<< He was referring to Jesus and seems to be motivated by the Israelite history of getting rid of sinners and idolaters. To me that is exactly what he believed in. He was a mental nutcase and a psychopath who used religion to justify his actions. >>
Wrong. Go back and read his rants again.
The “Ismail Ax” reference to getting rid of idols comes from a MUSLIM story, NOT an Israelite story.
Cho criticized Christians in his rant and said that he himself was tantamount to Christ in that he was being crucified and would be looked up to by future generations of the weak and the defenseless. To a Christian that is BLASPHEMY. Cho was no follower of Christ.
Based on what has been released so far, the only realistic suggestion that Cho was religious and that religion that motivated his actions is that he repeated the islamist rant about America being “hedonist and degenerate.” But again, I very much doubt that he was a real muslim.
His rants are a mishmash of much evil things, but the closest thing I would compare him to would be a radical leftist such as a Maoist or Shining Path.
“The “Ismail Ax” reference to getting rid of idols comes from a MUSLIM story, NOT an Israelite story.”
Perhaps I shouldn’t have called it “Israelite.” I meant the Abrahamic story, where the Patriarch and the family(Israelites, Ishmaelites) going on against the sinners.
Cho certianly believed that his murders were religious in nature. Which religious branch, who really knows. But he makes it clear about his religious motive and refers to Jesus and Ishmael.
“Cho criticized Christians in his rant”
Criticizing(and killing) Christians has nothing to do with whether or not he was justifying his acts using religion. He obviously saw the people he was killing as sinners and oppressors who had to be killed, not oppressed .
“and said that he himself was tantamount to Christ in that he was being crucified and would be looked up to by future generations of the weak and the defenseless. To a Christian that is BLASPHEMY. Cho was no follower of Christ.”
True, but to himself, it WAS NOT blasphemy. In fact, that was exactly what he believed in.
“Based on what has been released so far, the only realistic suggestion that Cho was religious and that religion that motivated his actions is that he repeated the islamist rant about America being “hedonist and degenerate.” But again, I very much doubt that he was a real muslim.”
Again, who knows what religious branch he was following. Probably nothing because he was a loner and psychopath, not exactly your typical mainstream religious person. But, his motives — his inspiration — are religious and mythological/historical in nature. He drew inspiration from the religious accounts of the destruction of the hedonists and the degenerates.
“His rants are a mishmash of much evil things, but the closest thing I would compare him to would be a radical leftist such as a Maoist or Shining Path.”
Perhaps. The maoist/Commie rhetoric is similar to a loner psychopath’s religious rhetoric in a sense they are claiming to do something good, and kill people en masse.