9/11 and the Sport of God

Not my title but I couldn't think of anything remotely catchy to introduce this article that I found on TomPaine today. I'm not exactly sure what to make of it (or where to begin) so I'm going to give you a few teasers and you'll have to go off on your own and read the lengthy article yourself.

This article also goes well with the topic that is now being discussed over at Charlie's place. Hop in and have a peak when you get a chance.

First, the explanation:
This article is adapted from Bill Moyer's address this week at Union Theological Seminary in New York, where Judith and Bill Moyers received the seminary’s highest award, the Union Medal, for their contributions to faith and reason in America. Bill Moyers is a broadcast journalist and former host the PBS program NOW With Bill Moyers. Moyers also serves as president of the Schumann Center for Media and Democracy, which gives financial support to TomPaine.com.

This caught my eye quickly:
The First Amendment neither inculcates religion nor inoculates against it. Americans could be loyal to the Constitution without being hostile to God, or they could pay no heed to God without fear of being mugged by an official God Squad. It has been a remarkable arrangement that guaranteed “soul freedom.”

I read this and thought, "Ah, here it comes..." But it didn't. Keep reading.
Yes, the Koran speaks of mercy and compassion and calls for ethical living. But such passages are no match for the ferocity of instruction found there for waging war for God’s sake.

Because then he says this and goes on to cite instances in the bible where the death, destruction and overall wrath of our "loving" god ordered mass genocide, the raping of virgins and the murder of all first born sons:
Muslims have no monopoly on holy violence. As Jack Nelson-Pallmayer points out, God’s violence in the sacred texts of both faiths reflect a deep and troubling pathology “so pervasive, vindictive, and destructive” that it contradicts and subverts the collective weight of other passages that exhort ethical behavior or testify to a loving God.

In his words:
Violence: the sport of God. God, the progenitor of shock and awe.

At this point the article isn't even half read. I could excerpt more, but I'd rather you just go and read it in its entirety for yourself.