It's time for the can of Gandhian Whoopass

Of course you've heard about the Crazy Christians who are planning to Burn the Quran on September 11th. If you haven't you've been in a coma or on a silent retreat somewhere. Anyway, nobody better to take on Pastor Jones than Anderson Cooper ... who was at his best last night. Yes, it's hard to watch someone being this lame, but check it out anyway:



This craziness has been going on for awhile. I mentioned it back in my sermon on August 1st:

Then there was the story yesterday on CNN about the Florida church that announced plans for the fall. They’re going to burn a copy of the Quran! On September 11! I find myself wondering, is there some kind of contest out there I don’t know about? Is there a prize for making Jesus look bad this week? Here’s a comment from my Facebook page just yesterday:

You’re smart to wear your sunglasses in your profile picture. What’s going on in the news right now doesn’t make Christians look very good. I’d be hiding, too.

Ouch! The sad truth is that we are surrounded by people yearning for a spiritual community, longing for the Good News that Jesus has to offer them, and thinking that they know enough about being a Christian not to want to be one. And what they’re reading in the news about Christians isn’t helping.

And that's why I have this one last rant for the day.

I TOTALLY hear all of those arguments about how we shouldn't be giving this any attention and we should ignore him and his maybe-fifty-member congregation and why is he getting all this publicity, and, and.

And ...

Let's face it: this guy is just the wing-nut-du jour who's crawled out from under the rock of bias & bigotry. And he's not alone.

Sadly we know there are LEGIONS of others out there spewing this same kind of ignorant venom and maybe -- just maybe -- exposing their idiocy to the light of day will help wake up some of the "moderate middle" out there who think our Muslim brothers and sisters have cornered the market on whacko fundamentalists.

Here's a wake up call: We have our own lunatic fringe of Radical Religiousites in desperate need what my rector refers to as having a "can of Gandhian whoopass" opened up on 'em. And here's a chance to do precisely that.

Whether we like it or not, it's the story of the week. It's the opportunity du jour. It's the hand we've been dealt.

So cue music and "Come Labor On."

Figure out how to get your voice out there ... in letters to the editor, in comments on the news blogs, on the call-in shows in your community. Find a place to show up and speak out. Your local Isalmic Center is a great place to start.

Let's use this as a platform to preach about God's inclusive love and not roll over and let one Crazy Christian and his maybe-fifty-something followers put our men & women in uniform in more danger AND make Jesus look bad to the whole darned planet at the same time.

We have Christian Values, too -- and they're not bigotry, hatred and discrimination ... they're love, justice and compassion.

This is NO time to be silent. It's a time to stand up. To speak out. To make your voices heard.

Go. Do it. Now.