I have been trying to follow this story about this crazy pastor, Jones in Gainesville, Florida. You know, the guy who thinks it's a brilliant idea to burn Korans on September 11th. Now, evidently, he has postponed or canceled this plan. But he is still dangling the threat around. He is convinced that God will use him to have the Mosque near the ground zero moved. Regardless of the consequences this crazy person is using the threat of burning holy books to gain attention. I almost feel like blogging about this guy is only adding to the problem, but then my blog has no influence so it's all right. I think he's just an idiot who has no knowledge of Muslim culture. He was probably surprised to learn how important the text is to the Muslim individual. After all, most Christians keep their Bibles in their car trunks and write and highlight in them. We don't usually hold the paper the text is printed in in reverence. This is different for Muslims, as well as many Jewish believers. The book itself, because of the words printed in it, becomes holy. To burn a Koran, therefore is a desecration. Surely, this gun-toting used furniture salesman did not know this. I am not excusing his behavior. Don't get me wrong. His actions, or threat of actions, are deplorable. Whether or not you believe in a certain religion does not mean you have to trash it!
I mention this ridiculous "minister", (no, I don't mean minister, he doesn't deserve that term), self-termed "reverend", (reverend from the same root that begets reverence; ironic, isn't it), in order to discuss a broader topic.
His actions are a symptom of a larger disease: Ignorance. Ignorance is dangerous. It causes us to be prejudice, which is a fear of something we don't understand. Prejudice begets hatred, which begets all sorts of evil. To inject God into a situation of "picking favorites" is the ultimate evil.
God loves only Christians. Do you see the evil in that statement? Can you see how one can only arrive at that conclusion through ignorance?
So, how do we remedy this situation? I believe the answer is education. Education begets tolerance, which begets kindness and love, which overcomes evil. I find it interesting that the aforementioned mosque, which is a part of a larger community center, is building an area designated to praying for other religions and tolerance. Wow! C'mon Christians; when is the last time you spent time in church praying for our Muslim population? When is the last time you said a prayer for a Hindu? Let me clarify, I am not talking about praying that they will change to your religion, I am talking about praying that they are blessed. Granted, I do not know what types of prayers for other religions are going to be said in the mosque. I have hope that we can all learn to love each other. As a follower of Christ I believe he was quite serious in his command to love.
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
Is that unclear?
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