When my friend Edwin Kagin died I handled it in the way I have for years: I sat down and I wrote. It’s my catharsis. I recounted what an admirable man Edwin Kagin was as that was what I could think about in the wake of his death.

I didn’t check the comments for day because I had said my bit. But yesterday I found out that a Christian had marched into Edwin’s metaphorical funeral to make an announcement. I’ve decided to help them spread that message, since it must’ve been really fucking important to disrupt somebody grieving:

73 years was wasted on the fact that he tried to make his heaven on earth to help people.. what about trying to help people get to know a real heaven that awaits when you pass from this earth… I can say this much his price for believing in heaven on earth…. is the price he is paying now not knowing a real heaven and knowing a real hell… I’m sure he is missed and remembered as a great atheist by atheists but to us Christians he is missed into not knowing a real heaven and we are losing another soul to the lies of Satan… I pray that God turns the hearts of the atheist community and they see the truth that there is a God and he is real and instead of making a heaven on earth they would reach out and tell others of a real heaven that awaits them… God bless

This Christian’s handle was “Anonymous” which, I assume, is due to laziness. Surely they weren’t aware that announcing to grieving people that their friend is burning forever is an inhumanly callous thing to do and went ahead and did it anyway – all while not wanting the deed to stick to their name. No, no…that would be cowardly and cruel and I’ve been assured, repeatedly, that believing in Jesus makes people brave and kind.

And as for Christianity making people more kind, this person clearly loves Jesus, believes in the bible with all their heart, and wants to ferry souls into heaven. Yet, of all the days they could’ve come by my blog to sell me their religion, they chose the day I was mourning the loss of a friend. And it wasn’t enough to tell me what their religion promises me – no, they had to tell me that my dead friend is suffering.

I honestly don’t even mind them being glad Edwin is dead. Hell, I won’t lie and say I minded the passing of Fred Phelps (and said so publicly). Of course, Phelps caused people considerable pain in this life. Edwin did no such thing. In fact, he spread education and alleviated real world pain and suffering at every opportunity. I don’t relish the deaths of Christians who were kind in this life. But if you think hell is real, you being relieved at Edwin’s death is a testament to just how good Edwin was at what he did. I’m ok with that.

What I’m not ok with is someone trotting into the space where we’re grieving not 24 hours after his death to triumph, to tell us what Edwin is supposedly saying in the afterlife when Edwin isn’t here to tell you to get fucked five million different ways. My friend’s corpse is not your puppet, and trying to use it as such in the service of your religion fills me only with contempt for you and your faith on levels I never thought existed. This is doing what evangelists are notorious for: trying to catch people at their emotionally weakest to convince them while the deluge of emotions may be clouding their judgment – when the want to be reunited with their friend may be strong enough to override their critical thinking. It’s predatory, it’s devious, and it’s about as far removed from compassion as the laws of physics allow – and it’s all in the name of Jesus. Far from making Anonymous better, Christianity seems to be the prime influence in turning Anonymous into such an opportunistic shit.

I saw people in the comments saying I should ban Anonymous, but why would I do that? Any time a Christian tells me that faith makes people better I need only point to Anonymous to refute them. Not only will I leave Anonymous’ comment in that thread, I am happy to do a whole blog post highlighting it.

So to all you Christians who read this blog, and I know you’re out there because you comment and email me: here’s your chance to do right. I’d really like to see you in the comments here telling your brother/sister in Christ how you feel about what they did. And here’s a suggestion: don’t do it to make excuses for your faith. None of this “you’re representing Christianity poorly,” as if how one represents Christianity is a greater concern than their cruelty. What Anonymous did wasn’t brutal because Jesus said not to do it. Grieving the dead was around long before the first letters of the old testament were carved. It requires no appeal to god or to any faith to recognize and abhor cruelty. Anonymous is a shitty person because co-opting the death of another person’s loved one is just plain mean.

The perfect words elude me, but if Edwin Kagin was here, he’d find the words to describe just how low this person is.