Whip 'Em Good

Now whip it
Into shape
Shape it up
Get straight
Go forward
Move ahead
Try to detect it
Its not too late
To whip it
Whip it good
~ Whip It by Devo ~

Fallenmonk highlights a great article from CNN that shows that "the more often Americans go to church, the more likely they are to support the torture of suspected terrorists." Really?!

Here's the part I don't get. According to Christian "sources", this fellow named Jesus was picked up by the local authorities for sedition. He had been traveling around the countryside telling people a new kingdom was at hand -- sounds like a direct challenge and threat to the Roman authorities. From THEIR perspective, it seemed like the guy was recruiting terrorists to wage war against the ruling powers.

So, what did they do with this fellow? They beat the snot out of him. They flailed away with a whip on his naked back. They really tortured him. And when Christians read about this incident, they generally are filled both with pity and indignation. The pity is for the terrible abuse this Jesus had to withstand. The indignation is for the brutes who "legally" administered it.

It's interesting that from a Christian perspective torturing people like Jesus is bad, but torturing people you don't like is okay. One would think that Christians would have a little more compassion since they know how horrible torture can be!

But, of course, we all know that religious folks often don't look at things that way. They tend not to embrace the concept of "what's good for the goose is good for the gander". In essence, they have two sets of rules -- one set for themselves and a completely different set for anyone else! They come unglued if you happen to look at them sideways, but all's fair in love and war when dealing with infidels.