Last week, in the Chicago Tribune, columnist Eric Zorn wrote about the expansion plan of O'Hare Airport. The City of Chicago has been sparring with neighboring communities at the Western edge of the airport property for years. There's been considerable controversy as to whether or not the expansion is needed, or even economically sound.

Zorn's column was about a Christian cemetery that has been asked to re-locate to accommodate the expansion. The St. John's United Church of Christ has filed suit, fighting the move, claiming that they:

have a "sacred obligation to their deceased fellow Christians to preserve [the cemetery] from disturbance in order to assure their participation in the Resurrection." Moving the cemetery to another location would thwart this "ongoing religious duty," says one brief, and prevent parishioners from freely exercising their religion.

Zorn is taken aback by this claim. The gist of his argument is, once you allow matters of faith into the court, they are inherently impossible to either prove or disprove.

I had been thinking the same way about the Neil Lofquist case.

Neil Lofquist, 36, of Clarendon Hills, Illinois has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of his 8-year-old daughter.

He is accused of stabbing, strangling and drowning his daughter, after he became convinced that his daughter was the devil, and that he had to kill her in order to save the world.

It is expected that his attorneys will use an "insanity" defense during his trial.

This brings up the question: Given that the vast majority of American's believe in heaven and think they're headed there, why do we give short shrift to the flip side of that coin?
Why is there no defense being mounted under the assumption that the girl was, in fact, the devil.

Well - aside from being a completely heinous and unforgivable crime, no one would give credibility to a "God made me do it" defense. When it comes to a court of law, if you can't prove it, it doesn't exist.

I don't for a minute, think this guy is anything but 100% fucking crazy. And please forgive me if this topic makes me appear insensitive to the grieving survivors, but I think its interesting that the general public is much more accepting of the idea and truth of angels, miracles and other forms of divine intercession when it's for good. Shit - look at the vigils we had in Chicago last year when people thought a water stain under a viaduct was an image of the Virgin Mary.

I've heard, time and time again, when people have died from violence or painful illness, some variation on the theme of "God had a plan for them, and this is God's will." People nod their head, and accept that this is true. What if the attorneys for the accused were to make the same argument in court?

Next, have you heard about the protesters from the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, KS? They've been traveling the country to protest at the funeral services of soldiers killed in Iraq. With signs carrying such supportive messages as "Fag Vets, God Hates You" and "You're Going to Hell", there premise is that, because America tolerates homosexuality, God is punishing us by picking off our soldiers in Iraq.

A story about this in the Chicago Tribune had three bits of good news:

• the ACLU isn't sure that they want to have anything to do with defending this group's First Amendment rights.
• A group of Biker Vets called the Patriot Guard Riders have been monitoring the Church, and they will gather hundreds of counter-protesters to swarm around the church's protesters, carrying American flags
• This quote from the father of one of the deceased soldiers: Quite honestly, their freedom of speech is exactly what my daughter was in Iraq fighting for. Theologically, what (the church) believes isbit bt of a stretch to me, but that's what America is about. My daughter cherished it so much that she was willing to give her life for it."

Finally, the Tribune had a story this week about the Reverend Moon's Unification Church, and their monopoly on the supply chain for sushi restaurants.

Happy Easter!

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 13, 2006 at 9:08 PM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.