Christ Cultist

Smashing windows, Jesus-style:

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The pastor of a small Baptist church has refused calls to take down a sign posted in front of his church reading "The Koran needs to be flushed," saying Tuesday he has nothing to apologize for.

"My creed is the Bible, which tells me I am supposed to stand up and defend my faith," said the Rev. Creighton Lovelace, pastor of the 55-member Danieltown Baptist Church in Forest City. "I don't hate Muslims, I just hate their false doctrines...

To be fair, some believers aren't exactly ready to jump on the bandwagon:

Richard Land, who heads the public policy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention, criticized the church's decision.

"If we want other people to respect our religious symbols and documents we need to respect the symbols and documents that they believe are sacred," he said. "What positive purpose does this serve? None. It's not going to make it easier to evangelize Muslims or foster respect for our religious beliefs."

George Bullard, the associate executive director of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, called it "a local church autonomy issue."

"It does not represent the sentiment of our convention," he said. "I can't speak for any particular church, but we are not in support of that."

While demonstrating a degree of tolerance the Christ Cultists seem to lack, Ibrahim Hooper, spokesperson for the Council on Islamic-American relations, notes that Jesus is actually considered a significant figure in Islam:

"Christians often ask themselves, 'What would Jesus do?'" said the group's spokesman, Ibrahim Hooper. "I don't think Jesus, who is loved by Muslims and mentioned frequently in the Quran, would use such hate-filled and divisive rhetoric."

But, proving that wingnuttia is a vast, yet empty void, the article goes on to mention:

Lovelace said he does not believe he is being intolerant.