I honestly don't know what to think of all venom being spewed by both sides in the Quran burning/Islamic Mosque building in New York disputes. For two religions which claim over and over again to promote peace and good will to manifest so much hatred is both hypocritical as well as indicative of what happens to any group (religious or not) that becomes fanatical.

Right wing fanatics, left wing fanatics, sports fanatics and religious fanatics all have one thing in common; they are so far to one extreme or another they have lost sight of reality. If one were to venture into the dark depths of blogs written by far left or right wing political activists, one would be so appalled by the hatred and hostility found on both sides. The same hostility is found in sports junkies whose entire lives revolve around their team always winning.

Nowhere is there more hatred and animosity than among religions. People have been killing other people in the name of religion for thousands of years. Religious zealots of all kinds have lit the fire in the masses which have resulted in crusades, civil wars and terrorism. It is absolutely disgusting what has been and continues to be done "in the name of God".

I am NO FAN of tolerance and I would be the first one to speak up about how tolerance toward sin of every sort has opened the door to the destruction of Christianity as any kind of Godly force in the world. But, when the world spins to the threshold of war over a church's plan to burn a Quran to protest the building of a mosque near the site of the 911 disaster in Manhattan; I think things have gotten out of control.

Right now there are no more despised and hated groups than the one in Florida and the one in Kansas who have or are planning to go ahead and burn the Koran tomorrow. These are the same churches that demonstrate and hold protests at the sites of funerals for United States servicemen killed in Iraq or Afghanistan. All of this is being done "in the name of God".

When God is drug into politics, war and terrorism I can guarantee He will be defamed and made out to be someone He is NOT. When people used "the name of God" to justify anger, hate, revenge and murder; God's Holy Name is drug through the mud and smeared with man's sin.

The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Eternal and Almighty Creator of the Heaven and the Earth is NOT to become the scapegoat for men's lust for power, wealth or fame. It makes me nauseated when I see so called "men of God" doing things God has nothing to do with "in the name of God". These people do nothing but bear false witness against God's Holy name and THEY should be the ones called on the carpet instead of whoever they are preaching against today.

Jesus Christ came as the Prince of Peace and He will come again as the Lion of Judah. Until He comes to destroy the sin on earth and establish His kingdom, there is going to continue to be wars, conflicts and outrageous atrocities committed by people who genuinely hate other people. Jesus did not teach us to burn other religion's holy books. Jesus did not teach us to hate our enemies and carry grudges that manifest themselves in the desire to destroy those who oppose His teachings.

Until the side of Christianity who is quick to condemn and even quicker to condone violence is muted, all of us who call ourselves Christians pay the price. Until and unless Christians are willing to lay down their guns and swords and operate the principles of love and forgiveness Jesus taught, we are practicing a religion no different than what is practiced in Iran or Pakistan. Is that what we really want?

Tomorrow marks a very solemn occasion which must never be forgotten. It also provides an opportunity each year to practice forgiveness and love instead of providing the background for more and more wars.

I am sorry, but I fail to see what has been accomplished through the nearly 9 years of conflicts that sprang from the 911 attacks. I fail to see what the blood of our sons and daughters, brothers and sisters and fathers and mothers has been shed for. All I see, and it is renewed every year at this time, is a desire to retaliate and destroy those behind the attacks. This desire carries on year after year and in one country after another as 911 continues to be the justification for one war after another and it all continues to be done In the Name of God.

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