five more in a brief, unfathomable rampage.

Charles Carl Roberts IV, 32, was buried in his wife's family plot behind a small Methodist church, a few miles from the one-room schoolhouse he stormed Monday.

His wife, Marie, and their three small children looked on as Roberts was buried beside the pink, heart-shaped grave of the infant daughter whose death nine years ago apparently haunted him, said Bruce Porter, a fire department chaplain from Colorado who attended the service.

About half of perhaps 75 mourners on hand were Amish.

"It's the love, the forgiveness, the heartfelt forgiveness they have toward the family. I broke down and cried seeing it displayed," said Porter, who had come to Pennsylvania to offer what help he could.


I am moved and inspired and strengthened by the example of these courageous people who have such clarity about the imperatives of their faith.

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