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April 16th, 2013
01:28 PM ET
My Take: Light will conquer darkness in Boston
By Danielle Elizabeth Tumminio, Special to CNN Boston (CNN) — At 4 a.m. on Patriot’s Day, I huddled in the cold and dark on the Lexington town green that’s across from the church where I work as a priest, awaiting the reenactment of the first battle of the American Revolution. As the sun rose, a small group of haggard colonists assembled. None were in military uniform; they seemed to have difficulty forming a straight line. And when the British marched towards them with their elegant uniforms and disciplined formation, they outnumbered the colonists more than 2-1. It looked to be a slaughter. As the “shot heard 'round the world” fired, the colonists scrambled, some dying in the skirmish and others retreating, running away to safety. To the casual observer like myself, it looked like defeat — defeat of their hopes for freedom, liberty and democracy; defeat of goodness and light. But that defeat turned out to be the call that brought out reservists from all over the Boston area. Ordinary colonists left their homes to hide behind trees with their weapons, haunting the British as they marched back to Boston. The efforts of those ordinary men and women eventually led to victory for our country and the ideals it sought — and continues to seek—to embody. Less than 12 hours after I attended the reenactment, I heard a different “shot heard 'round the world,” this time a few miles from my home where I was working. The Boston Marathon bombing shook me, as it shook many of my fellow Bostonians. It was a reminder that our world carries hazards and injustice. An 8-year old boy dies. Marathon runners have their legs amputated. Since the blast, I’ve heard some people say this changes everything for Boston, for the marathon, for Americans’ sense of safety in the world. I don’t agree. Our world is scary, unstable, dark as 4 a.m. on the Lexington town green. In the collective history of humanity, it’s been a long time since there hasn’t been tragedy — a life taken too soon, a body hurt by a bomb or a gun or a crippling disease. The Boston bombings are nothing new. They are simply one more reminder that, at some level, our world is not secure, even though, as comedian Patton Oswalt famously posted on Facebook Monday, “If it's one person or a HUNDRED people [who bombed Boston], that number is not even a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a percent of the population on this planet. You watch the videos of the carnage and there are people running TOWARDS the destruction to help out.” It creates a paradox for me as a religious leader to acknowledge the seemingly eternal presence of this darkness while I stand with the fundamental Christian tenet that light overcomes it. That paradox can test any person’s faith, rendering hope complex, messy. That paradox challenges me as I think about this Sunday morning, and what I will preach to my congregation as I stand in the pulpit of my Lexington church. So what I will tell them is this: I will not deny the darkness. I will not deny its power. But I will remind them — and perhaps myself a little bit too — to think about tragedy the same way our forebears did. It may seem we are outnumbered in our battle against evil. It may seem we’re standing alone and haggard, outgunned like those militiamen who fought for our country’s independence 238 years ago. Yet just as in those early battles of the Revolution, there are reservists who want the light to win. There are ordinary people who step out into danger, into darkness, to shine a light. On the day of the marathon bombings, bystanders who could have protected themselves rushed to help the injured. Doctors, nurses, and their assistants worked overtime to make sure that those affected received the care they deserved, while law enforcement officials sought justice on the city’s behalf. Bostonians came out to offer marathoners juice and a bathroom, even as officials told them to stay indoors. A nearby restaurant called El Pelon Taqueria gave out free food, drinks, cell phone charger outlets, and the 9-year old daughter of the owner, Addison Hoben, decorated to-go bags with the words, “It’s going to be alright” and “We’re not afraid.” Those are some of our nation’s reservists, though not all of them by far. Many of us shine light into the dark in quieter ways: by volunteering at a soup kitchen or a prison, by donating blood, by sitting in the waiting room during a friend’s surgery, by caring for an aging parent. Not for naught did the famous Mr. Rogers — who was also a Presbyterian minister — say the words that have been so often quoted in social media since the bombings: “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ ” What I will tell my congregation Sunday is that I believe in the power of darkness, and I believe that humans can do horrible things. But I also believe that light will eventually outshine the dark, that the reservists among us are fighting a war to defeat violence and evil, and that one day they will permanently win it. That is what makes me a Christian, and it is also what makes me an American, the descendant of the patriots who gave their life on the Lexington battle green so many years ago.
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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Editor's note: Danielle Elizabeth Tumminio is an ordained Episcopal Church priest and author of "
Perpetrators: The Boston Tea Party lives on and is coming for you! You can run but you can't hide!
Our hearts and prayers go out to the victims and their families and to Boston, the City of Champions!
Yeah, the Tea Party has been really effective at catching terrorists! We've caught, uh, well, uh, okay, we don't do anything but complain, but be afraid anyway.
I am referring to the Boston Tea Party of 1773, Bob!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Tea_Party
Aren't they dead?
God is also dead, and never actually existed.
Theological Dementia breeds all mannerisms of vile and villainous acts/actions.
Oh look the belief blog pseudo intellect is back.
Oh Gawd, another speck on the windshield!
You might want to clean yourself off it then lionlylamb.
My deepest sympathies to the families and friends of those killed and hurt. In a time like this, it doesn't matter what your belief in god is. This was not an attack on the US Govt, it was an attack on people. Not Bostonians, or Americans, but on people of the world . Senseless violence should be opposed by all faiths and atheists.
Mostly agree.
But then again atheists are extremely Hypocritical. So who can believe them, well not me!
So should be droning of innocent by government of USA around the globe. No one is above the La, truth absolute.
"But then again atheists are extremely Hypocritical. So who can believe them, well not me!'
Yes because atheists are always committing terrorist acts. You know, like the Atlanta Olympics and 9-11.
Oh wait, they were christian and muslim terrorists.
Nevermind
No, they are hindu secular, filthy self centered, out side limit of truth.
My Take: Light will conquer darkness,
VERY TRUE, TRUTH ABOLTE WILL OVER POWER HINDUISM, DENIAL OF TRUTH ABSOLUTE , WAY OF HINDU LUCIFER, FILTHY SECULAR OF ALL, HINDUISM CRIMINALITY OF HINDU SECULAR S, IGNORANT BABOONS STANDS NO CHANCE TO SUCCEED.
The author, Danielle Elizabeth Tumminio is very accomplished, but if you look in to her writing regarding Harry Potter's "theology" she has missed the mark. Harry Potter's theology is a very old mythology and is part of a very long tradition of fantasy-fiction based on Norse legends. I believe she is an opportunistic fan of HP and that is fine, but she doesn't get where the soul of fantasy comes from.
What I will tell my congregation Sunday is that I believe in the power of darkness, and I believe that humans can do horrible things. But I also believe that light will eventually outshine the dark, that the reservists among us are fighting a war to defeat violence and evil, and that one day they will permanently win it. That is what makes me a Christian, and it is also what makes me an American, the descendant of the patriots who gave their life on the Lexington battle green so many years ago.
this is not what makes you christian - it's what makes you human. atheists, buddhists and jews were horrified by this terrible tragedy too. not only that, but it's more than just "Americans". there were people there from all over the world, running and watching. when this author says "christians" and "americans", this author does what the religious often do - try to raise "christians" and "americans" above others. but it wasn't just christian americans that were hurt and terrorized that day.
Let it go, bro.
The light of the world is brilliant in its truth: THERE IS NO GOD !!!
And these are some of the many reasons why:
The Twenty (or so) Worst Things GOD'S CREATURES? Have Done to Each Other:
M. White, http://necrometrics.com/warstatz.htm#u (required reading)
The Muslim Conquest of India
"The likely death toll is somewhere between 2 million and 80 million. The geometric mean of those two limits is 12.7 million. "
Rank …..Death Toll ..Cause …..Centuries……..(Religions/Groups involved)*
1. 63 million Second World War 20C (Christians et al and Communists/atheists vs. Christians et al, Nazi-Pagan and "Shintoists")
2. 40 million Mao Zedong (mostly famine) 20C (Communism)
3. 40 million Genghis Khan 13C (Shamanism or Tengriism)
4. 27 million British India (mostly famine) 19C (Anglican)
5. 25 million Fall of the Ming Dynasty 17C (Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Chinese folk religion)
6. 20 million Taiping Rebellion 19C ( Confucianism, Buddhism and Chinese folk religion vs. a form of Christianity)
7. 20 million Joseph Stalin 20C (Communism)
8. 19 million Mideast Slave Trade 7C-19C (Islam)
9. 17 million Timur Lenk 14C-15C
10. 16 million Atlantic Slave Trade 15C-19C (Christianity)
11. 15 million First World War 20C (Christians vs. Christians)
12. 15 million Conquest of the Americas 15C-19C (Christians vs. Pagans)
13. 13 million Muslim Conquest of India 11C-18C
14. 10 million An Lushan Revolt 8C
15. 10 million Xin Dynasty 1C
16. 9 million Russian Civil War 20C (Christians vs Communists)
17. 8 million Fall of Rome 5C (Pagans vs. Christians)
18. 8 million Congo Free State 19C-20C (Christians)
19. 7½ million Thirty Years War 17C (Christians vs Christians)
20. 7½ million Fall of the Yuan Dynasty 14C
Your a retarded idoit. Shut the Fuk up
Big Shiz
That's the best response you have to facts? insult and close mind? great comeback.
People killing people, and your point is what? Humans die. Wow, that's a shocker.
Shining more light with a creed:
The Apostles'/Agnostics’ Creed 2013: (updated by yours truly and based on the studies of historians and theologians of the past 200 years)
Should I believe in a god whose existence cannot be proven
and said god if he/she/it exists resides in an unproven,
human-created, spirit state of bliss called heaven??
I believe there was a 1st century CE, Jewish, simple,
preacher-man who was conceived by a Jewish carpenter
named Joseph living in Nazareth and born of a young Jewish
girl named Mary. (Some say he was a mamzer.)
Jesus was summarily crucified for being a temple rabble-rouser by
the Roman troops in Jerusalem serving under Pontius Pilate,
He was buried in an unmarked grave and still lies
a-mouldering in the ground somewhere outside of
Jerusalem.
Said Jesus' story was embellished and "mythicized" by
many semi-fiction writers. A descent into Hell, a bodily resurrection
and ascension stories were promulgated to compete with the
Caesar myths. Said stories were so popular that they
grew into a religion known today as Catholicism/Christianity
and featuring dark-age, daily wine to blood and bread to body rituals
called the eucharistic sacrifice of the non-atoning Jesus.
Amen
(references used are available upon request)
There is evil in the world. Sometimes it's easy to get complacent and see the world in grays. But then something like this happens and you are reminded that there is evil out there. I am quite certain whomever did this probably can justify their actions but that doesn't take away from what it was.
Evil is not quantifiable. There is no evil, there is no good.
The atoms in your body have traveled great distances in this universe.
You are a space traveler!
There is no evil in space. Only rocks and ice to avoid.
Good luck.
"Evil is not quantifiable."
The greatest ally to evil is denying that there is such a thing. Yes Virginia, there is evil in the world.
Take a stand against evil. Don't deny or try to excuse it.
Segoy
Are you saying that there are no grey issues?
I saw a sunset and it was perfect.
Why do you ask me to see another?
For in waiting for the next sunset, I will endure much suffering!
Perfection exists in the suffering too.
Be thankful for the pain.
Did I not thank you by loving you?
Jesus is myth and Christians are delusional lemmings.
Sally21 You ignorant fvcking troll just shut the fvck up for a change you are to ignorant to be alive.
"to ignorant" lol
too before I am corrected.
"to" late.
Why is this in the Belief Blog at all? It has nothing to do with religion.
I think it could have been written using roughly the same words and not been "religious" in the sense of relating to god. However, that is what the author means by "light". Also, even if the author didn't believe in a god and just meant "goodness" this would still, I think, be talking about a "faith" that good would win out.
Thank you God. Great ah, "design" you have here.
I'd like to see the page in "his plan" where it says,
4-15-2013
To do list
Feed some poor people
Decide who is going to win the Flyers v Habs game
Blow up some innocent people watching a marathon
Great plan loser.
The "Muslim" children being raised here in the U.S.A. are mere copies of their mid-eastern brethren cousins. Game-Set-Match and connect the dots people!
Hi Lionly-Lamb you crazy old fuck. You don't know any American-Muslims do you? (rhetorical)
Wow. The one post I've seen from lionly that was short, and without the standard pseudo-intellectual bullshit, and it's a generalization of American born muslims that is akin to the Nazi propaganda.
HI ABc,
Still churning the web we are. In Life it's all about the odds. The known and every unknown are merely the equations of symbolism. Each symbol is but a spoke upon the wheels of societal derision. Life is good and may well get better in living the ages. Ya think?
hawaiiguest stated the innuendo "Nazi" not me!
Can't you see 'hg' that it takes many spokes within 'multiple' varied wheels to traverse the epitomizing roads. Does the epitaph about "Barabbas" come to mind when considering the arms of Muslim theological philosophies in this days' eras?
See, atheists are extremely Hypocritical! They refuse, reject and scorn God, then turn around and very arrogantly DEMAND an explanation from God whom they hate, while at the same time deny His existence. Because they BELIEVE God owes them [atheists] an explanation. Do you understand now why I say atheism is stupidity in Full bloom?
After they [atheists] adamantly and in the most arrogant manner scorn religions and especially Christianity. Then in the most Hypocritical of ways, they turn around and DEMAND us Christians to give them an explanation and apologize for our beliefs. Because they [atheists] BELIEVE they are owed such explanations from God and from us.
@salero
Are you just incredibly stupid, or a flat out liar? I can never tell.
Hush up, fool.
Salero21, I demand that you tell me why God did this!
I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt and going with stupid...but then I've been wrong before.
OK, Salero...please cite a single example where any atheist is demanding an explanation from God. And no, atheists asking Christians to try explaining this as an intellectual exercise don't count. Go...challenge on. If you can't do it, please let us know whether it was the stupidity thing or the lying thing.
Thanks.
Oh shit Saraswati, my bad. I totally demanded an explanation a few minutes ago.
But Apple, that's OK, you were asking Salero21. Saraswati is asking where an atheist is demanding an explanation *from* God.
(which is what the idiot was claiming)
your book is a fairy tale. you are in a cult. ALL religions are cults. cults teach you to turn off your brain. cults are bad for you. leave the cult and think for yourself. be a good human being - you don't need an invisible sky fairy telling you how - you know how already. become a free thinker - you won't regret it.
how can people scorn a being in which they do not believe?
we can, and do, ridicule the inbred fvcks such as you who do believe
Can't handle the Truth huh! Unable to disprove or refute what I said? That's why I say atheism is stupidity in Full bloom. Atheist especially the practical ones like Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, Jung Ill etc. are the worst of all peoples. They're worst than wild animals, even when they disguise themselves with some cult/religion. Even wild animals have been observed/recorded showing affections and even compassion towards animals of other families, species and genus.
"scorn religions and especially Christianity"
We don't believe in any religions you dunce.
We place no weight on your particular version of ancient myth worship.
Don't flatter yourself.
Christianity is just as useless as Islam.
Here come da feel gud mob.
Salero, Saraswati challenged you in fine fashion and you flub-a-dub ducked big time. You have nothing. Lol.
'No more hurting people,' he wrote
Almost a year ago, 8-year-old Martin Richard wrote those words on a sign at school. He died Monday in the Boston bombings.
That poor child. At least we can expect to see Him in Heaven.
Pretty sure about your destination, are ya Topher?
Yes, I am.
then why wait?
Hey T, I wish that were true. It is a very sad day indeed.
You know nothing of this child's religious views. He may be one of the folks who have not accepted Jesus as a savior. That would mean that hell is his destination, right?
Nothing smug about you, Gopher, nosireeebob
sam stone
Why wait for what?
Apple Bush
Dude! I haven't heard from you in forever! Where've you been?
It is true. With Christianity, you can have assurance of where you will go in the afterlife.
@ Topher
What if this child did not believe in your god?
Is this innocent murder victim going to burn in hell?
Topher: If you are so incredibly sure that you will be in heaven, why wait for it? Do you have tall buildings where you live? Perhaps a sidearm?
sam stone
"You know nothing of this child's religious views. He may be one of the folks who have not accepted Jesus as a savior. That would mean that hell is his destination, right?"
I don't need to know his religious views. I'm confident an 8-year-old hasn't reached the age of accountability. And if that's the case, because of God's grace he'll be in Heaven.
@Sam, he attended Catholic school but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. One of the weirdest parts of many forms of Christianity is the guaranteed trip to heaven for kids (age varies depending on who you ask). It actually means that parents who murder their kids, or any kids, can argue that they are merely guaranteeing them eternal life in heaven. That's one scary position.
meifumado
"Is this innocent murder victim going to burn in hell?"
No. Not according to the Bible.
Topher: This "assurance" is a promise by man. Claim all you want that it is the word of god, but you have not shown this. For all your blather about proof, you have supplied NONE.
God's grace? You have got to be kidding.
sam stone
"If you are so incredibly sure that you will be in heaven, why wait for it? Do you have tall buildings where you live? Perhaps a sidearm?"
That would be murder. I have no interest in breaking God's laws.
Sara: The whole thing is one scary position. A vindictive pr1ck god knows who will accept his son/himself as a savior punishes those who don't.
@ Topher
So this child can deny Jesus and still get in heaven?
@sam, It's weird all right. I don't know how much scarier it is than all the other weird stuff people believe.
such rationalization......
if it is murder, so what? you have already confessed that jeebus is your savior, so you have the spiritual free pass to heaven. the savior is as close as the click of that trigger
topher: where is this much promised proof that those ware "god's laws" rather than the translated, edited hearsay of iron age sheep boinkers? come on, you have promised proof many times. do you really lack confidence in this alleged evidence? are you really that much of a coward? (that was a rhetorical question, of course you are)
sara: what sort of mental gymnastics must people like topher go through to believe this promise of heaven (or the threat of hell)?
meifumado
"So this child can deny Jesus and still get in heaven?"
Yes, provided he hasn't reached the age of accountability. The problem is the Bible doesn't say what age that is. That's why we generally hold it is different for every person. We all develope at different rates.
My comments are no longer posting. Awww....did widdle Gopher have a hissy fit?
So could a mentally handicapped person ever reach the age of accountability?
The root post:
‘No more hurting people,’ he wrote
Almost a year ago, 8-year-old Martin Richard wrote those words on a sign at school. He died Monday in the Boston bombings.
How incredibly sad.
My sincere sympathy to the parents of this incredible child.
"So could a mentally handicapped person ever reach the age of accountability?"
If Topher is any indication, the churches are full of them
@Topher, if some people are exempted from having to go through any process to get into heaven, what exactly was the point of the whole exercise of being on earth?
@sam,
"sara: what sort of mental gymnastics must people like topher go through to believe this promise of heaven (or the threat of hell)?"
Quite a lot if one were to try to do it in the Christian form without holding any contradictory ideas. But when one feels "certainty" about something then the whole exercise of making it logical isn't that important to him or her.
sam stone
"My comments are no longer posting. Awww....did widdle Gopher have a hissy fit?"
Well, THIS comment posted, so I don't know what to tell you.
Paul
"So could a mentally handicapped person ever reach the age of accountability?"
I'd say no. Of course that would depend on if they were always handicapped and the extent of that handicap.
tell me of this proof you have been promising for so long
you are like the boy who cried "wolf"....you have been blathering on about proof, but have not provided an iota of it. your only argument seems to be that youo believe, so others should too
Saraswati
"@Topher, if some people are exempted from having to go through any process to get into heaven, what exactly was the point of the whole exercise of being on earth?"
Oh, my! You see, when a mommy and daddy love each other ... 😉
proof? evidence? can you supply it, or will you have the intellectual honesty to admit it is a BELIEF, not a fact
What if the boy's parents are avowed atheists and the boy has never been exposed to the jesus myth? Topher's alleged god is without doubt going to send the boy to an alleged heaven? That's weirder, and more arrogant, than mormons "baptizing" people.
after their death.
"With Christianity, you can have assurance of where you will go in the afterlife"
Unless the muslims are right, in which case you will butt banged with a flaming pitchfork for all eternity.
derp
"Unless the muslims are right, in which case you will butt banged with a flaming pitchfork for all eternity."
I have confidence the Muslims can't be right. But the point was assurance, which even the Muslims admit they don't have.
" But the point was assurance, which even the Muslims admit they don't have."
neither do you.
.
"neither do you."
Yes we do. If you repent and put your faith in Christ, you will be saved and thus going to Heaven.
@Topher,
Nice try at avoiding answering a tough question. Or is your argument that god put us on earth to enjoy se.x because that wouldn't be an option in the afterlife?
I repeat: If some people are exempted from having to go through any process to get into heaven, what exactly was the point of the whole exercise of being on earth?
Try answering it with an explanation of why some of us need to be here making hard morel choices to get to heaven why some do not.
that's what topher does. he avoids hard questions that may shake his belief. witness his much ballyhooed, but ALWAYS absent "evidence" for god. topher is an intellectual coward, and pompous to boot
your "assurance" of heaven is from the same cesspool of edited, translated iron age hearsay.
Topher, the more you keep these socies postin' here, the less chance they'll be in the streets causing trouble, too.
topher: do you think jesus appreciates your cowardice? how about your lying (you claim you have proof, and said you would come forth with it, but you haven't)?
the answer is no. he is fvcking dead. and you are delusional
"God and Harry Potter at Yale: Teaching Faith and Fantasy Fiction in an Ivy League Classroom."
LOL Faith is fantasy and the bible is fiction.
Would anyone like to place a bet on who did this?
My money says its a religious person not an atheist who did this.
Yeah, I don't think you get many atheist terrorists outside of Turkey and south Asia...and even those are few and far between.
I think it was a homegrown terrorist attack that was not religious or anti-religious at all, but anti-government.
Had it been from a religious group like Al Qaeda, they would have already taken responsibility for it.
@ Chuckles Ya, I agree its some type of homegrown terrorist, A crazed right winger or jihadist.
but most likely the person(s) has religion.
@Meifumado
Well homegrown terrorism doesn't necessarily mean it was a jihadist and if this person does have a religion, so what? If the person did it because of his religion, well then that would mean something, but if the act was perpetrated because the person was angry with the governments stance on drone strikes, or the new budget, or maybe the person was against runners.
I refuse to believe that this act was committed in the name of religion until I see evidence that supports that conclusion. As of now, all we know is that the bomb was designed to cause destruction and to maim its victims. We still have no idea why.
The reason i say the person has religion is that most people who commit this type of act try to justify the evil they do by saying it for the greater good that religion has taught them, but you never know and we wont till all the facts are in.
But in still sticking with homegrown crazed right winger or jihadist.
Meifumado
Possibly, but look at Timothy McVeigh, or even more recently Adam Lansa or James Holmes. None of these people were justifying their acts through religion and perpetrated some of the most chilling acts in recent memory. You might as well say that the person who did this is probably a white guy because of the people cited above.
Some people do bad sh.it for no good reason.
Okay Salero21,
tell me how you know you worship the correct god.
There have been thousands. Please enlighten us as to how you figured out the ONE true god.
you use something called faith. Faith is that conscience feeling that pushes you towards good, and away from evil. You must seek for truth. let your conscience lead you to God!
Are the streets of Boston sufficiently lit?
Plus – didn't this tragedy occur during the day?
This is another classic example of what I call Practical Atheism. Atheism is stupidity in Full bloom, atheists are worst than wild animals in their behavior and conduct, even at the dinner table. I don't dine with atheists.
I think it is all part of God's plan. For some reason God wanted to blow up an 8 year old kid yesterday. Must have been bored or something.
Different kinds of animals, in fact, don't like to dine together. We have finally been able to identify what's often referred to as the "Salero21":
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Cricetidae
Subfamily: Arvicolinae
Tribe: Lemmini
I bet you it was a religious person who did this, not an atheist.
You have to keep in mind, that in the completely whacked out mind of a religious person, anyone who does something bad is automatically an atheist, or at least not a believer in whatever god the religious person happens to believe in.
@ Field Guider
Nice! =)
"I don't dine with atheists"
Given your foul personal aroma, I see this as a good thing.