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Raise up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old...

DENVER -- Among the items taken from a search of gunman Matthew Murray's home was a picture of former New Life pastor Ted Haggard, according to police documents released Wednesday.

Murray lived in the Englewood home in with his father, mother and brother. The family was very devout and the parents had home-schooled both children, neighbors said.

According to the police documents, officers confiscated a Beretta, ammunition, a pamphlet entitled "Fall of America," literature on Youth With A Mission, a Bible, a journal, a pistol, a homicide investigation manual, prescription pills, several hard drives, gun cases and boxes of ammunition.

In several online writings, posted weeks before the two deadly church shootings, Murray expressed his rage at organized religion and at Youth With A Mission, which had kicked him out of a missionary program for unspecified "health reasons."

Murray wrote that he would rain Columbine down on the Christian world. He came "armed to the teeth," as he promised, bringing an assault rifle, two handguns and 1,000 rounds of ammunition when he walked into New Life Church.

He also wrote that Haggard was his mother's favorite pastor and in a post about four hours before the shootings at New Life, he wrote that Christianity to him was "hate, abuse (sexual, physical, psychological, and emotional), hypocrisy, and lies."

Haggard is the former pastor at the New Life megachurch and was forced to step down last year after he admitted to "sexual immorality." A former male escort claimed that Haggard had paid him for sex and meth over the course of three years.

Nine people were shot in the two church shootings on Dec. 9; five at New Life Church in Colorado Springs and four at the Youth With a Mission training center in Arvada.

Stephanie Works and her sister Rachael Works were killed at New Life Church. Their father, David Works, churchgoer Judy Purcell and Larry Bourbannais were hurt.

In Arvada, missionaries Philip Crouse and Tiffany Johnson were killed. Johnson's boyfriend, Dan Grievenow, and Charles Blanch were injured.

Previous Stories:
CHURCH SHOOTINGS
NEW LIFE CHURCH
YOUTH WITH A MISSION
 
Anonymous billybee said...
Don't get me wrong...I think religion can be harmful to people. But this guy was good-old-fashioned-garden variety frickin'-craaaaazzzzeeeeeey!!!


Anonymous Enjjpt said...
I agree with billybee, this is essentially the same argument that xtians make against atheists concerning the mass murderes of the 20th century in the name of "atheism".

Every group has its crazies, koo-koo for coco puffs types. This kid was nuts, plain and simple. I think it makes us look just as kooky when we point to one person and equate the rest of the group with the individual.


Blogger Spirula said...
I think it makes us look just as kooky when we point to one person and equate the rest of the group with the individual.

I don't think this is why Dave (the webmaster) posted this piece. Don't you all remember this charming little piece?

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/12/10/frc-ties-colorado-shooting-to-secular-media/

It's their pattern. Blame it on the atheists or secularization or communism or socialism or paganism or Satanists or necromancy. Whatever. It's never them. And if you read the background of this disturbed kid, it's not a surprise he snapped.

(for background, see here)

http://amused-muse.blogspot.com/2007/12/details-emerge.html


Blogger .:webmaster:. said...
This story is posted verbatim from a newspaper, and offers no opinion of any kind, but is only stating facts.

Further, I offered no commentary whatsoever.

This article was intended entirely for informational purposes.


Blogger Lance said...
I was thinking about this particular story, and have been expecting people to start pointing the finger at the kid's atheism as the cause.

But as others here have already stated, the kid was just plain nuts. We can't go into the cause of this particular kids troubles, which I'm sure had lots of contributing factors. I'm not going to blame xtianity or his parents, as I simply don't know what fucked him up.

My point in all this is to remind xtians that he was nuts and troubled long before he left the faith. And my question for the xtians is "Where was god in this young kid's life before he left?"

You can't convince me that he and his family did not pray their eyes out over his troubles. And why did god not answer their prayers? Why did god let such an awful thing happen to his children that were asking for his help?

"So god's name could be glorified" I assume they will answer. Yeah right.

The prayers were not answered because god is not there, he is powerless, or does not care. Pick one.

- Lance


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