Terry Jones...Your Favorite Non-Christian's Favorite Christian
Terry Jones...or I mean him no disrespect. Pastor Terry Jones.
One minute he wants to burn copies of the Qu'ran on 9/11, in some deformed tribute to those that lost their lives that day.And then suddenly, he is not.
Jones has catapulted himself into the international spotlight. And I must say, I have more than a few metacarpals to pick with this guy.
First, the message that he is trying to send with burning the Qu'ran - it is like a bad joke. Oftentimes, the difference between that and a good joke is when it misses its intended audience. And this Qu'ran burning thing would definitely do that. Rather than demonstrating that America is still a nation united, this is the perfect example of a nation divided over what we truly stand for.
Second, it was my understanding that Christianity is a religion of compassion, and that Jesus wanted most to teach this one principle - compassion to friends and "enemies." Even if Pastor Jones equates Islam to a religious enemy of faithful Christians, to do anything out of "hate" or lack of compassion towards Muslims would be non-Christian. So Jones wants his congregation to be faithful Christians by being unfaithful to the teachings of Jesus...is your head hurting too?
Perhaps the funniest thing I heard was today, when Pastor Jones said that -
I was always thought that "God worked in mysterious ways" or "the master plan is in God's hands." But apparently, not in Pastor Jones's world. Apparently, God's message can only be real if it comes to Jones in a very specific, and expected form.
Wow, imagine if God really spoke to us in exactly the way we could understand and gave us the message we wanted to see most? Would make decision-making so much easier!
If you know anyone that is not a fan of religion or Christianity in particular, they would likely cite this man as an example of all that is wrong with the institution of religion. He has exploited tensions and misunderstandings about Muslims for self-aggrandizement and set it under the guise of a spiritual and moral battle.
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