If God tells you to kill, it isn't God

Karl Marx once called religion the "opiate of the masses," but these days it appears to be anything but calming.

Whether it's radical Muslims who believe the Koran is ordering them to kill infidels, or out-of-work truck drivers who shoot up Unitarian churches because they hate liberals, a lot of people seem to be hearing God on the wrong channel.

Jim D. Adkisson is the same age as I am, and we're both out of work. But Adkisson went into a Unitarian church in Knoxville, Tenn., Sunday and proceeded to shoot as many people as he could before he was tackled. He shot seven people -- two have died so far -- but he had 76 rounds of ammunition with him.

A note found in his SUV said he was targeting this particular church because of his hatred for its liberal policies and for the liberal movement in general. I don't think it's too much of a reach -- and in fact I would bet a large amount of money on it -- to expect that Adkisson was a faithful listener of Mr. Rush Limbaugh's radio program.

Now let's be completely fair here. Limbaugh never tells anyone to take up arms or to hurt anyone else. He's far too intelligent for that, and I would bet that he is every bit as horrified by what happened in Knoxville as I am. But you can't preach what he preaches three hours a day about liberals and not expect some weak-minded people to draw the wrong conclusions.

I wonder what Adkisson is thinking as he sits in jail awaiting first-degree murder charges.

I wonder what the National Rifle Association is thinking.

I'm pretty sure I know what Rush Limbaugh is thinking.

"It's not my fault."

It never is.