Paul Glass: True ‘Christians’ cannot be terrorists
Re “Don’t forget about our homegrown terrorists” (Letters, May 2): The letter brings to light a very ugly reality. At the same time, I challenge the writer’s basic premise: that the violent and deadly acts of a few people should allow us to cast an entire group as intolerant and hateful.
The phrase “Christian extremist” is a contradiction. If the writer is using the name “Christian” to refer to the disciples of Jesus Christ, then he might not understand what a true follower or disciple is. Jesus told his followers to “Love your neighbor as yourself.” The word “neighbor” means: “any other man irrespective of nation or religion with whom we live or whom we chance to meet.”
If an individual or group claims to follow Christ, but their words and actions are not in line with Christ’s direct commandments, then their position should be strongly scrutinized. The Apostle John tells us: “My dear friends don’t believe everything you hear. … Not everyone who talks about God comes from God.”
To label a group of people – Christians, Muslims or any other – as extremists based solely on the actions of a small group is like conceding a man is a tree just because he says so.
Paul Glass, Merced
This story was originally published May 11, 2015 at 1:17 PM with the headline "Paul Glass: True ‘Christians’ cannot be terrorists."