As the death toll from the horrific earthquake that devastated Haiti last week rises above 100 000 people, Relief Agencies and Charities together with ordinary people are busy rallying to bring sorely needed aid to the survivors. And while some Christians such as Pat Robertson make crass statements about how the Haitians deserved it, others have found sordid ways to use it to strengthen their misguided religious conviction.
An example is the one-liner e-mail I received earlier today from a Christian cousin. With Haiti in the subject line, the contents allude to a photograph being attached or embedded, but in the obvious glee with which it was sent out, he seems to have forgotten to attach it:
After the horrific earthquake, the cross is still standing .....not even a crack....!
My first reaction was one of utter disgust. Later, I attempted to find the source of this mail on-line, and eventually came across what was obviously the missing photograph, which was originally posted here.
Off course there is no way of knowing if the photograph is actually from Haiti after the destruction caused by the earthquake (except if you actually bother to go over there to check for yourself), but that is besides the point. The problem is that the e-mail conveys a message that these Christians care more about a symbol of their religion, than the thousands who lost their lives, and the survivors who have lost everything else.
So, being a sarcastic bastard myself, I could not resist replying as follows:
Wonderful, isn’t it? 100 000 people dead (killed?), but a disgusting symbol of torture stands untouched. Your god has a remarkable sense of humor, doesn’t he? So what’s he got planned for next month? A volcano eruption maybe? Hurricanes are cool too!!! Boy what fun he’ll have, watching all those sinners flying about in the wind? Who knows, maybe this time he’ll leave an entire church or temple still standing untouched. Yeah, can’t wait for his next “loving” act!!!
Off course, there are a lot of good Christian people out there who do not need crude reassurances to sustain their belief. Most likely you would find a good number of these people very involved in the relief effort already. For those not yet involved, and other kind people, contributions to the humanitarian effort in Haiti can be made to Oxfam America.
Lenny Says 