Tolerance verses Love

A couple of weeks ago I heard a strange story on the news, which has bugged me ever since. I knew I had to write something about it, but I could not settle on one point of focus. I also could not decide on whether this was an example of western culture or not. 

Anyway, this previously unknown pastor of an unknown church in an unknown town, includes in the Sunday service notices that on Saturday, 11th September, there would be a bonfire of the Muslims holy book, the Koran. The more that was explained and the more the story progressed the more confused I became.

What possible reason could anyone have for burning the Koran?

Why would a pastor want to burn any book?

Ghost Buster

Most of our culture is in our minds already. Sometimes I have questioned bits of my culture, but most of the time it just sits there in the back or at the base of my mind, dictating the reactions I should have to different occurrences.

One very good example of this is the Western beliefs in and about ghosts. Whilst living in Africa, with my African family, we were once sat down in front of satellite TV and the film Poltergeist came on. I had not seen it for ages and forgotten most of the plot but as we watched the tension built at certain points and I employed my trick of focusing my gaze beyond and to the side of the TV, so that I could look as if I was watching, but not jump, therefore looking brave. I looked back at the wrong point and jumped anyway, but nobody else in the room did.

"Why did that happen?" someone asked me as a table flew across the room of it's own accord.

"It was the poltergeist," I explained.

"Oh!" they all replied. "What is a poltergeist?"