It's interesting that Radosh mentions Marilyn Manson, whose anti-Christian rock touched disturbed Christian children in much the same way. Kids just want some way to identify themselves, and for teenagers, the only two choices are obedience or rebellion. They latch onyo a big idea and declare themselves "for" or "against." But our corporate culture is far ahead of them, in its all-consuming drive for market share. So an idea like Christianity is basically nothing more than a brand; like your "local" NFL team or "supporting the president." Christian rock is Nike; Manson is Adidas; everyone spends all this money thinking they're making a statement by wearing one label or another, but none of these kids or their hypocritical parents can explain where their brand loyalty comes from, and none seem to realize they're all just being played for fools, whether by their caddy-driving ministers or the rock'n'roll singers dancing on their paychecks, as Beck put it.

Yes, Christianity does seem to be just another marketing brand these days. As a post Christian agnostic, OK atheist, living in the Bible belt, I find that the vast majority of "Bible believing" Christians are barely aquainted with the Good Book, or any other, come to think of it, and have no real knowledge of the doctrines or history of Christianity. The Devil's work is now being outsourced to Christians in pursuit of Mammon.

I believe that the thinking in Christian circles is that feeding their young with analogues of secular commercial pop culture provides an alternative means of letting off steam that isn't centered on drugs or alcohol, but it certainly isn't that old time religion that wasn't good enough for the baby boomers.

First, that we can be fairly sure that conservative talk radio will try and take the reporting of Ludwig's musical tastes as being another example of the liberal media trying to hang Christianity out in the wind for public ridicule.

Second, that most of us look for a couple of key indicators to explain why kids steer off into the weeds. Heck, the first thing I thought was almost like that of a Maury Povich Show audience member ... shouting "Where are the parents?!" indignantly from the studio audience. Pick your prime mover -- movies, metal, Dungeons & Dragons. In the sixties it was Sylvia Plath. In the '20s it was jazz and bathtub hooch. It's never that simple. Like the movie "Crash" demonstrated, hurt that grows into hate and destruction is always launched with the proverbial butterfly sneeze in Taiwan. Something led to something that led to something that led Ludwig to make a hideously wrong choice in the way he dealt with his anger. That some in the media will try and hang it on music makes about as much sense as saying it was his mother forgetting to put Downey Fabric Softener in the underwear load.

Finally, this kind of thing happens all the time. Somewhere in the country every day. But an 18-year-old shooting his 14-year-olds parents to death doesn't become news until it crosses a race and class divide.

The fact that Daniel Ludwig was home schooled, listened to Christian rock etc is irrelevant. Why this is national news in the first place eludes me. What I would like to know is, was Daniel Ludwig currently or ever on anti-depressants, specifically those in the Prozac family. That is the common thread among all the 'school shooters' 'mall shooters', etc in the past 15 years(and the detail most often ommitted by our corporate press).