Trouble in paradise

There are two crazy lines in religion these days. One is the terrorist. They claim to be Muslim and Islamic. From a western point of view, they are one in the same. It would be like being catholic and your Christian. I have never read the Koran. They say it promotes peace. The flip side is how you get to peace. One says by being peaceful. The other says kill all the enemies of Islam. Which is it?

            Some people say that the proof is in the pudding. What makes up Islam. Well it’s Muslims of course. Still, some people say there are good Muslims and bad Muslims. The pudding is what we see. This is not Islam’s finest hour. Maybe the terrorist groups think it is their finest hour. What I admire (if anything) about the Islamist is their honesty. They will blow up and kill anything to obtain peace in a violent way. They will sacrifice themselves for the greater good. Now that happens to come at the expense of women, children, men, and free will, but at least their honest.

            What to do with these guys? Clearly there is no compromise. Ideologically they believe the only way to winning this war (it is a war) is violent sacrifice. It’s interesting that historical movements have tried to erase history. This new terror cell is burning museums and artifacts. They burn books and wipe out libraries. They kill men and keep the children and women. Some of the problems are where they live. They live in your neighborhood. They work with you. They run for politics and build their mosques right down the street. All fair in love and war, right?

            What does God (Jewish God) have to say about this?

Leviticus 19:33-34 “When a stranger sojourn with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. 34 You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

            Ok, let’s look at the other side. The Jewish, Christian, and the western side. I realize that Christian and Jewish does not mean western. Yet, the mindset of these two faiths built western society. We westerners took it upon ourselves to uphold the scripture above. We claim to have the God of love. We are asked by that God to welcome strangers and treat them well.  I guess that is what God has to say.

            Then there is the dilemma. God also said that we should not intermarry with the foreigner. He asked us not to adopt their customs. At times in ancient history, God went to war against the stranger. You could say that what happened thousands of years ago is now being repeated by the Islamist. The trouble today is really the welcome mat. The bad Muslims are cemented in our lives. They work with us. They shop with us. In a way, they are us. If they claim that there are Good and bad Muslims that pledge allegiance to Islam, then Houston we have a really big complicated problem.

            The western guy does not get it. I think the reason we have not kicked all Muslims out is the God of love. Within western DNA is welcoming strangers. We all came from strange lands to make western society. To welcome Muslims is part of our history. We were not taught to kick people out. We don’t kill in the name of our God. We try and work with those who are not like us.

            I was told years ago that the only way to achieve understanding is to relate and talk in the manner of your adversary. If you treat them as they treat you then there will be understanding. It makes sense. That is the problem. A part of me wants to kill every bad Islamist I can find. I want to drop their body parts all over the Middle East. I want to burn down their mosques and kick them all out. I get that side. Yet, my other side says no. it’s not Jewish. It’s not Christian. It’s not western.

            The crux. Three different religions that believe they serve the same God. Did you know that. To a point in the Bible, the Muslim, Jewish, and Christian can agree in God. The name and purpose of God differ, but it’s the same dude. There are historical reasons to hate Jews that killed. There are historical reasons to hate Christians that killed. There are historical and present reasons to hate Muslims. I am certain there is no answer. The western guy says there is a peaceful answer. Jesus might say there is a peaceful answer. Yet, until the Islamist seeks a peaceful answer were screwed. Two ideologies woven into the fabric of the world. A fabric that is war torn apart unfortunately. Will there always be trouble in paradise?

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