You're not HELPing....

[Note: I had not heard about the definitive canceling of the book-burning before writing this. I am glad it was canceled, but I think the sentiment in here is important anyhow (because someone else out there is surely contemplating something similar), so I'm leaving this up.]

Dear Pastor Book-burner,

I know that's not your name, and that you, strictly speaking, haven't burned books yet. (Or at least not the books you're getting known for wanting to burn. Who knows what you've done in your spare time before?) But that's what you're currently getting famous for. Whether or not you go through with it, right now what you're mainly known for is: "The guy who thinks burning a religion's holy book will accomplish anything meaningful."

I am appalled at my own kind

Well, they're not quite my own kind. I recognize them as Christians, but we're obviously very different. It's the ones who, in the wake of the horrendous tragedy at Fort Hood, are saying, "See, Muslims are all terrorists!" Who are, in the main, the same ones who when people, oh, say, shoot an abortion doctor in the name of Christ, don't have anything to say about that, or at best say "But that's not what we believe!"... and then refuse to give the same courtesy to others.

I'm appalled that Christians give other Christians a free pass on such acts, but immediately harp on anyone of any other religion, especially Muslims. We worship the same God. Never mind my belief that ultimately we all do, I mean this one much more literally; Muslims consider Jesus one of the great prophets and believe some of the same things Christians do about him (albeit not all of them). We should get along better. It's one of the shames of religion that we can't. And one of the shames of American Christians in particular that so many of them refuse to believe anyone who says "We're not all like that."

Are there bad Muslims? Yes. But there are also bad Christians. And a lot of them are right here in this country. Condemning the entire religion based on the whack-jobs is really... unChristian. Brotherhood, remember?