…I am all for religious tolerance, but one thing is clear: the followers of Jesus simply don’t manufacture bombs. Nothing could be more remote from the teaching of Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

Faithful Progressive on Mark Uhl, the Liberty University student charged with the manufacture of explosive devices - Uhl was upset with the possibility of protesters at televangelist Jerry Falwells funeral, and along with some friends built some working bombs.

One of the arguments at the Republican magazine Worldmagblog over this funeral bomb story is whether or not this student is a ‘terrorist.’  One commenter rationalized Uhl as ‘unfortunate.’

The FBI divides terrorism into three categories, with a working definition as follows:

There is no single universally accepted definition of terrorism. Terrorism is defined in the Code of Federal Regulations as:..the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives. (28 C.F.R. Section 0.85)  (.pdf)

Faithful Progressive:

Nothing could be more remote from the teaching of Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Further, nothing could be less associated with the reverence at the heart of the sacred than the indiscriminate violence of terrorism. Terrorism is terrorism, and it is always both morally wrong and anti-religious in the most profound sense of holding on to the idea of the sacred.

Update: Uhl has been moved to another jail and is facing federal charges. The Denver Post mentions the counter protest by Liberty University students (about 6) but it doesn’t make sense.  According to local news Westboro Baptist Church protested for about 45 minutes the day of the funeral, Uhl was supposedly taken into custody Monday night. Two persons of interest mentioned by the Campbell County sheriff are in the army and not in the area. Reports are also conflicted on the number of charges Uhl is facing. His lawyer was a no show? He made the devices two weeks ago?
Sounds like jurisdictional back and forth, sloppy reporting and re-writes.
His arrest didn’t get much media attention earlier this week, it is now.