Wow, way to miss the whole point, dudes

Church's 'Jesus loves Osama' sign criticised

The Australian prime minister has criticised a Sydney baptist church for erecting a sign declaring that "Jesus Loves Osama".

The slogan, a reference to Osama bin Laden, the al-Qa'eda leader, has provoked a storm of controversy across the country despite its apparently Christian message of forgiveness.

Small print at the bottom of the sign urges churchgoers to "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you", a quotation from Matthew 5:44.

But John Howard, the prime minister, said that the church should have chosen a less offensive way of spreading its message.

"I understand the Christian motivation of the Baptist church," he said.

"But I hope they will understand that a lot of Australians, including many Australian Christians, will think that the prayer priority of the church on this occasion could have been elsewhere."

Peter Jensen, the Anglican archbishop of Sydney, said that the sign - which has been put up outside several churches in the city - was confusing and potentially offensive.

"There is a truth in it," he said. "But, "what we've got to say is, 'Jesus doesn't approve of Osama.' It makes it sounds like, 'Oh, Osama's doing the right thing'."

A spokesman for the Central Baptist Church told the Australian Daily Telegraph that it was merely "sharing the gospel".

He said: "Osama is the head of terrorism. We are saying that Jesus Christ loves everyone in the world, even this man. ... All we are doing is sharing the gospel."


So the Prime Minister said, “…that the prayer priority of the church on this occasion could have been elsewhere.” Ok, he’s a politician, so he’s expected to say stupid things. I mean, who better to pray for than the planet’s most wanted criminal?

But the “Anglican archbishop of Sydney” (whatever that is, I’m assuming it’s Catholic) said, “…that the sign was confusing and potentially offensive” and that, “There is a truth in it, but what we've got to say is, 'Jesus doesn't approve of Osama.' It makes it sounds like, 'Oh, Osama's doing the right thing'."

ONLY IF YOU’RE AN IDIOT! I’m sorry, but shouldn’t he know better?

First of all, there isn’t “a truth in it”, it IS the truth. I love how certain “religious” people pick and choose the parts of the Bible they want to believe and abide by. How can he say “there is a truth in it”? We ARE supposed to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us, and Jesus DOES love Osama, same as he loved Stalin, Mussolini, Hitler, Custer, Saddam, and George W. Bush. That is not to say Jesus ever approved of anything they did.

Unfortunately, nowhere in the Bible does it say we get to choose which of our enemies we’re suppose to pray for. I can’t believe someone who considers himself a religious leader would say something so asinine.

But then again, I’m not so sure a Catholic leader is someone we’d want to hold up as an authority on Jesus anyway. Still, he should know better.

Like it or not, believe it or not, it’s still the truth. And it is the Gospel. And good for the Baptists in Australia. The American Baptists could learn a little something from their example. But that would mean actually having the strength of your convictions...