The John Q. Kanelis Challenge

There is some debate over whether rhetorical hyperbole has inflated the result for how many Amarillo Christians approve of killing civilians (92%).

As we all know the poster child for this attitude is none other than Virgil Van Camp in the Amarillo Globe-News. If it were up to him the Geneva Conventions would be torn up and civilians would be slaughtered by the hundreds of thousands in the prosecution of this war. Ralph Hensen and Elwood Stein are among others in this city who would casually exterminate countless innocent lives.

And out of this city we have seen no rebuttal, no rebuke, only deafening silence. Mr. Van Camp, we are to believe, reflects the opinion of many. And so, it would seem, that must be true, that in a metropolis that claims itself most civilized and Christian, its people without qualm would unleash the most barbaric atrocities upon innocents.

In the Pew Research Center report "Muslim Americans, Middle Class and Mostly Mainstream", the following question (Q.H1 in the report) was asked of Muslims:

Some people think that suicide bombing and other forms of violence against civilian targets are justified in order to defend Islam from its enemies. Other people believe that, no matter what the reason, this kind of violence is never justified. Do you personally feel that this kind of violence is often justified to defend Islam, sometimes justified, rarely justified, or never justified?

1% Often justified
7% Sometimes justified
5% Rarely justified
78% Never justified
9% DK/Refused

I now challenge the Amarillo Globe-News to poll its readers with the following modified form of the question:

Some people think that bombing and other forms of violence against civilian targets are justified in order to defend Christianity from its enemies. Other people believe that, no matter what the reason, this kind of violence is never justified. Do you personally feel that this kind of violence is often justified to defend Christianity, sometimes justified, rarely justified, or never justified?

A reader response poll is not scientific, but it may provide a hint. Until then, Mr. John Q. Kanelis, your war criminals are the face of Amarillo.