{"id":105345,"date":"2013-05-17T07:13:02","date_gmt":"2013-05-17T11:13:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/getreligion\/?p=105345"},"modified":"2013-05-16T18:16:29","modified_gmt":"2013-05-16T22:16:29","slug":"a-nun-some-nukes-and-a-haunted-holy-ghost-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/getreligion\/2013\/05\/a-nun-some-nukes-and-a-haunted-holy-ghost-story\/","title":{"rendered":"A nun, some nukes and a haunted holy ghost story"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>


\nSo a nun and two peace activists walk into a nuclear facility \u2026 <\/p>\n

It\u2019s not the start of a bad joke, but the start of what could turn out to be a bad dream for a trio of protestors convicted of trespassing and defacing a nuclear weapons site. <\/p>\n

A few weeks ago tmatt mentioned the activists<\/a> in his post on the massive 14-part feature entitled \u201cThe Prophets of Oak Ridge<\/a>.\u201d As tmatt noted, the engaging profile was pure hagiography: \u201cThat\u2019s exactly what we are dealing with here, in this feature that runs 9,000-plus words and is illustrated with cartoonish, yet powerfully iconic, drawings and photos.\u201d<\/p>\n

While that feature certainly created an idealized version of the protestors, it also painted a clear picture of what motivated the activists: religion.<\/p>\n

Compare that with the recent CNN story<\/a> about how the activists are now facing decades in prison for breaching the nuclear site. Although the story identifies them as a \u201cnun and two peace activists\u201d the article almost completely ignores the religion angle. The closest it comes is a mention of the activists singing hymns:<\/p>\n

When the guilty verdict was read Wednesday evening, the three defendants appeared content, even singing along with protest hymns before they were taken into custody, according to WATE.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What exactly is a protest hymn? Is it merely a protest song that is sung by a nun, or is there some religious content to the songs? That should have been a tip off that more needs to be said about the religion in a story that includes a nun<\/em>. Also, since the term \u201cnun\u201d could apply to a variety of Christian traditions (Orthodox, Anglicans, Lutherans, etc.) as well as other religions (Jains, Buddhists, Taoists, Hindus, etc.) it\u2019s helpful to clarify what religious order the woman belongs to rather than assuming that all nuns are Catholic.<\/p>\n

Clarifying what type of protestors they are would have also been helpful. While the trio is shown in a video wearing anti-war t-shirts and are described by their attorney as \u201cpeace makers,\u201d the CNN feature refers to them as \u201cenvironmental protesters.\u201d The only reason I could find for the description is that in the video clip the (Catholic) nun, Sister Megan Rice, says the real sabotage wasn\u2019t any act committed by the protestors but rather the \u201csabotage to the planet.\u201d While the use of nuclear weapons would certainly harm the environment, I suspect the sister had a broader, more human-centric, meaning in mind. <\/p>\n

Had I not read the previous Washington Post<\/em> feature, though, I would have had no clue there was a strong religious aspect to the story (even activism by nuns \u2014 of whatever religion \u2014 can be mostly politically motivated). The CNN article treats the activists mainly as pawns in a broader story about the security of nuclear materials. <\/p>\n

There\u2019s nothing wrong with focusing on the national security aspects, of course. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

But while I am not especially sympathetic to the protestors cause and I certainly don\u2019t condone their crimes, I think any story written about them should fairly and accurately explain their motivations. <\/p>\n

Anyone willing to go to prison for the rest of their lives for a seemingly futile act of vandalism probably is driven by a powerful motive. The Washington Post<\/em> explains what drove them to commit their crimes in creative, if indirect manner:<\/p>\n

All of the relevant motivation was available in the books of Psalms, Proverbs and Isaiah.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Post<\/em> feature even quotes Sister Rice as saying she felt directed by the Holy Spirit. <\/p>\n

For the purposes of their article, I wouldn\u2019t have expected CNN to include talk of the Holy Spirit. But by misidentifying and excluding the protestors real motivations, they leave the story haunted by a rather obvious holy ghost.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So a nun and two peace activists walk into a nuclear facility \u2026 It\u2019s not the start of a bad joke, but the start of what could turn out to be a bad dream for a trio of protestors convicted of trespassing and defacing a nuclear weapons site. A few weeks ago tmatt mentioned the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1213,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,75,18,12,4],"tags":[1490,414,1607,1492,1491,1500],"class_list":["post-105345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-catholicism","category-ethics","category-people","category-religion","category-social-issues","tag-civil-disobedience","tag-cnn","tag-nuns","tag-oak-ridge-national-laboratories","tag-peace-activists","tag-sister-megan-gillespie-rice"],"yoast_head":"\nA nun, some nukes and a haunted holy ghost story<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"So a nun and two peace activists walk into a nuclear facility ... 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