Christians are losing their religion

Reverend Terry Jones should be ashamed to call himself a Christian.  Recent news is that the lunatic reverend is planning to commemorate September 11th by organizing a public Quran burning. That the Florida religious leader even labels his organization the Dove World Outreach Center speaks to a massive ounce of irony. Clearly, to the deluded reverend the virtues of "faith, hope, and love" or the maxims "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" or "love thy neighbour as you would love thyself" don't quite strike a chord with him. The reverend seems to believe that one should answer hatred with more hatred. If this is his way to commemorate a day Americans lost their lives in an act of hateful senseless violence, I find it to be a selfish display on the lowest wrung of disrespect not only for those who died in that tragedy but those who are in the process of becoming casualties in acts of hateful and senseless violence. The reverend clearly doesn't care to engender peace or understanding. And this, dear friends, is what I despise about blind fundamentalism.

Sure, some will argue that this is a First Amendment issue. I am a great fan of the First Amendment, but I'm not particularly tolerant of any action that espouses hatred and blatant racism against anyone else. The freedom of speech and assembly, however, supercedes my opinion in this matter as David Hudson Jr. writes concerning First Amendment issues:

The First Amendment protects peaceful, not violent, assembly. However, there must a "clear and present danger" or an "imminent incitement of lawlessness" before government officials may restrict free-assembly rights. Otherwise, the First Amendment's high purpose can too easily be sacrificed on the altar of political expediency. [...] The KKK's right to assemble peaceably was secured by the famous 1977 case of National Socialist Party v. Skokie, in which the American Civil Liberties Union successfully argued that the First Amendment prohibited officials of Skokie, Ill., from banning a march by the National Socialist Party. Skokie is a Chicago suburb that is home to many Holocaust survivors. One federal judge reasoned that "it is better to allow those who preach racial hatred to expend their venom in rhetoric rather than to be panicked into embarking on the dangerous course of permitting the government to decide what its citizens may say and hear."

Having that said, however, doesn't mean it's a good idea for a bunch of lunatics to burn a holy book if for nothing else than to be provocative. A few weeks ago, an act of arson was committed against a Tennessee mosque. If Christians of any denomination believe that inciting hatred by publicly disrespecting another group because of the actions of an extreme few is a "Christian thing to do" then they really ought to reexamine the values of their own religion. Jesus would not have burned the Quran. Jesus would not have espoused such acts of hatred. And if any Christians claim he would, then I'll snap back that in that case Jesus could not have really been the son of God. Hypocrisy is a disgusting habit.

I am not particularly sympathetic to dogmatic religion in general. I am sympathetic that entire cultures, ideas, and histories were borne of religion (whether good or bad) and that the fundamental precepts of religion teach love, respect, and charity for all as the highest virtues a human can amount to in order to build a sense of community and foster peace. Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity lay claim to that bedrock teaching of love and compassion. That to identify with others in empathy and understanding is the most godly of traits. What many of the leaders of these religions have done, however, is highjacked a spiritual reading of holy books to justify wholly unspiritual actions. Be they terrorists who kill civilians or lunatic reverends, like our choice subject, who burn the holy books of others.

Moreover, I dislike people who burn books. Knowledge and the human imagination are to be respected even if we deem it forbidden or antithesis to our own views. In which case, if our lunatic reverend feels obliged to carry out his senseless act of hatred with the First Amendment to back him up, I feel obliged to fight back and point out that his actions are not only un-Christian but terribly un-American.

I hope one day he'll see the light.