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JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It came as a shock. Halfway through a day of testimony about the Army's mishandling of the death of Pat Tillman, Tillman's mother, Mary, shared her outrage at remarks from one Army investigator that Tillman's family found highly insulting.

MARY TILLMAN, MOTHER OF PAT TILLMAN: He said that we were -- we would never be satisfied, because we're not Christians, and we're just a pain in the ass, basically. He also said that it must make us feel terrible that Pat is worm dirt.

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ELLEN JOHNSON, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN ATHEISTS: Thank you, Paula.

ZAHN: We should make it clear that the Tillman family has not confirmed whether they are, indeed, atheists. But you had this Army investigator essentially saying that reason this family can't find peace with the death of Pat Tillman is that they are atheists, and Pat is just, in his words, worm dirt now.

JOHNSON: Right.

ZAHN: How insulting was that for you to hear?

JOHNSON: It's very -- that's very hurtful to the poor family who are the bereaved family of this very brave man.

ZAHN: Of course.

JOHNSON: And he -- of course, he's trying to distract attention from the investigation into how Pat actually died.

But his point was that he -- and he said, Christians will have family members who die from friendly fire, and they get past it, because they think that their sons and daughters are going to go to a better place; they're going to go to heaven; therefore, they get past it.

But this family can't get past it, because -- and I think he called them atheists -- they don't think that there is a heaven or a hell. So, his point is that atheists take death a little bit more seriously.

And I'm all for that. I agree. We atheists say the this is the only life you will ever have. You really have to make the most of it. We do take death very seriously. We don't take it lightly. We want to know -- we want to have these kinds of accidents investigated.

And I think more people should agree with us and be like us, and the world would be a much more peaceful place.

ZAHN: So, you didn't find the fact that he used the word atheist, though, inflammatory. It was the fact that he viewed the life of Pat Tillman as worm dirt?

JOHNSON: Right.

I mean, to me, atheist is a compliment, is a complimentary term. But the fact that he would use that kind of a term to hurt -- be so hurtful for Mary Tillman, for Kevin Tillman, the family, and to treat somebody who died wearing the uniform, is an outrage.

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Kauzlarich, now a battalion commanding officer at Fort Riley in Kansas, further suggested the Tillman family's unhappiness with the findings of past investigations might be because of the absence of a Christian faith in their lives.

In an interview with ESPN.com, Kauzlarich said: "When you die, I mean, there is supposedly a better life, right? Well, if you are an atheist and you don't believe in anything, if you die, what is there to go to? Nothing. You are worm dirt. So for their son to die for nothing, and now he is no more — that is pretty hard to get your head around that. So I don't know how an atheist thinks. I can only imagine that that would be pretty tough."

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Originally posted by H. Humbert

Actually, when I read that Army investigator's comments, I couldn't help but read the underlying context as: "They aren't Christians, therefore they aren't content with whatever happy lie we cook up for them. For some odd reason, they insist upon the painful, unvarnished truth."

However, I doubt he intended his words to have that meaning:

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Kauzlarich, now a battalion commanding officer at Fort Riley in Kansas, further suggested the Tillman family's unhappiness with the findings of past investigations might be because of the absence of a Christian faith in their lives.

In an interview with ESPN.com, Kauzlarich said: "When you die, I mean, there is supposedly a better life, right? Well, if you are an atheist and you don't believe in anything, if you die, what is there to go to? Nothing. You are worm dirt. So for their son to die for nothing, and now he is no more — that is pretty hard to get your head around that. So I don't know how an atheist thinks. I can only imagine that that would be pretty tough."

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Originally posted by Cuneiformist
So I guess that if this guy's family were eaten by sharks, he'd be happy and get over it right quick because they're in a "better place"?!? Is that how it works?

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"But there [have] been numerous unfortunate cases of fratricide, and the parents have basically said, 'OK, it was an unfortunate accident.' And they let it go. So this is — I don't know, these people have a hard time letting it go. It may be because of their religious beliefs."

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Asked what might finally placate the family, Kauzlarich said, "You know what? I don't think anything will make them happy, quite honestly. I don't know. Maybe they want to see somebody's head on a platter. But will that really make them happy? No, because they can't bring their son back."

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Originally posted by Dave W.

But it seems to me that so many are so self-assured of their righteousness that Army recruiting centers ought to have lines around the block with people trying to go to Iraq on the off chance they'll get blasted.

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Originally posted by perrodetokio

What I really don´t understand about these "hardcore" christians is how oblivious they are to "You shall not kill", "turning the other cheek" and "love your enemies"!

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