Killing in God's name

Every religion worships the same God.

We have different names for God and we worship Him (or Her) in different ways. Even within a particular religion, there are wide differences of opinion about how God should be worshipped and how the major book for that religion shall be interpreted.

All of these differences can be accommodated by reasonable people in a peaceful world, but there is one major issue that divides all religions.

Is God a symbol of hope, love and compassion or is God a dispenser of punishment for sins who appoints followers to be killers of sinners in His name.

In my view, the undeniable truth is that God has never been a creator of death, even when we die normally. God has never decided who lives or dies or when death shall occur. Nor does he decide who gets ill or suffers hard times. These unavoidable issues of life are determined by nature or by our own irresponsibility.

God, quite simply, has one role only. He gives us the personal spiritual power to handle all that life throws up at us.

So, when Jihadists kill people and claim they did it at God's command, they commit the ultimate blasphemy. Throughout the history of humanity, God has never once called anyone to kill or punish in His name.

Those religious fanatics whose profession is killing are quite simply cold blooded murderers who use God as a very convenient excuse for their bloodthirsty evil.

They even put out the story that God will reward them in heaven by giving them 100 virgins each. Even if there is such a place as heaven, I think that God would not waste virgins on these idiots as he would have no doubt that the virgins have ten times their intelligence. Jihadists are the ultimate delusionists and the prime exponents of depravity.

Nevertheless, there is another huge problem that muddies the water.The creation of peace in the world is retarded by the holier than thou attitude of too many Christians who believe that other religions are false and they are the only true believers. Above all, they are easily convinced that all Muslims are either killers or potential killers.

We constantly overlook centuries of Christian depravity which are highlighted by the murderous Crusades, the burnings at the stake, the hanging of witches and, in more modern times, the horrible bigotry of Protestants and Catholics shooting one another in Northern Ireland. Added to this are the white racist 'Christians' in USA who still persecute and kill African and Spanish Americans, while South African whites did likewise in the apartheid years.

At another level, Christians constantly persecute homosexuals, unmarried mothers and women having abortions, all in the name of God.