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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">The anonymous Princess Tush of the Kirk now writes:</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p> </o:p></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">The book reveals to us a worship scene in Heaven, taking place in the </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">immediate presence of God. There "I saw under the altar the souls of them </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?" </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Does that sound to you like an imprecatory prayer? It does to me. In the one </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">place where the Greek scriptures show us by far the most detailed </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">description of worship, imprecatory prayer is part of that worship. The </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">prayer is offered up by human beings -- the disembodied souls of martyrs, to </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">be sure, but they are no omniscient than we are -- and they are calling for </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">God's vengeance upon certain evil men who have persecuted Christ's church.</P></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Princess, I’m getting the distinct impression that you have never had any intention to carefully read the replies to you or the arguments elsewhere on this topic. I alone have repeatedly mentioned the important and very clear distinction (no, chasm) between Doug Wilson’s critics and literal enemies who are murdering and mutilated innocent people, innocent people who are seeking peace with all men and doing nothing to arrogantly provoke the violence. Brutal, violent men who unceasingly ravage, murder, and torture innocent, peace-loving people are a class of people the historical Christian may wish to see punished and forced to stop their cruelty via vengeful retaliation from the appropriate authority—in this case God’s providential judgment procured through innocent prayer. This is no different than the scenario you give here from the book of Revelations. </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">On a Christian reading of this text, there would be additional eschatological issues to consider, and the fact that these people are not on earth—don’t know about the “disembodied souls” stuff—will certainly make for a different narrative context for their action and prayer.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>However, these other considerations do not matter, since this prototypical imprecation from Revelations is already limited to the clear case of people desiring vengeful punishment against those who shed innocent “blood.”<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">And this is precisely what is so perverse about the liturgy of violence in the Kirk: they create the enemy so that they can slaughter the enemy through their prayers of bloodshed, prayers against those who have not shed any blood and my not have even picked the fight (<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Wilson</st1:place></st1:City>’s “war”) to begin with. If I were you, I would fear that I was the kind of person on the receiving end of these kinds of prayers from heaven. </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Let me be clear Princess: your attempt at defending this kind of liturgical violence against your local, peaceful neighbors who happen to merely criticize you for things just like this nonsense of imprecatory prayer is vile; it is very vile. It is evil in fact. It is a mangling of Christian history, the Christian text, the Christian story, and all common moral sense. What you perversely call “mature” Christianity here, that “immature” folks like myself just “don’t get” for some reason, is actually a demonic eye towards the very destruction of those social traits that any stable civilization must maintain.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>This is madness. </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Your kirk flippancy towards all us “immature” people strikes at the foundations of higher learning, the possibility of fruitful discussion, and, in fact, our American legal and political traditions—I suspect that if your teaching spread through American Fundamentalism and took root that we would have to pass laws against what you are here advocating. Considering this, and your clear disinterest in listening to the arguments from those who disagree with you, the social madness of your “Christian” proposal, and your very strange desire to remain fully anonymous, this will likely be my last words to you.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Your attempt at trying to wind back the favor of your local non-Christian neighbors is curious, but typical of the Kirk.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Thank You</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Michael Metzler</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><A href="http://www.poohsthink.com/">www.poohsthink.com</A> </P></DIV><BR>
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