2 of 3

"Rudolph's a Christian and I'm a Christian and he dedicated his life to fighting abortion," 25-year-old Crystal Davis of Murphy told The New York Times. "Those are our values. These are our woods. I don't see what he did as a terrorist act."

That is a truly despicable comment. However, some other evidence that such feelings are widespread deserve to be treated with skepticism. When the Peach Tree Restaurant in Peachtree, N.C., changed its marquee to read "Pray for Eric Rudolph," it may have very well been out of support for the terrorist. Or it may have simply been a truly Christian sentiment to "pray for your enemies."

The New York Times says the community is "fiercely loyal" to Rudolph, and that such support "might complicate the case. … There may be no shortage of suspects" who helped him.

The Associated Press says otherwise. "Folks around here resent the notion that there was an army of sympathizers in these mountains, ready and willing to sustain a notorious killer," writes Allen G. Breed. "It is a deeply religious area where anti-abortion sentiment runs deep. But [residents say] there's a big difference between opposing abortion and killing someone over it."

In any case, there may be a tighter connection to the murders than abortion or religion. Deborah Rudolph, Eric's sister-in-law, says he's a drug addict. According to the AP, she told the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Report that in the early 1990s, he would "sleep all day, then stay up all night and eat pizza and smoke pot and watch movies by Cheech and Chong." He reportedly made as much as $60,000 selling hydroponic marijuana. That much pot is enough to make anyone paranoid.

PCUSA General Assembly:

• Presbyterians keep gay ordination ban | Presbyterians decided yesterday against repealing the church's ban on the ordination of gays, instead voting to refer the matter to a task force trying to work out major controversies facing the Louisville-based denomination (The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Ky.)
  
  
• Presbyterians delay vote on gay clergy | Opponents of the policy vowed to keep pressing for change. (Associated Press)
  
  
• Presbyterians affirm abortion stance | Church adds language showing concern for unborn child in late-term procedures (The Denver Post)
  
  
• Presbyterians grapple with changing U.S. culture | Homosexuality, nontraditional family structures test conservative Christian convictions (The Denver Post)

Newsweek's cover package on life ethics:

• The war over fetal rights | The politics of the womb are becoming ever more personal—and complex. The Peterson murder case, changing state laws and startling new science are causing many Americans to rethink long-held beliefs (Newsweek)
  
  
• Treating the tiniest | Dramatic advances in fetal medicine—especially in utero surgery—have changed what we know and how we think about the unborn (Newsweek)
  
  
• 'The capacity is there' | Conservative bioethicist Hadley Arkes argues on behalf of the embryo (Newsweek)
  
  
• 'When can it feel pain?' | For philosopher Bonnie Steinbock, 'viability' makes the moral difference (Newsweek)

Ten Commandments okayed in Georgia:

• Court allows county seal's Commandments | The seal is a constitutionally permissible separation of church and state because it does not have the purpose or primary effect of endorsing religion, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided in a ruling released Monday (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
  
  
• Ten Commandments symbol passes test (Law.com)

Film and TV:

• Hollywood finds spiritual themes in its films are box-office draws | Hollywood is producing more films with religious themes than ever in recent box office history, and it's proving what religious film critics have said for years: They sell. (San Antonio Express-News)
  
  

next page... |  2 of 3

share this page

June (Web-only) 2003, Vol. 47