Bloodshed in the name of God

Terry Jones has finally done in Afghanistan what he has been unable to do here — cause bloodshed in the streets. The New York Times is reporting that thousands of angry protesters took to the streets in Afghanistan. Riled by the actions of Terry Jones, they overran the compound at the United Nations and killed at least a dozen people — eight of them U.N. staff workers. One witness said the peacekeepers were hunted down by the violent mob.

Calling Terry Jones a pastor is akin to calling Snooki a scholar. I’m loathe to call Jones a pastor because I believe  it’s a bastardization of that beloved role. I don’t consider Jones a pastor, nor do I consider his Florida-based Dove Outreach Center a church.  Again it’s a corruption, designed to denigrate what a real church represents.

Words matter, people.

A lot.

Especially when they are considered holy, as is the Koran that Terry and his vigilantes set aflame this week, as they promised they would, aka Hitler-style.

Terry Jones and his lackeys have the blood of innocent people on their hands.

And so do we. Because we have created this culture that sells the lie that says, ” God is my judge, not you.”

Oh. Golly. How many times do I have to beat this drum?

It is such a lie.

We don’t just answer to God. We answer to each other — one way or another.

Terry Jones has convinced himself and his devotees that the only allegiance they have is to God. They live, and let others die by that notion.

That is not the message of Christ. Just as I suspect the revenge killings that took place today are not supported by the holy words of the Koran.

It’s idealistic to think you can separate church and state, in this day and age, when much of our foreign policy requires dealing with nations who make no such distinctions.

Muslims take their faith far more seriously than we do. It’s not a way of life — it is their life.

We cannot close our eyes to the fact that our faith matters, more now than ever. And in ways we may never have imagined.

Whenever a nation tries to cater to individual rights over the common good, you can be sure there will be violence in the streets somewhere.

Terry Jones has gotten exactly what he hoped for — bloodshed in the name of God.