As anyone who regularly reads this blog knows, I am not a religious person. But I was raised in the christian religion and got my B.S. degree from a christian school (Texas Wesleyan University), so I'm not unfamiliar with the religion's teachings. I was always taught that Jesus preached peace and love, and if fact, his only commandments were to love god and love your neighbor as yourself (and all other rules were courtesy of Paul, who never actually met Jesus).
But there is a christian church in Gainesville (Florida) that doesn't seem to be interested in the teachings of Jesus -- Dove World Church (pictured above). Instead of preaching a gospel of love the minister of this church, Terry Jones, is far more interested in preaching hatred and intolerance. He has written a book titled Islam Is Of The Devil, and has even put a sign saying that outside the church.
Now he has decided that the "christian" thing to do is to have a public burning of a bunch of Qurans (the holy book of islam) on September 11th. He wants to blame the religion of over a billion people for the actions of a few fanatics. And it seems this is just fine with the members of this church. I guess the only neighbors they want to love are those who agree with their own religious views (funny, but I don't remember Jesus making that distinction).
That would be bad enough, but now the preacher and his church wants to take this campaign of hatred even further. They say they are going to break the law to spread their vile message.
It seems that the plan for a big book burning (a contemptible action no matter what book is being burned) is against the law in Gainesville. The preacher asked the city to contravene that law and give the church a book-burning permit anyway. The city refused, and Fire Chief Gene Prince says the "church will be fined if it holds the book burning."
Now for a reasonable person that would be the end of this silliness, but Jones (and evidently his followers) are not reasonable people. The church sent out an e-mail last Wednesday saying, "City of Gainesville denies burn permit - BUT WE WILL STILL BURN KORANS." In other words, the church not only ignores the teachings of Jesus but also the laws of their own community.
Now don't get me wrong. We live in a country with free speech rights and those rights do include hate speech (as vile and unpleasant as it is). The preacher and the church do have the right to try and spread their hatred through both the spoken and printed word -- and decent people have the right to oppose them thanks to those same free speech rights. What they do not have the right to do is break the law, and if they do so I hope the city will follow through with a heavy fine.
I'm sure if they are fined this preacher and his followers will loudly whine that they are being denied their religious freedom. It isn't true. No one is denying them the ability to worship as they please (and don't even try to tell me book-burning is a form of worship). The law against open burnings does not single them or their religion out. It would apply to people of any religion, and even to those of us without religion.
How do these spewers of hate dare to call themselves followers of Jesus?
First of all, let me say that I in no way support the actions of Dove World Church toward Islam. That being said, I take issue with your assertion regarding Jesus that "his only commandments were to love god and love your neighbor as yourself." [emphasis added]
ReplyDeleteAlthough Jesus taught that these were the greatest commandments, He Himself was not averse to calling a spade a spade (which was what got Him into so much trouble with the religious leaders of the time).
For example, He said to the Pharisees, "You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned." (Matthew 12:34-37 NIV)
Another example is the so-called Seven Woes in Matthew 23. Too extensive to quote in its entirety (aren't you relieved?), I'll give you one excerpt (speaking again to the Pharisees): "You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?" (Matthew 23:33 NIV)
Not exactly the meek and mild Jesus you remember from what you were taught, is it?
Jesus loved everyone, and becuase He loved everyone, He wanted everyone to know the Truth, which would set them free (John 8:32). He had plenty of righteous indignation for those who were willfully ignorant of that Truth (like the Pharisees).
Regarding book burning, I don't agree with that either, but it's not unprecedented in the Bible: "Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds. A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas." (Acts 19:18-19)
This, of course, doesn't condone the burning of other people's religious writings, unless you own them because you once believed in them yourself. I still wouldn't encourage it, but in the case of the converts described in Acts 19, it was a powerful statement.
what a bunch of dickheads
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