It's not the end times, Dr. Prevo; get a grip

Frontiersman editorial board

If you were bored with the Tampa Bay, New Orleans overtime on Sunday, you may have flipped through the channels from time to time. If so, you might have stumbled across Jerry Prevo's call to arms. Dr. Prevo was in good fire and brimstone form as he went over passages from Revelation, Psalms and other places in the Bible where he said Christ was calling us to take up arms. It just didn't sound like a Christian message.

One of Dr. Prevo's messages was that Islam is, indeed, a religion of hatred, and that it is apparently aligned with Satan against good Christians. He said that if a country such as Iraq were ever to take over America, Christians would be murdered. To prevent such religious persecution, Christians should take up arms to defend themselves against the "forces of Satan." There's nothing like a little Christian tolerance and compassion to show all those hateful religions and allies of Satan how it's done.

The truth is, every religion is a religion of hatred when it's in the wrong hands -- or at least in the wrong minds. Some scholars believe that Hitler's hatred of Jews was seeded by his early experiences in the Christian religion. Indeed, the Swastika was a religious symbol before he painted it in colors of hatred. Ask a member of the KKK if he believes in God. He'll tell you he's a dyed-in-the-wool Christian, fighting for the sanctity of the white, Christian race. Really, he will. He'll justify his violent hatred of Jews, homosexuals, blacks and anyone else who poses a perceived threat -- and he'll quote from the Bible when he makes those justifications. Members of the Klan will swing Christianity as a double-edged sword, with Christian love on one blade and the wrath of God on the other.

The issues the United States must address in the Middle East are critical ones. They are political issues, and they are issues of national security. The United States on 9/11 was attacked in a way that continues to shock our sensibilities. It was an attack by desperate and cold-blooded murderers against everything we stand for and believe in. It was not, however, the forces of Satan rising up to signal the end times. It was not a call to Christians to fight a holy war to trigger the second coming of Jesus, as Dr. Prevo seemed to suggest.

No matter what you may think of other religions, it is important you adhere to the tenets of your own. If you believe Christianity is steeped in compassion and tolerance, you cannot justify hatred in the name of God. If you believe Christianity is a religion of wrath and vengeance, perhaps the end is, indeed, near.