Bush: Anti-Abortion Murderer Distorts Christianity

Because Governor Jeb Bush is a Roman Catholic, most of the Christian extremists who support murder Paul Hill probably don't consider him a "real" Christian already - but if they had any doubts it's unlikely that they do now. In response to questions about the status of Hill's upcoming execution, Bush dismissed the idea that Hill acted in the name of God or Christianity.

The Bradenton Herald reports:

"That's not the religion I believe in," Bush said of people who cite Christianity in their support of Hill. "I think it's an incredible distortion of the Christian faith." "This man brutally murdered people, cold-blooded, premeditated," Bush said while speaking with reporters. "To do it for life's sake makes it even sicker in my opinion. "No threats, no free advice from others will be change my obligation to do what I think is right," the governor said. "It's so bizarre to think that sending letters with bullets - threatening letters - and then say that 'I'm doing this in the name of Jesus Christ,'" Bush said. "That's not my Jesus."

That may not be the sort of Christianity that Bush follows, but it is the sort that quite a few people follow. Moreover, that type of Christianity has strong theological ties to the Christian organizations which most prominently back his brother, President Bush, and the Republican Party.

Now, I'm not saying that those organizations all support Hill's murderous actions. I'm talking about theological ties - they all have very similar visions about the relationship between Christianity and the American government and the role Christianity should play in society. Hill may have taken an extra, violent step that others wouldn't, but that doesn't mean that everything he believes is out on the fringe.

Read More:

• Fundamentalism
• Religious Right
• Christian Extremism
• Religious Intolerance & Bigotry