Burn Baby Burn

Nothing so clearly demonstrates a sense of biased , prejudice and deeper down, fear and anxiety than the whole concept of book burning.  When a leader of a nation or a small cjurch decides to burn a specific book they do so because they are unable to intelligently discuss the merits or lack of merits of the book.  There  are a number of books that I find to be of questionable merit, integrity or worth to mankind as a whole.  My opinion is drawn from the fact that I actually read these books and compared them to my own I f to belief system and past experiences.  Based on my actual knowledge of these books, I am prepared to argue my point of view but only to the point that I accept the fact that my adversary may also hav e a conflicting point of view, no matter how silly I may think it is, and fore that reason, I may shake my head in disbelief and frustration but I would never interpose myself in any plan that would attempt to restrict others to draw their own conclusions.  In other words, no matter how stupid I think a piece if literature may be, I could never support any attempt to restrict someone from reading it.  The Quran is a religious document with as much historical bonafides as the Christian New Testament or the Hebrew Pentateuch.  No one knows who actually wrote the books of the new testament with the exception being the works of Paul. The other books of the new testament were written from oral traditions finally captur3d in written form by scribes and other nameless religious leaders.  If the nee testament were a contract, no court in the land would accept it as valid/  The five books of the old testament, while being more strictly controlled in their transcription process are written anonymously.  The Quran, on the other hand makes a point of notifying the reader that these are the words of a prophet who was illiterate and therefore the words were passed on verbally to scribes and relatives after the events in question.  No one, therefore, has the monopoly on blind ignorance following written words by people who are not the original authors.  Who then gave either of thew major religions the right to claim absolute authority on what is right or wrong.  As it turns out, from reading all three versions of religious dogma, none of the big three claims absolute authority and all make considerable room for dissenting ideas and provide for systems of tolerance of these dissenting ideas.  It is only when we turn over the concept of interpretation to individuals do we encounter problems.  All of a sudden we find individuals who have apparently set up a private email address to the deity and now become the deities private spokesman to the exclusion of all others.  No debate, no dissension allowed and no ability or wish to use anything even resembling human intellect in the entire process.  I am sorry that this miserable little minister is so afraid of the written word that he feels the need to burn it.  It is a shame that he cannot see that such intolerant acts have such grim and brutal historic precedence.  I doubt his educational background is notable and his concept of the Christian religion is certainly very lacking.  If his act of conducting a mass burning of the Quran leads to violence and deaths against the men and women serving in Islamic nations, then he must bear full responsibility and answer to their families and hopefully to a saddened and angry God.