Certain religious groups need to renounce radicalism in their midst

Religious leaders across the country are being called upon to renounce radical extremists in their midst. "The vast majority of us are devout individuals who go about our business in a peaceful way. We are a peace loving people trying to do God's will. Our religion is a religion of peace. But every faith seems to have a certain number of extremists who become radicalized who must be identified and neutralized or eliminated. Certain individuals, even those from wealthy families, like Osama bin Laden of Saudi Arabia, are susceptible to radicalization. "We are investigating our excommunication provisions at this time," said one church spokesperson. "We are calling for those across the country to monitor the actions and words of its radical extremist members and to be aware of possible sleeper cells," she said. "When we hear certain individuals spout messages of hate and fear, we must stand up to them and take the appropriate actions. In our case, as Presbyterians, we have among us one such radicalized man calling for discrimination against others and inciting violence against others, and he is Donald Trump. His radical un-American, unconstitutional messages of bigotry must not go unchallenged. Other signs to look for include acquisitions of weapons and ammunition or extremist literature received like NRA membership leaflets. The tendency to walk public streets with automatic weapons can be a sign of trouble. Apocalyptic beliefs and stockpiling of canned goods and water in underground bunkers can be an indicator as well. If you see church members exhibiting any of the signs, please call the local authorities. And please be mindful that it's only a very small minority spreading these messages of hate." * * * * * * *

In other news this week, noted theologian and Biblical scholar Sarah Palin shared her insight on one of the pressing issues of the day: whether Jesus would support concealed carry laws - she says he would. Known for her careful exegetical interpretation of ancient Hebrew texts, fluent in the hermeneutics of Friedrich Schleiermacher, Wilhelm Dilthey, Martin Heidegger, Hans-Georg Gadamer, Paul Ricoeur, Northrop Frye, Walter Benjamin, Jacques Derrida and Fredric Jameson, Sarah Palin applies her thoughtful and cogent Biblical scholarship to another contemporary issue of our time........"Jesus was a piece maker not a peace maker," she said. "The Bible may have said to pound swords into ploughshares, but it didn't say nothin' about AR-15s." * * * * * * * * *