I love baseball. In particular I love minor league baseball which seems to be about the crowd and the game. I can't say I've ever attended a "bad" minor league game. I recently went to a came with a friend when out of town. Weather was a perfect 75 at game time. Twenty bucks got me a fourth row ticket, two beers and two hot dogs. Life just doesn't get much better for me than this.
We were talking about life and things in general. The conversation turned to Holy Week and we compared notes on what the week looks like with our respective denominations. Somehow our conversation turned to Islam. During the course of our conversation a comment was made that it was hard to consider Islam a peaceful religion.
Why didn't I respond? Is Christianity a peaceful religion? Is it more peaceful than Islam? Than Judaism? Than Buddhism?
Of course Islam is just as peaceful a religion as any other religion. I have never heard of a religion that didn't include the desire for peace. Does that mean that all Muslims, Christians, Buddhist, or Jews are peaceful? Of course not; if they were we wouldn't have wars. What is that keeps us from being peacemakers? Envy, greed, domination, the desire for power.
It is well documented that one of the earmarks of early Christianity was that they refused to serve the Empire. It is also documented that once Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire crosses were placed on the shields of soldiers. Once the state claims a religion it seems that war and national agression are condoned as being right as ordained by God.
So how do we see God? I don't know but I do know that I see God as the One who loves. The One who loves Christians and Muslims and Jews and Buddhists. If that is true then the question is how wrong can we all be?
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