Trial by Fire
I usually don't delve into politics on my blog, but this subject has got a bit of sand in my craw.
It has to do with the Koran (that's how I learned to spell it in college) burning ceremony that is supposed to happen on Saturday in Gainesville, Florida.
The minister of this organization, Rev. Terry Jones, is determined to go through with the burning even though everyone from the highest ranking general in the U.S. military all the way to the President of the United States has asked him not to do it.
It is believed such a gesture, burning the Holy Koran, will spark attacks on U.S. troops overseas and motivate terrorist action in the U.S. mainland. And I believe government officials have probably hit it right on the head. After all, Salman Rushdie is still in hiding some 22 years after he was accused of blasphemous references to the Koran in his book The Satanic Verses.
To a rational person, the burning of a holy book is merely a symbolic gesture, just like burning a flag. However, we are not talking about rational people, folks. We're talking about extremists who like to fly planes into skyscrapers and kill innocent people.
Burning the Koran is also an ignorant thing to do. If the reverend knew anything about Islam, he would know that it is a very peaceful religion and it regards Jesus Christ in the highest esteem - except in Islam, Christ is one of the three great prophets, not the Son of God. Much of the Koran parallels the Holy Bible. It is the radical knuckleheads that have shaped Islam into the misunderstood and misrepresented state it is in today.
Imagine if the only thing you knew about Christianity was that it represented the Ku Klux Klan (yes, the KKK claims to be a Christian organization). Read that sentence again and think about that for a moment.
Ignorance breeds fear, and fear breeds hate.
For Rev. Jones to doggedly move forward with his own personal agenda while knowingly putting American troops and innocent American citizens in harm's way is the greatest sin any human being can commit.
And if he is looking for publicity for himself and his church, he's got it - on a global scale.
The good reverend would make an excellent politician, wouldn't he?
I've heard arguments saying that Islamic extremists are attacking U.S. troops anyway, so what's the difference if they burn the Koran?
That's an idiotic argument. If I think a shark is going to attack me, do I bathe in blood before I jump into the water? Only if you're a fool.
On the other side, if/when this Koran burning takes place, it will only be a matter of days before Rev. Jones' church is either burned down or blown up, and Rev. Jones himself is car-bombed into oblivion, courtesy of Islamic extremists. You know and I know that's going to happen.
Is it really worth it, Rev. Jones?
The way I see it, if the President of the United States asks you to refrain from doing something, it is only respectful to heed his request, even if you don't like the man and completely disagree with his political agenda.
What would Jesus do, Rev. Jones?
It has to do with the Koran (that's how I learned to spell it in college) burning ceremony that is supposed to happen on Saturday in Gainesville, Florida.
The minister of this organization, Rev. Terry Jones, is determined to go through with the burning even though everyone from the highest ranking general in the U.S. military all the way to the President of the United States has asked him not to do it.
It is believed such a gesture, burning the Holy Koran, will spark attacks on U.S. troops overseas and motivate terrorist action in the U.S. mainland. And I believe government officials have probably hit it right on the head. After all, Salman Rushdie is still in hiding some 22 years after he was accused of blasphemous references to the Koran in his book The Satanic Verses.
To a rational person, the burning of a holy book is merely a symbolic gesture, just like burning a flag. However, we are not talking about rational people, folks. We're talking about extremists who like to fly planes into skyscrapers and kill innocent people.
Burning the Koran is also an ignorant thing to do. If the reverend knew anything about Islam, he would know that it is a very peaceful religion and it regards Jesus Christ in the highest esteem - except in Islam, Christ is one of the three great prophets, not the Son of God. Much of the Koran parallels the Holy Bible. It is the radical knuckleheads that have shaped Islam into the misunderstood and misrepresented state it is in today.
Imagine if the only thing you knew about Christianity was that it represented the Ku Klux Klan (yes, the KKK claims to be a Christian organization). Read that sentence again and think about that for a moment.
Ignorance breeds fear, and fear breeds hate.
For Rev. Jones to doggedly move forward with his own personal agenda while knowingly putting American troops and innocent American citizens in harm's way is the greatest sin any human being can commit.
And if he is looking for publicity for himself and his church, he's got it - on a global scale.
The good reverend would make an excellent politician, wouldn't he?
I've heard arguments saying that Islamic extremists are attacking U.S. troops anyway, so what's the difference if they burn the Koran?
That's an idiotic argument. If I think a shark is going to attack me, do I bathe in blood before I jump into the water? Only if you're a fool.
On the other side, if/when this Koran burning takes place, it will only be a matter of days before Rev. Jones' church is either burned down or blown up, and Rev. Jones himself is car-bombed into oblivion, courtesy of Islamic extremists. You know and I know that's going to happen.
Is it really worth it, Rev. Jones?
The way I see it, if the President of the United States asks you to refrain from doing something, it is only respectful to heed his request, even if you don't like the man and completely disagree with his political agenda.
What would Jesus do, Rev. Jones?
