Monday, August 22, 2005

Another letter, same idiot

I was astonished to open my Sunday paper and find Rod Parsley on the front page. I do not understand why the Columbus Dispatch continues to give credence to a man who spreads hate and bigotry all in the name of God. This man should not be quoted and revered in the local paper each week. Regardless of how many people he supposedly has attending his sermons on Sunday he is not speaking for any form of Christianity I know. Christianity was founded solely on the words and deeds of one man. Jesus Christ. Jesus is the primary way in which Christianity differs from the Jewish and Muslim faiths. All the religions worship the God of David, of Abraham, and Moses. Jesus spent his days talking about love, peace and helping others. He spent his meals with lepers and sinners and his free time with prostitutes and tax collectors. He did not preach hate and condemnation. He did not ask his followers to shun homosexuals or think of themselves as self righteous and better than everyone else. He did not even speak against people of other cultures. Christ encouraged his followers to welcome people of other cultures and religions in brotherly love. The story of the Good Samaritan is about how people from other cultures, who were shunned and hated at that time, are really our neighbors and should be valued as human beings. I was especially disheartened by the quote saying that Muslims have brought more destruction on humanity than other religions. Rod Parsley apparently has not read his Christian history. The holocaust, the crusades and the reformation were all bloody losses of life and a dark period of our Christian heritage just to name a few. Not all Christians are responsible for those events just as only a few Muslim extremists are responsible for today’s events, out of millions of nonviolent faithful Muslims. By repeatedly placing Rod Parsley in the paper, and now on the front page, you are helping him to spread his message of hate to others under the guise of a religion that he does not actually follow. Visit his church and you will see that he is more into self-worship (as evidenced by the magnitude of gigantic self portraits throughout the building) and not Christ worship (as evidenced by the poverty of crosses or Christian symbols). Muslims, homosexuals and every other person in Columbus needs to be told that this man is not the voice of Christianity. By showing him as such you are hurting the Christian faith and the other churches in Columbus. Please get the message out to our citizens that Christianity is about love and acceptance and not about what Rod Parsley is selling.