If we were to look with objectivity at the crusades, which were in large part organized by the Vatican itself and were designed to free holy places from the control of “the infidels” by killing the infidels, would its victims not tend to think of Christianity as a violent religion? Would not Christianity appear to be a violent religion to the Jews, given the history of anti-Semitism? Would not the gay and lesbian population who have been, and in many places still are, threatened shamefully by Christian leaders, both Catholic and Protestant, whose violent rhetoric has led to violent behavior, appropriately think of Christianity as a violent religion?

In every religious tradition there are people who use religion to justify violence. That is as old as Joshua praying to God to stop the sun in the sky, so that he could kill more of his enemies. But for anyone to approach this by opening to others the chance to say yes to a question such as the one posed for this week, only allows people the opportunity to be negative and destructive. Such questions do not contribute to better understanding.