Holy Wars? God, I Hope Not

Chris Hitchens writes, "The taming and domestication of religious faith is one of the unceasing chores of civilization." On this point, I couldn't agree more.

And while way too much attention has been paid to a small church in Florida, as if these assholes deserve a moment on the world stage, they're a fine example of the kind of faith that needs civilizing. When one faith sets out to attack another faith, they are turning their backs on a basic reality: every faith has it a little bit right, and a little bit wrong. No religion is perfect.

Hitchens goes on to say, "[Islam] is, first, a religion that makes very large claims for itself, purporting to be the last and final word of God and expressing an ambition to become the world's only religion..." I can't say whether this is true of all Muslims, but it holds true for Muslims I know.

This is disturbing because I'd like to defend Islam for its commitment to Compassion and Charity. If facing east in prayer three times a day is important to them, I'd like to see institutions that make allowances for such a thing. But this ridiculous ambition to become the world's only religion makes it a hard sell. Why? Because any religion that can't put its manifestos aside has little legitimate hope of acceptance in a civilized world.

If I have my facts straight, Islam is the second fastest growing religion in the world. The first, thank God, is secularism. I say thank God because secular humanists may hurl insults and get on their high horse, but they don't bomb mosques or fly planes into buildings. They tend to know their religion, like humanity itself, is imperfect.

So, I pray for the domestication of all faiths. I pray for the day Muslims find their footing in Western civilization so they won't feel like they have to go on the defensive every time twenty morons get together to insult them. I pray for a time when people are more tolerant in general, more sophisticated in their manners of thought.

There's a Christian hymn about "The Gift to Be Simple," and I think it's about not getting too caught up in the material trappings of the world, but sometimes it feels as though people take it to mean simple in their worldviews... essentially lazy in their efforts to understand others.

God, I hope not.