Sometimes I wonder if the man upstairs, that is if you believe in a creator or divine power, doesn't often say, "what have I let loose on the earth?" Years ago I saw a cartoon in the New Yorker where Moses is holding the sacred tablets next to a burning bush and a booming voice (obviously, the creator) comes out of the clouds and says, "Now Moses, don't turn this into a religion."

For a clearer understanding of the term religion, I thought I would consult an unbiased source. And I hope you will forgive the length of the quote, but it is essential in trying to understand the rest of my essay. According to Webster, religion is "Concern over what exists beyond the visible world differentiated from philosophy in that it operates through faith or intuition rather than reason, and generally including the idea of the existence of a single being or group of beings, an eternal principle, or a transcendent spiritual entity that has created the world, that governs it, that controls its destinies, or that intervenes occasionally in the natural course of history, as well as the idea that ritual, prayer, spiritual exercises, certain principles of everyday conduct, etc., are expedient, due, or spiritually rewarding, or arise naturally out of an inner need as a human response to the belief in such a being, principle, etc."

The emphasis are my own, and the reason I emphasized some statements more than others is that on face value according to this definition, religion has some positive merits. Yes, religion requires faith and intuition, sometimes throwing reason right out the window. However, faith and reason are not mutually exclusive of each other. I also emphasize that ritual, prayer, meditation, certain principles of everyday conduct may be for many of us spiritually rewarding. I also emphasized the inner need as a human response to the belief in such a being. Again, on its face value, many people of faith find enormous strength in believing that someone cares about them and watches over them, that prayer, meditation and absolute silence bring enormous peace and promise.

So now we are 14 days away from the birth of a child whose parents were trying to find a safe place for his birth, which promises to bring much-needed hope into our lives. The short life of this Jewish, Aramaic-speaking person from Galilee was exemplary to the rest of us. It was a new way of living, at looking at our spiritual connection to God. Gone was the harshness and meanness of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. The New Testament and the actions of Jesus, provide example of a loving, kind, forgiving God, and hosw we should behave with each other. And most important, how we should care for each other.

Where am I going with this? Right into the hypocritical heart of self-appointed intolerant bigots perverting the name of Christ, namely the Westboro Baptist Church. I think this was the warning to Moses, "Don't turn this into a religion." What the caption probably should have stated was, "Don't turn this into a perversion of religion."

This anti-Semitic, anti-gay, hatred and perversion of scripture sounds akin to the extremists perversion of the Koran. Where is the New Testament teaching of tolerance and love in this cult's jaundiced perspective of Christianity? Historically, we are well aware of the intolerance of the Crusades, the Inquisition, etc., but after hundreds of years, Christianity finally evolved around the New Testament. This cult has made mockery of Christianity and sent its members back to the Dark Ages.

Of course, atheists and some agnostics may claim, like Marx, that religion is the opiate of the masses and what else can you expect from its followers? Yet, at my age I have seen some truly amazing devotees of the New Testament who actually practice what they preach. Love, kindness, forgiveness, patience, tolerance, etc., certainly do not have to be attached to any spiritual manifestation. For me, I anxiously await the birth of the prince of peace. It seems to me the most beautiful night and day of the year. At least for a brief period, our hearts are filled with the hope that times can be better again.

Writer/historian Orlando Romero may be reached at Nambe1@aol.com.