Former governor, Fox News host and all-around meathead Mike Huckabee attempted today to walk back his comments linking a lack of religion in schools to Friday's tragic shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. But while Huckabee now claims that he did not suggest prayer in school would have prevented the shooting, he certainly seemed to imply that religion in schools could have done as much in his earlier remarks.
"If we just have prayer in schools, this wouldn't happen. We ask why there is violence in our schools, but we have systematically removed God from our schools. Should we be so surprised that schools would become a place of carnage?"
The American Family Association’s hate-filled mouthpiece Bryan Fischer made similar remarks on his radio program on Friday as well, blaming the massacre on the fact that prayer, the Bible, and the Ten Commandments are not taught in public schools.
Fischer said that God could have protected the victims of this massacre, but didn't because "God is not going to go where he is not wanted" and so if school administrators really want to protect students, they will start every school day with prayer.
To Huckabee, Fischer and every other Bible-thumper who has pursued that line of self-serving argument since yesterday’s tragedy, I can say only this:
What kind of crazy-ass, f***ed up God do you believe in?
Are you telling me mere mortals can keep your God out of somewhere he wants to go? Who stops God from doing what he wishes and going where he wants? Are you saying your God would allow, maybe even cause, innocent children to die a horrific death and their families and community to suffer indescribable anguish because his feelings are hurt? Is your God a spiteful narcissist as well as a cold-hearted child killer? Is he just coming around to noticing the separation of public and religious education in our society after some 200-plus years? Where’s he been? Is your God a “low-information” God?
What about the massacre at the Sikh Temple in Wisconsin last August? Surely God was welcome at a temple. Was he not there either? Does he not like the way Sikhs pray as opposed to Christians? Did he not like the music? How about all those Amish children shot to death in Pennsylvania in 2006? They were Christians, probably better Christians than most. Why was God angry at them? Maybe they prayed too much?
Huckabee and Fischer, your God doesn’t sound worthy of my worship or even my respect. If all I knew of God was what you and the rest of the Christian Right want me to believe, I would never want to allow God into my home, my church or my school under any circumstances. Fortunately, I and millions of other sensible people - Christians and others - know better.
“And there is not a creation that is not manifest to his sight, but all things are naked and openly exposed to the eyes of him with whom we have an accounting.” - Hebrews 4:13
God knows it and I know it: You are shameless opportunists, exploiting a senseless tragedy to push your own personal religious agenda on the secular nation you so despise. Shame on you and on everyone who’s tossing your brand of hateful, self-serving bullshit around this weekend.