I belong to a religious group that has been responsible for horrible acts of terrorism. The majority of us do not believe these terrorists are being true to our faith, but others insist on painting us all with the same brush. Religions that include terrorists are having a hard time, but I hope those with different religious heritages will treat us fairly.
Do not judge our holy book by a few stories. Lots of people condemn sacred texts without having read the book, but the Bible’s violent stories do not characterize the whole text. Yes, when some boys call one of God’s prophets “Baldy,” Elisha curses them in the name of the Lord, and calls two bears to maul 42 children. God commands the Israelites to destroy all the women, children, infants, cattle, sheep and donkeys among the Amalekites. The prophet Hosea promises that God will take revenge against Samaria and “their little ones shall be dashed to pieces and their pregnant women ripped open.” Some argue that a sacred text with such terrible stories leads its followers to be violent, but do not judge the Bible by a few passages.
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