
By: Robin Murray-o'hair
Re: Relig. Proganda/OKC Blast

RELIGIOUS PROPAGANDA, RITUAL IS ONLY REAL WINNER IN OKLAHOMA BOMBING TRAGEDY

All Sides Calling Upon "God" to Justify Actions, Beliefs

by Conrad F. Goeringer

  The death toll is hovering near 100. Two more suspects are in
custody. And the national debate over the ultimate meaning of the
Oklahoma City bombing last week goes on, overshadowing even the
highly-publicized O.J. Simpson trial, and knocking international
news back to page 2 in many of the country's newspapers.

  But it is the religious aspect of the bombing, the news
coverage, and the reactions to this event, which are overwhelming.

  President Clinton declared last Sunday an official Day of
Mourning, and called upon the country to "pray" for the victims
and relatives. Church services have received extensive publicity;
relatives of dead children have been interviewed, many declaring
that their offspring "are in a better place, now." Mixed in with
grisly photos of mangled bodies and bagged corpses are
descriptions of "little children with little angels' wings."
Religious leaders grab headlines with their prayers, condolences,
and calls for "healing."

  And there's never enough.

  Not to be upstaged by last Sunday's church ritual in Oklahoma
City which included Bill and Hillary Clinton, Billy Graham and
other personalities, Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating called for
another prayer session and meditation on Wednesday, April 26 at
precisely 9:02 a.m. There was quarreling over the timing, though
seismologists are saying the blast was at 9:04, but city
officials say it was 9:02. The governor's office declared that
"Although Sunday's days of mourning and televised prayer service
were wonderful steps on the road to healing, not all Oklahomans
could be in the area. Wednesday's observance is one that
everyone, no matter where they may be, can join."  But if
religion is being used as a tool for the "souls" of victims, and
in the process of "healing," it also exists as a possible
rationale for some of the individuals and groups tied to the
grisly, terrible bombing. Many of the "militias," survivalists,
and fringe-groups suspect Tim McVeigh is believed to have
associated with, call upon "god" and quote bible verse as part of
their ideological witches' brew. The shootout with the Branch
Davidians in Waco, Texas two years ago is also seen as a
significant factor behind the Oklahoma City bombing. Davidian
leader David Koresh was fixated with apocalyptic bible prophesy
and considered himself a new Messiah. Apparently, many of his
followers agreed. And some saw the Waco tragedy as an attack on
"non-mainstream" religious groups; others saw it as the opening
salvo against a godless, one-world government.

  As with any tragedy where religious ritual plays a central part
in the post-event "closure," there is an inherently irrational,
and contradictory, element.

  Why didn't "god" prevent the tragedy in the first place?  Whose
"god" is right? Clinton's? The "god" worshiped by right-wing
survivalist nuts?

  And there's the issue of blatant exploitation of tragedy by
religious leaders and those who advance their particular
religious bias.  Some accuse Bill Clinton of exploiting the
Oklahoma City blast for partisan political aims. If so, he is
obviously wrapping himself in a religious mantle in attacking the
nebulous group of "those who preach hate." Conservatives,
especially those led by talk-radiomeister Rush Limbaugh, decry
Clinton for "smearing millions of people"; their own agenda is
frequently peppered with religious appeals, such as "putting god
back in the schools," or that "America is a Christian nation."

  The far, far right neo-nazis, white racists, groups like the
Aryan Nations also invoke a god and the Bible. Their crusade for
the "white race" often rests on the bizarre theology of the
Christian Identity movement which teaches that Jews and blacks
are the spawn of the devil and that the battle of Armageddon
will take place in the rolling plains of the United States.

  There's a god for just about everybody who has a position on
the Oklahoma City tragedy. The victims are either "in heaven," or
the unfortunate innocents in a bloody, bible-mandated holy war.
The government and its leaders are calling upon god to "stop the
hatred" or they're betraying America's "Christian heritage" to
one-worlders, Jews, U.N. race-mixers and other alien elements.
The plasticity of religious belief covers all sides in this
bombing, just as it does the conflicts in the Middle East,
Bosnia, and elsewhere. Pick any political side these days. There's
a god and a religious message for all of them.

 * WCE 2.0/2394 * Blasphemy is a victimless crime.

