Murdered for Being an Atheist
You're probably thinking that Arthur Shelton was crazy, and perhaps you're right, but there are two factors to consider here. First, even if he was suffering from a mental illness, did his religious beliefs provide the outlet and justification for his violence? Second, there is evidence that Shelton's beliefs were produced not by his mental illness, but instead by his cultural surroundings: his family appears to believe all the things he believed. The primary difference between him and them seems to be that he acted on those beliefs. It can't be mental illness merely to take your beliefs seriously enough to act on them.
The trial began with the taped phone call Arthur Shelton placed to the Taylor police department in Taylor, Michigan, October 18, 2004, at precisely 12:44 AM. Shelton sounded calm and pridefull when he told the dispatcher he had just shot "the devil himself" with a revolver and a shotgun because "he (Hooper) didn't believe in God." Shelton told the dispatcher he was "still armed and ready to shoot again in case he moves. I want to make sure he's gone." When the dispatcher asked how many times he shot the victim Shelton replied, "hopefully enough."
Throughout the 15 minute phone call Shelton often repeated, "I'm a Christian and an Eagle Scout and I wouldn't lie," and "don't worry about me, I'm fine, but he's the devil." The dispatcher struggled to persuade Shelton to lay down his weapon and go outdoors with his arms raised. Shelton resisted, as he feared Hooper might not be "dead enough", but eventually complied.
Source: Parallel Politics and Comment
Those are the facts of the case and they do suggest that there was something wrong with Arthur Shelton. Most Christians aren't so violent and hateful, so they will be quick to assume that Shelton was deranged and his religious beliefs were ultimately irrelevant. As explained above, though, that conclusion shouldn't be reached so hastily. George Shiffer and Arlene-Marie are two atheists who attended the trial and they reported on what they experienced when they met Shelton's family in the courtroom:
Word that we were Atheists traveled fast in this court room that offered very limited seating and the only others in attendance were 11 members of Shelton's family who immediately began taunting George and me with "the people from hell, evil, and devils." At breaks they waited for us in the hall and continued with more of the same while adding "God loves you" and blowing us kisses and shoving their crosses (worn on chains around their necks) in our faces. Several of the women even followed me into the bathroom and did their best to intimidate me with their crosses. ...
On Day two when George and I, together with Joe Milon, entered the court room the taunting began immediately. Within an hour the Judge announced that those making gestures and faces had better cease or they would be removed. For the balance of the day the Christians wore their neck crosses on their backs, as we were seated in the back row, while constantly flopping them about with their hand. When we returned from lunch (without court escort) the Christians were waiting for us on the seventh floor and lunged at us with small signs they had painted -- 'Jesus lives', 'God loves you' -- and, again, thrusted their crosses within 2 or 3 inches from our noses. Tempers flared and a brief shouting match began. Brief because the court officers were there in a flash.
Day three found Atheist Lee Helms in the same taunted position of the previous days though he was not known to the court or the Christians. At the conclusion of the day an officer of the court detained him stating they have been having trouble with 'those people' (Christians) and escorted him to the elevators.
Granted, we don't have a tremendous amount of data on which to base any firm conclusions, but based on what we do know can you see much difference between what Arthur Shelton believes and what the rest of his family believes? The primary difference would appear to be that Arthur took things a step further and concluded that atheists, being "people from hell, evil, and devils," should die, right? Well, maybe not:
Even with all that behind us, December 19th, the day of sentencing, was still a horrific experience for myself, George Shiffer, Joe Milon, Lee Helms and Marty Maier. When leaving the courtroom the 'Christian' Shelton family lay in wait for us in the hallway. Their tears dried, they surrounded us shouting these comments: "The one good thing of all of this is that another Atheist is dead and the world is better off for it" and "The only good Atheist is a dead Atheist."
So, it looks like Arthur Shelton didn't come up with the idea that atheists should die all on his own. It's possible, I guess, that the rest of the family got the idea from him and only arrived at this conclusion after Arthur acted, but this requires thinking that it never occurred to them that atheists should die because of how evil they are. Is this really very plausible? I don't think so — given how fervent and harsh their beliefs seem to be, I have to conclude that Arthur was acting on a belief that was already common in his family and, I assume, his religious community (it seems unlikely that his family is alone in this, unless his family is also the whole of his religious community — like the Phelps Family and the Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas).
So, was Arthur Shelton crazy and acting on the basis of a mental illness that was unrelated to his religious beliefs? That doesn't seem likely to me. First, I don't think it's reasonable to say that someone suffers from a mental illness merely because they are acting on a belief held by others as well. If Arthur is suffering from a mental illness, it's because of what he believes and not merely because of what he does, and this means that the rest of his family is about equally as ill, too. That, however, is difficult to defend because the beliefs of this family are not inconsistent with orthodox, traditional Christian and religious beliefs. They are extreme, but not inconsistent.
Second, even if he is mentally ill, his religious beliefs shaped his perception of the world as well as his actions in the world. It's possible that he would have been violent no matter what beliefs or religion he had, but that doesn't excuse how Christianity helped direct his violence towards atheists. This would be like saying that since humans will always find something to fight over, we shouldn't hold religion accountable when it teaches people to fight and kill over particular tracts of land, particular doctrines, etc. Yes, people are violent, but that doesn't excuse a religion providing justification to people being violent over particular beliefs and towards particular outsiders.
Comments
What kind of loose logic do you employ to come to the silly conclusion that a religion should be held accountable for teaching things that some idiot decides justifies him/her in commiting what is clearly a crime?
By that same logic, if an athiest decides he/she should kill a Christian (using the term as loosely as you did), should all athiests be held accountable? And why stop there? Should we not then hold the whole group accountable for any defamation, assault, battery, terroristic threats, or lesser verbal and/or physical conduct — all because the individual who voluntarily chose to cross the line him/herself did so?
It is your type of logic that destroys freedoms, because you’re so busy wanting everybody to think and act like you (as you arrogantly imagine you’re a peaceful and rational soul), you forget that freedom means you’re free to disagree — so long as you do not commit physical violence!
If a belief system teaching things that justify hatred and violence, then that belief system should be held accountable when people act on those teachings.
Since atheism doesn’t teach anything, much less hatred and violence, this isn’t possible. However, if an atheistic belief system teaches hatred and violence and if any atheists act on that, then this belief system should be held accountable.
Nothing I wrote states or implies that everyone should think and act like me. Nohting I wrote states or implies that people are not free to disagree with me. Not even the portions you disagree with above suggest such a thing. All of this is little more than a Straw Man which appears to be designed to attack me without dealing with the substance of what I wrote.
If you wish to disagree with my position that belief systems should be held accountable for what they teach, then go right ahead — but do so by defending your arguments, not by attacking me with irrelevancies that you are making up out of thin air.
The first comment poster also seems to miss the underlying causal argument. It isn’t simply person X did deed Y and belongs to group Z. Therefore all Z are guilty of Y. The argument is that deed Y is expected, reasonable, and a rather simple outgrowth of group Z. Therefore those reasons within group Z are responsible, in part, for deed Y.
Oh, and a couple classic parts.
“commiting what is clearly a crime?” — As if murder was vague or something.
“so long as you do not commit physical violence!” — Because physical violence is a committed thing?
Christian firmly believes atheists are evil. Christians entire family believes that atheists are evil. Christians repeatedly attack folks with crosses.
Apparently his phone call gives his stated motives for his crime.
1) Christianity
2) Boy Scouts.
Apparently, when the Boy Scouts say that atheists can’t be moral and therefore cannot be part of the Boy Scouts this kid took that, in part, as reasoning as well. Clearly, it’s second billing to his Christianity. But, really if anybody needed a good argument against the Boy Scouts being, in part, a hate group on some issues. You have one.
The Maryland Toleration Act of 1649 was passed to protect the Catholics in a colony increasingly Protestant however it was still ok to kill Jews and Atheists.
I guess the apple hasn’t fallen too far from the tree.
“If a belief system teaching things that justify hatred and violence, then that belief system should be held accountable when people act on those teachings.”
Indeed.
However, last time I checked, the Christian Belief System states you’re supposed to LOVE, FORGIVE, and NOT JUDGE people. Even by Hardline Fundamentalist Christian standards, this family and their son were WAY out there. The Westboro Baptist Church analogy probably best describes the situation here.
“Since atheism doesn’t teach anything, much less hatred and violence, this isn’t possible.”
Oh yes, Atheism could never be twisted around by a nutcase and used to justify murderous ends. Nope. No siree. Never. Atheists are too smart for that.
lol
Christianity has, over the millennia, taught much more than that. There are innumerable examples of Christians acting on other teachings.
It’s “atheism” with a lower-case a — atheism isn’t a philosophy, belief system, or ideology and thus not a proper noun. It also can’t be twisted for good or evil ends any more than the state of being tall or blonde can.
However, last time I checked, the Christian Belief System states you’re supposed to LOVE, FORGIVE, and NOT JUDGE people.
Romans 1:18-32. Very loving, forgiving, and not judgmental at all.
And obviously it could never ever be used to justify murder.
I truly believe that if you don’t know someone then you are judging them by what you see. I grew up with Mr. Shelton and I saw him go through some very hard times. He went over the edge before he killed that man. You can’t say that his Christian beliefs made him do what he did. He wasn’t in his right mind at the time and all you want to do is make a mockery out of it. He is a man with deep hurts and he has children and grandchildren he loves very much. I resent your story making you look like victims. You are all believing the lie that there is no God. Your holiday is April Fool’s Day, because “The fool says in his heart there is no God”. Stop pointing your finger at Gene and look at yourself.
So, is this supposed to be an excuse or good reason to kill someone for being an atheist?
And I didn’t say that. However, Shelton made it unambiguously clear that this religious beliefs were an important factor. His family made it unambiguously clear that they shared his bigotry towards and hatred of atheists. Shelton learned at home — and presumably at church — that atheists deserved derision, bigotry, prejudice, and hatred.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that you express similar sentiments.
Are you qualified to determine whether he was in his right mind or not? I don’t make a mockery of him, I hold him up as an example of Christian hatred of atheists.
So, since he loves his family, does that make it OK that his family teaches the hatred of people for being atheists?
I hate to break the news to you, but it was an atheist who was the victim here. Shelton was the perpetrator.
It’s attitudes like that which fueled Shelton’s hatred and made it possible for him to murder a human being for being an atheist.
…says the person who expresses the same sorts of hatreds as the Shelton family. You’re the one trying to excuse or apologize for bigotry here while I’m pointing out how bad all that is. Trying to place blame on the victims and accuse the targets of bigotry of being the “real” problem is itself a symptom of bigotry.
You took my comments out of context. Larry Hooper was the victim. You act like y’all are victims.
God will be Gene’s judge, not you. I am not sending any hatred towards you, I pity anyone that says there is no God. Jesus said “He that believeth in Me, though he were dead (spiritually) yet shall he live. He that believeth not is condemned already.” You condemn yourself to a devil’s hell by not believing the truth.
Gene was my friend since we were 3 years old and I am not making excuses for what he did, because he was wrong killing another human being. If the man would have been a pagan would you still be continuing to carry on about it like this? No it would be history. God loves people, but he hates sin. But he is a forgiving God and if we ask for forgiveness, invite His only son, Jesus into our hearts and turn from our sin he is faithful and just to forgive us. He will forgive you when u realize that He is there. Yep, that is right I am one of those born again Christians and I do not send u hatred I tell u the truth. Without Jesus we are all on our way to hell. Don’t believe it now, but don’t point your finger at me and say I didn’t tell u cuz I just did.
Atheists in America are victims of bigotry, discrimination, and assaults. This was an especially violent incident, but it is not otherwise unique. On the contrary, it is a product of a widespread culture in which atheism is viewed as immoral, unAmerican, and unworthy of equal consideration.
Actually, he was judged in a court of law. No gods were involved or are necessary.
Yes, you are, and if you don’t realize it then you don’t understand what your own words mean.
Do you approve of people suffering in hell for all eternity solely for not believing like you believe?
Saying that he wasn’t in his right mind isn’t making excuses?
Yes. I’ve written many times about Christian bigotry towards pagans and Wiccans. I’m not aware of any Christians in America murdering someone for being a pagan, but if I came across the story then I would write aboutit.
Maybe you should consider asking questions first rather than making assumptions about people you don’t know and have never met.
Everything I said in response to what you said back to me was deleted when I hit the SAY IT box because I didn’t put my email address in correctly. It was too much to remember to type again. I will only say this much:
Father in Heaven, you are a Holy and Righteous God. I thank u for ur mercy and grace and forgiveness. I pray that you will open the eyes of the blind to see. In Jesus name, AMEN
Well, at least R. Faulkner wasn’t a drive-by-poster. He deserves credit for coming back to review the responses to his comments.
That said, I hope that Mr/Ms Faulkner uses this exchange to reflect upon the true nature of his/her own religious bigotry. No apology or recognition of that will come here (because all of us have a hard time admitting when we are wrong), but hopefully some change will have come to him/her the next time he/she discusses this topic.
Capital punishment is Christian murder. It is a bunch of big crooks killing a lesser crook for political gain.
The scarcity of biblical injunctions to think things through is no mistake.
There is no reasoning with such as Faulkner. Such sessions usually end in pious and presumptious prayers for the grace neccessary to snatch my ignorant soul from hell. More accurately, what such prayers are is a correct way of “shaking the dust from your shoes”, Jesus’ loving and paternal dictive in the presence of unworthy and unfaithful townsfolk.
I would be willing to bet that Faulkner “erred” in his response, because said response seemed a hideous ramble upon a re-read- even to him.
Hence the form prayer for “y’all”. Take heart however, agnosticism/atheism does slowly sink in over time.
Actually, when any theist I may enguage in discussion ends the discourse with “I’ll pray for you”, or in the case of R.Faulkner who actually types out a little prayer, it tells me that they had no intention of listening or viewing my points with any openness in the first place. The smugness of their self righteous feelings of superiority is evident. I soon know that my time would have been best spent discussing points with the proverbial brick wall.
To understand such frustration, we have to realize that for a great many devout fundamentalists, we are but stupid sheep and notches on a gospel gunbelt. We are nothing but a heavenly currency of human souls with which the humble servant gains favor with God- and a ruler’s throne- next to the only friend that really matters, Jesus.
Only when one steps out of this self absorbed and self centered vision of perfection can one truly admire the worth of one’s fellow being. Only then can a person deal adequately with the broad range of thought on life and death. Until then, the Christian experience is but an eternal jockeying for position. A creaking treadwheel of oppression with an increasingly moldy carrot. The hell fearful saint must squint a little more each day at the reward for it to remain palatable. Squint and flail about with magic incantations.
Nate, I just about shed a tear over that such poetry.
Murder and capital punishment give a temporary thrill, but they are the ultimate cover up. Everyone should learn that verbal opposition is an opportunity.
We are all crooks, suckers, and lazy cowards. All of us. All the time. Just because you have figured out one thing, doesn’t mean you have figured out everything. Smart people know this. Fundamentalists are just inherently stubbornly and wantonly stupid.
We are all crooks, suckers, and lazy cowards. All of us. All the time. — Comment by John Hanks — May 2, 2008 @ 2:54 pm
Hey! Who are you calling lazy!
Zack’s commment has spurred me to say something that I think really does need saying:
John Hanks,
Stop leaving pointless two-line posts that have nothing to do with the topic at hand, give an opinion or don’t write anything at all, stop trying to make yourself look clever by leaving irritating, meaningless posts of no relevancy.
Aww, John’s OK.
I’d say more in his defense, but I’m too damn lazy.
>
Mr R Faulkner, you are a disgrace to humanity! Are Pagans fair game now? Do you not think anyone will mind? Is that the Christian way? It would NOT be history my Faulkner, it would still amount to the muder of another human being.
Tell me, do you think a Christain is worth more than an Atheist or a Pagan?
I hope that Arthur Shelton is being brutally RAPED in prison and/or that he will be if it hasnt happened to him already.
I also pray that he will contract AIDS from being raped and DIE before his release.
I have to say, taking a step back from my emotional reaction to this crime I realize that Arthur Shelton clearly is mentally deranged.Christian fundamentalism is quite clearly a MENTAL DISORDER and a communicable one as well. I can think of several televangelists who clearly should be locked up in psychiatric hospitals. Im beginning to wonder if its possible to USE the mental health establishment to lock these people up preemptively before they do things like this.
Faulkner, you are obviously PSYCHOTIC and possible delusional.You better get yourself to a shrink and start taking your meds. Otherwise you’re fair game for having your sorry ass hauled off to the Loonybin.
For the rest of you: DO NOT try to reason with Faulkner or any of these psychotic fundytards! They cannot think critically and you’re only feeding in to their delusional fantasies.
I’ll bet the O’Hare’s aren’t atheists anymore!