For many Christians, holiday is grim, tense
From the "The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same" Department, it seems that some of us forgot about Christmas spirit. The honor roll:
LONDON -- Bloodshed marred some of the world's Christmas celebrations and social tensions shadowed others.
A grenade killed a girl and two other worshippers at a church in Pakistan, bombs exploded at a church in India, protesters blocked church doors in Yugoslavia.
Most tourists and religious pilgrims stayed away from Bethlehem on Wednesday, but a small number of Palestinian Christians braved dreary weather to attend Mass in the town of Jesus' birth....
Earlier, Pakistani police found explosives and ammunition in a shopping bag hidden in bushes near a heavily guarded church in the capital, Islamabad. Church officials feared they had been the intended target of an attack, but went ahead with services.
Security had been increased at churches around the predominantly Islamic nation, which has seen a string of attacks by extremist Muslims aimed at Christians.
Security also was heightened in the Southeast Asian nation of Indonesia.
Thousands of police were deployed in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, as Christians flocked to churches to celebrate Christmas despite warnings that Islamic extremists might target places of worship this holiday season....
Indonesian police seized 550 pounds of a fertilizer usable in explosives that they said was to be delivered to a fugitive bomber.
They said the cache of ammonium nitrate seized in Palu, about 930 miles northeast of Jakarta, was much bigger than the amount detonated in devastating blasts in Bali's nightlife district on Oct. 12. Those explosions killed 192 people, most of them Western tourists.
In eastern India, a gang armed with crude bombs attacked a Protestant church on Christmas Eve, wounding six people and robbing hundreds of worshippers.
The 20 assailants set off several bombs, then grabbed valuables from the congregation and raided a church safe before fleeing when officers arrived.
In Belgrade, Yugoslavia, about 30 hard-line Serb nationalists prevented dozens of worshippers from attending an Anglican Christmas Eve church service that was to be held in a Serbian Orthodox chapel.
Following a spate of recent bombings in Bangladesh, police guarded churches as the South Asian nation's small Christian community celebrated Christmas with prayers, carols and feasts.
The Christmas message from the Vatican focused on a plea to avoid war.
Well, at least the Religion of Peace is once again proving itself to be a study in contradictions. OK, to be fair, it's not Islam that is the problem here, but it is certainly the recurring theme. Call me naive, but I am amazed at the ability of humans to harbor and harness the degree of hatred required to carry out such heinous acts. Muslims who carry out acts of terror and murder in the name of their religion, have, in my way of thinking, forfeited their humanity and deserve to be hunted and exterminated like the animals they are. If they cannot deal with their problems and grievances without maiming and killing innocent civilians, they need to be sent to meet their Maker, ASAP.
Before anyone starts questioning my Liberal credentials, let me remind you that this is about all of us- Muslim, Christian, Jew, or whatever- learning to play together. If you cannot play with others, you need to get the hell out of the sandbox before someone gets you out of there. The time is coming when civilized people and nations will scream "Enough!" If it means ripping terrorists limb from limb like wild dogs, so be it. They deserve nothing less.
