The Boston Marathon Bombing: The Work of Christian Terrorists?

Christians are told that God added the right to bear arms to the United States Constitution for an important reason: The Constitution requires the government to respect its Christian values and if the moment ever arose that the government were to deviate from these values, people in possession of arms should use them to force the government to return to the “path of righteousness.” Christian fundamentalists that maintain this theocratic view of government are called “Dominionists.” Even the members of Christian Identity are Dominionists; the difference is that Christian Identity followers want to establish a white supremacy theocracy, under which their interpretation of the Bible would become the norm. My information comes from the book “Harvest of Rage,” written by Joel Dyer and published in 1998 by Westview Press, which describes the problem (and the threat) of armed Christian fundamentalists in the United States.

In looking at this information, I have changed my line of thinking concerning what has just happened in Boston regarding one of the two responses: domestic terrorism.

Seeing that the American government will publicly delay taking this path, I realize that I run the risk of writing a dissertation instead of a centered answer covering all the possible viewpoints. I believe, however, that Dyer, the author of the book that I just mentioned, was right when, as an investigative journalist specialized in the study of rural America, he discovered a new culture secretly hiding and propagating [their beliefs]. It’s too bad that journalists, sociologists and even FBI agents have not ventured down the same path — a path that may have led them to discover a lot more than the criminal liability, the arrest and the conviction of just one or two guilty perpetrators, but the ringleaders and accomplices as well. This happens after every tragic religious political event in the United States, from the murder of abortion providers, who are considered to be life’s enemies, to judges that encourage investigations of these new pseudo-Christian cultures.

The United States has lived through many tragic events that are similar to the Boston Marathon bombing, above all the horrendous shock of 9/11 that took hold (how could it not?) of America’s emotions and strength. Apart from a few exceptions, only foreign journalists (live coverage alternated between American and European newscasts immediately after the Boston bombing) remembered that April is the month when many tragedies occur that are linked to Christian fundamentalism — in particular, Christian Identity. One such tragedy was the siege on the fort-like church in Waco on Apr. 29, 1995, a church that Pastor David Koresh had filled with automatic weapons and followers, including many women and children. He preferred to blow everything up rather than surrender to the Zionist Occupation Government (a term used by white Christian supremacists). Another tragedy was the explosion of a federal building (belonging to the Zionist Occupation Government) on Apr. 29, 1995 in Oklahoma City, which claimed the lives of 168 victims, including all the children that were in the building’s on-site daycare and elementary school. Not to mention that the fifteenth of April is tax day — the last day to fill out your tax forms. It is an unwelcome deadline that Americans talk about all year long, but fundamentalists view this process as a way of extracting resources from God to give them to Satan. Who is Satan, according to this sick part of American Christian culture? “Jews and blacks are what they are. It was God who decided that the Jews were to be the descendants of Satan, and the blacks of animals; we didn’t make this decision.” (Tim Hauser, Christian Identity, 1996)

This April, however, is also the month during which President Obama launched an enthusiastic campaign for setting restrictions on the right to bear arms. Obama is America’s first ever African-American president. In order to understand whether or not there is a link between the deep and dark underworld of the Christian “Dominionists” and everyday American political life, just think about the Tea Party. The harsh and aggressive violent stances of these militants, which for the moment seems to be somewhat constrained by the Republican Party, cannot be the work of ill-natured or belligerent people. Certain words and expressions repeatedly surface during the Tea Party’s preaching which sound like gibberish or meaningless speech. These words can only be found in the investigative journalism and work of a few authors such as Joel Dyer.

Based on what I have written, it’s clear that a deep and widespread reluctance is preventing America from getting to the bottom of the vast deposit of racial, cultural and religious prejudices that are associated with Christian “Dominionists” (an extreme form of fundamentalism) and with Christian Identity. There is currently a long investigation being carried out on the recent murders of two magistrates. Two district attorneys have been assassinated in the past weeks in Texas (one while at home with his wife, who was also killed). It is clear that the perpetrators are part of the organization and culture that we are talking about, but the investigations have come up with nothing as of the moment.

Furthermore, regarding the infamous Columbine Shooting and the recent elementary school shooting in Newton, why was an accomplice, a link, or a framework that could have shaped or assisted the investigation of these events (that seem to be isolated cases of madness) never found or formed? We always refer back to the Oklahoma City bombing: only one person was arrested, McVeigh, an ex-soldier who was sentenced to death. His punishment was carried out quickly, without there ever having been a discussion regarding whether or not McVeigh was a militant of Christian Identity, which all signs pointed to yes. If the Boston bombers are not Christian, this will be the quintessential case, with a typical investigation and conclusion. What if they are?