(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Another shooting incident - in Australia this time, with an extremist Christian cult - and US roots [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-02-18 Guns and extremist religious beliefs are not a good combination With all of the mass shootings that seem to happen on almost a daily basis in the U.S. it’s hard to keep track. This one is a little different, however, as it happened in Australia back on December 12, 2022 . Australia is often cited for its gun laws and they have made a demonstrated difference in mass shooting events. That doesn't mean stuff won’t happen, and there are aspects to this incident that are worth paying attention to as details have emerged. According to ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Company?): Queensland police say a deadly shooting in the rural community of Wieambilla was a "religiously motivated terrorist attack" and that the trio responsible were influenced by an extremist Christian belief system. Nathaniel, Gareth and Stacey Train shot Constable Rachel McCrow, 29, Constable Matthew Arnold, 26, and neighbour Alan Dare at their property in the Western Downs on December 12. Queensland Police Deputy Commissioner Tracy Linford said an investigation into the Train family had now concluded they were religious extremists who subscribed to "a broad Christian fundamentalist belief system known as premillennialism". Premillennialism is the name given to a school of belief that is problematic to say the least. Premillennialism is the belief that after a period of extreme suffering, Jesus Christ will physically return to Earth for 1,000 years. "In its basic interpretation, there was a belief that Christ will return to the Earth ... and provide peace and prosperity but it will be preceded by an era, or a period of time of tribulation, widespread destruction and suffering," Deputy Commissioner Linford said. "They started preparing for the end of days. "Christian extremist ideology has been linked to other attacks around the world, but this is the first time we've seen it in Australia." Josh Roose, an associate professor of politics and expert on far-right and religious extremism at Deakin University, said the trio would have believed the world was "corrupt" and fast imploding. "It is a Christian belief that in effect, the world is so corrupt, so evil, so beyond repair that at some point, in the near future, we're facing the implosion of the world effectively … an apocalyptic event and that Jesus will return to Earth," Dr Roose said. "Historically, cults and apocalyptic cults and so-on have always looked to what's going on in the world around them and drawn upon that as evidence for the world ending." The rest of the ABC news story goes into further detail — it’s worth a read. The Train family had been expecting some kind of action by the police, had prepared their farm extensively with weaponry and other measures, and provoked the fatal confrontation. The Guardian has a thought-provoking examination of what happened, including discussing how Christian extremist terrorism has American roots and it is having a worldwide influence. ...These are internationally linked movements that are tied in to racist, antisemitic, anti-democratic and anti-women worldviews. Militant forms of Christianity such as those that have emerged in the United States (for example Christian nationalism) will also be taking hold among some Australians. Notwithstanding the diversity of these movements, many adherents are white, middle-aged Australian men and women. This requires a deep reflection by both intelligence communities and society in general. The focus on the “other” as the primary source of violent extremism and terror threats is not only outdated, but dangerous. The US is already abundantly aware of this. Queensland police on Thursday referred explicitly to the Waco massacre in Texas in 1993, but we can look at the Unabomber, Timothy McVeigh, Ku Klux Klan and many other terror attacks carried out by white Americans. In 2019, at the height of the Trump years, Congress found that “white supremacists and other far-right extremists are the most significant domestic terrorism threat facing the United States”. We saw the result of this at the insurrection at the Capital building on 6 January 2021. ABC also has the back story of the Train family with some disturbing details, among them anti-vaxx beliefs about Covid. Also disturbing is the terse info in several other news reports like this one from the BBC that mention: While there's "no evidence" that any one else in Australia participated or assisted in the attack, Ms Linford said the Trains have been linked to individuals in the United States. Police have shared information with investigators there. "They'll determine what investigations they might make as a result of that information," she said. Part of the problem is that we have one political party that has chosen to cultivate Christian Nationalism as an element of its base, while also encouraging armed militancy, apocalyptic rhetoric, and conspiracy theories. It’s a bit of a cliché that they want to roll back FDR’s New Deal to fight ‘creeping socialism’ — but at a more fundamental level they are trying to wipe out the Enlightenment. Maybe it’s time to update that book by Markos Moulitsas: “American Taliban: How War, Sex, Sin, and Power Bind Jihadists and the Radical Right” [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/2/18/2153431/-Another-shooting-incident-in-Australia-this-time-with-an-extremist-Christian-cult-and-US-roots Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/