Hey guys,
You may not remember, but back in September Terry Jones, the leader of the Dove Outreach Center in Florida stated that he was planning on burning the Koran at Ground Zero in New York to commemorate 9-11. The fifty member new-age church claims that its members have been chosen by God to lead the country into a new era. Their website sells t-shirt, coffee cups, books, and a number of other items all with the phrase “Islam is of the Devil” written on it.
In late march Terry Jones took it upon himself to put the Koran on trial. In a mock judicial proceeding Jones had lawyers for the defense and prosecution, called upon witnesses, and he himself sat as the judge. The Koran was found guilty of “rape, murder, and terrorism” and was publicly executed by burning on March 20 after its “conviction.”
This past weekend has seen violent protests in a number of Middle Eastern countries in response to the burning of the Koran… about a dozen people have died as a result of these protests which were prompted when the news of the burning finally reached areas around the world.
I am disgusted by these types of actions. Disgusted by people like Terry Jones who feels it is necessary to prove his own faith by trying to rip holes in others… putting the Koran on trial for the actions of a small minority of those who claim to follow it… really? Should we review all the misdeeds of followers of the Bible? And are we to assume that the Bible is responsible for the actions of Christian fundamentalists? I think not…
Terry Jones is a first class con-artist… his website is littered with links to donation pages where you can help his cause, buy some of his propaganda, and purchase mugs, t-shirts, and lunch boxes.
We will never achieve peace so long as people like Terry Jones and fundamentalists from all three “Peoples of the Book” seek to force their will on others.
Last Friday I had lunch with a Muslim Imam, a Jewish Cantor, a Catholic Priest, and a Lutheran Minister… their message was simple and to the point, they said “there are multiple paths to God and we need not hurt others to find our way.”
These men will be speaking to my classes in the coming weeks and I am curious to hear their take on incidents like the Koran burning and people like Terry Jones.
What do you think?
- X
UPDATE: 4/5/11
Pastor Terry Jones gave an interview yesterday stating that he is not responsible for the deaths due to the violence which as erupted since his group burned a copy of the Koran. In this case I tend to agree with him... while the burning of a Holy Book is a disgusting act, responding to that act with violence is not acceptable.
Jones also stated that his group has started to receive hundreds of death threats by mail and email each day. The police and FBI have said that it costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to protect the Dove Outreach Center and they are getting tired of Jones' antics and rhetoric.
One final note, in an interview with a local television station in Florida this week, Jones was asked how he protects himself... he then took out a gun which he keeps on him at all times... a strange sight for a man of God...
UPDATE: 4/5/11
Pastor Terry Jones gave an interview yesterday stating that he is not responsible for the deaths due to the violence which as erupted since his group burned a copy of the Koran. In this case I tend to agree with him... while the burning of a Holy Book is a disgusting act, responding to that act with violence is not acceptable.
Jones also stated that his group has started to receive hundreds of death threats by mail and email each day. The police and FBI have said that it costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to protect the Dove Outreach Center and they are getting tired of Jones' antics and rhetoric.
One final note, in an interview with a local television station in Florida this week, Jones was asked how he protects himself... he then took out a gun which he keeps on him at all times... a strange sight for a man of God...
My cousin is a Born Again Christian, And I'm Catholic. Sometimes it's difficult not to talk religion with him, but we always keep it at a minimum. We disagree on things, but I always tell him that no matter what I believe and what he believes, and what they differ on, I still respect him, and his beliefs. I'm happy that he believes in SOMETHING. I would never step on his toes, and pick fights with him, which is exactly what this man was aiming to do. He gained nothing, and lost (possibly) many lives of Americans because of Iraqis fueled by religious ferver.
ReplyDelete~Victoria DuBois
i am a catholic and i have a friend that doesnt believe in any form of God. everyday during gym class he goes on this huge attacks against the bible; the koran and the tanakh. he never wants to listen to anyone elses opions or view on relgion because to him, what he believes is the only right thing. almost everyday he ends up getting into a screaming macth with someone else in our gym class yet when we ask him to talk about something else he never complies. i feel that my friend would be the type of person to go along with a man like Terry Jones just for the fact that he is against something.
ReplyDeletepeople like Terry Jones put a bad long on every relgious person. something should be done to prevent Mr. Jones from continueing on this attack against Islam.
Religion should be peaceful so why people are so critical about it is besides me. People misinterpret it all the time. I am a Christian and I have learned most of my knowledge on my religion in the past year. I am proud to say that I believe in God and Jesus Christ, but if someone doesn't, they shouldn't be condemned.
ReplyDeleteI know people from many religions and we're all trying to go to the same place. I believe heaven is the same for everyone. It's how they get there that's different. Regardless, we should let people worship whatever religion they want.
-Brandon Maxwell
So this man is all for freedom of speech, but not freedom of religion? Don't they fall under the same categories? Thats hypocritical and ugly. These people need to stop for two seconds and examine the important things in life, and stop picking fights. Christianity is not supposed to be violent, that is not what is preached.
ReplyDeleteIt is people like this who keep the violent actions going. I know that the idea of peace is most likely not going to happen, but if you are supposed to be a man of God, you should not be doing this. It seems like his God would be against doing this and promoting peace, but i guess his God is different from everyone elses.
ReplyDeleteYou had said in class that the government had explained to him the effect (though obviously not direct) that this action would have on the innocent-er Americans fighting overseas.
ReplyDeleteAnd he still chose to do this. I really can't find any other word to describe this as than idiotic. The people he is 'hating' are the exact same type of extremist as he is! I don't know if I'm articulating my point well, but just as much as he doesn't like extremist Muslims, he is being an extremist Christian.
However, while the action of those in the Middle East is... understandable, I think the people there (I don't know if they do or not) should know that not all Americans think like this. Personally, I don't hate every Middle Eastern person because of 9/11... I understand that this was few extremists and the ideas of few does not equal the ideas of many. I can only hope that many people in the Middle East see this too, you know?