I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little book. He said to me, "Take it, and eat it up. It will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey. - Revelation 10:9

I don't claim to have any serious understanding of the Revelation of St. John. Still, for whatever reason, that verse comes into my head when I read things like this:

Rader calmly describes 10 BTK murders

Dennis Rader pleaded guilty this morning to being Wichita's notorious BTK serial killer. In an extraordinary hearing, Rader said he killed because he wanted to fulfill sexual fantasies. He described the killings in detail in a voice devoid of emotion.

He started by telling how he killed four members of the Otero family. After cutting the phone lines at the house, he nearly lost his nerve and left, he said, but "the door opened, and I was in."

Thirty minutes into the hearing, he was still describing how he murdered the Oteros -- two adults and two children.

In a matter-of-fact way throughout the proceeding, he talked of struggling with frantic victims, strangling them and photographing their bodies.

He said he had "hit kits" to help him commit the crimes; in at least one case he carried supplies in a bowling bag.

I oppose the death penalty. I believe... in fact, I know... that as a Christian, I have to oppose the death penalty. Saying that I oppose it sounds right. It feels right. In my mouth, the words are sweet. However, when I read things like that, those words are as bitter as Hell in my belly.