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When I opened the verticals this morning this is the sight that greeted my eyes. What a beautiful world we live in until nature wreaks havoc, like the terrible earthquake that ravaged Haiti.
We cannot always control nature, but why must man ruin his environment with war and hatred? An age old question that has yet to be answered. The Rev. Pat Robertson said that the earthquake in Haiti was the result of God’s wrath at the Haitians for making a pact with the devil to get out from under French colonial rule. Enough has already been written about this inane statement, but it started me thinking.
Since man found religion he has executed the most terrible atrocities in it's name. We all know about the Christian atrocities; the cruelty of the Crusades, the Inquisition, the drowning of the Huguenots, the Salem Witch trials, and so many others. The tragic part of this is that many of the perpetrators believed they were doing God's work. To say they were misguided is an immense understatement. Whether the sanctimonious men were just plain evil or deluded is irrelevant; the atrocities were done in God's name.
It hasn't stopped. In Uganda Homosexuals are beaten, blackmailed, threatened with death and subjected to "correctional rape". These atrocities were fueled by three Evangelical Christians who teach that homosexuality can be cured. Their teachings have been disproved here, but are believed by the government in Uganda.
The three, Scott Lively, Caleb Brundige, and Don Schmeirer have given talks to teachers, the police and politicians claiming that homosexuality is a threat to Bible based family values. I wonder what kind of families these three hate filled men came from. Certainly their values are none that my family would recognize.
Their misinterpretation of the Bible's teaching has led to the introduction of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009. This bill being considered would punish lesbians and gay men with death or life imprisonment. And this is done in the name of Christianity. To his credit, the televangelist, Rick Warren, has denounced the bill saying that homosexuality should not be criminalized.
While we piously denounce the Taliban for their extreme interpretation of the Koran we have their version in our midst with the right wing Christians who, through ignorance, preach hatred and the evils of 'their version of sin' on a daily basis. Like the Taliban, they have an extreme interpretation of the Bible. What is frightening to me is that so many listen to these charlatans.
