We've seen quite a few freakouts over the last week from right wing pundits and the talking heads on Faux "news" over President Obama's speech at the National Prayer Breakfast, but this one has to take the cake for its utter dishonesty.
Fox News Host: ‘Zero’ People Have Been Killed In The Name Of Any Religion But Islam (VIDEO):
At the National Prayer Breakfast, President Obama informed Christians they should get off their “high horse” regarding radical Islamic terrorism, pointing out that “during the Crusades and the Inquisition people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ.”
The President also reminded those listening that, here in America, Christianity was often used to support slavery and Jim Crow. In fact, such arguments are still used by the far-right Christian Identity Movement to support its beliefs and actions.
The President may be correct, and he may have made some great points, but the folks at Fox News see this as yet another Obama attack on Christianity. In fact, according to host Eric Bolling, Christians are entirely innocent of any wrongdoing.
In fact, Bolling says, no one of any religion besides Islam has committed atrocities in its name. The host ended Saturday’s Cashin’ In by making the following assertion:
“Reports say radical Muslim jihadists killed thousands of people in the past few months alone. And yet when you take Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, whatever, their combined killings in the name of religion––well, that would be zero.”
Of course, Bolling willfully ignores many recent examples of Christian terrorism within our own borders. In December, Think Progress noted one such incident of Christian terrorism:
Larry McQuilliams was shot and killed by police after unleashing a campaign of violence in Austin, Texas, firing more than 100 rounds in the downtown area before making a failed attempt to burn down the Mexican Consulate. The only casualty was McQuilliams himself, who was felled by officers when he entered police headquarters, but the death toll could have been far greater: McQuilliams, who was called a “terrorist” by Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo, had several weapons, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and a map pinpointing 34 other buildings as possible targets — including several churches.
While the impetus for McQuilliams’ onslaught remains unclear, local authorities recently announced that he may have been motivated by religion — but not the one you might think. According to the Associated Press, police officers who searched McQuilliams’ van found a copy of “Vigilantes of Christendom,” a book connected with the Phineas Priesthood, an American white supremacist movement that claims Christian inspiration and opposes interracial intercourse, racial integration, homosexuality, and abortion.
John went onto give another example in his post, which is the attack on an abortion clinic back in 2009, but the list could have been much, much longer. Here's more on Bolling's idiocy:
Despite that Christian extremism is, in fact, a reality, Bolling said that President Obama not only “crossed the line,” but that he “pole vaulted over the line.”
“I think President Obama went too far this time,” Bolling said, drawing the assertion from the “very core of” his Christianity. In a piece on FoxNews.com, Bolling demanded an apology from the President to Christians everywhere — even the terrorists.
Bolling's the one who should be doing the apologizing, along with his entire network but we can count on that happening about the time hell freezes over.
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