Both apples and religion can be rotten at the core.

Religion — The Common Thread Apples. Beautiful fruit, crisp and sweet. Yet it seems that lately I get tasty looking fruit that, though palatable on the outer edge, are rotten at the core. And a similar conclusion can be drawn about religion by objective observers. If you bite deeply enough into it, you are likely to get a mouth full of putrid core dogma.
I don’t know many Muslims. Of course, there’s Muhammed Ali and a few other prominent names that evoke friendly feelings, but very few live and socialize in my area. I suspect that many are nice people with good hearts.
Observers say that Islam is different from Christianity, mostly in terms of maturity. The Christians had their Reformation and Enlightenment several centuries ago. Those wrenching upheavals took much of the vitriol from the Christian Church — but certainly not all. They still are capable of irrational dogma and actions — and so, continue to create problems for the human race.
The Islamic religion is way behind in terms of not having had that Reformation. And they need it badly. Their fundamentalists are living in a world bound by the seventh century, basing their faith on the rotten core of their ancient “inerrant” texts. And this leads to much of the mischief we see from their “radical” extremists — said to interpret the holy texts in ways that go against the true Muslim religion. But the fact is that these “radicals” don’t have to “interpret” anything in those texts. All they have to do is read it in black and white. It is the civilized modern Muslims who must “interpret” the texts if they are to live with its consequences in the modern world. And that’s why I say religion is rotten at the core. Christopher Hitchins used to say, “religion poisons everything”. I think he may have had a core of truth in that statement.
I do know Christians. I grew up with many of them. And I know that most are loving, gentle people — the salt of the earth, so to speak. And then, there are the Christian extremists who, for example, shoot up abortion clinics and kill doctors in the name of God and saving babies — acts that have the net long-term effect of killing the human race (the earth cannot forever add a net 120,000 humans per day without eventual collapse — even if we do abandon use of fossil fuels.)
The human race, including those Christians mentioned above, is blind — I’m talking large percentages here. Many can’t see what is causing violent public killings and attacks. But there is a common thread, that rotten core, if we can only discern it among the shiny fruit — and it goes by two words: “irrational belief”. It boils down to the following: any “faith” that can make you believe irrationally can make you commit irrational acts.
In spite of the fact that religion has provided much of the glue for developing civilization, it is also at the root of most of our discontent, of our malady of jihad and terroristic acts, be they committed by Islamic “radicals” or Christian purists or Jewish fundamentalists or right-wing skin-heads or of any other sects or groups influenced by “ancient and inerrant” holy text. And here is why:
Any “faith” that attempts to force one ideal on all people can make you kill those who have a different idea.
Any “faith” that insists that a human baby can be born to a virgin can make you irrational in taking the measure of the real world.
Any “faith” that can make you believe that a god can mate with a human woman can make critical thinking an impossible task.
Any “faith” that can make you believe that the earth is only 6000 years old can make you believe it is flat and the center of the solar system — in spite of several thousand years of education and research to the contrary.
Any “faith” that convinces you that the holy text of your religion is “inerrant” can make you incapable of understanding the real world.
Any “faith” that can convince you that grape juice and a cracker can become the real flesh and blood of a person now dead for 2000 years can convince you to believe anything — anything at all!
Any “faith” that can convince you that consummating a marriage with a nine year old girl is socially acceptable can convince you that any treatment of women whatsoever is acceptable.
Any “faith” that can convince you to murder those who worship in a different manner than you can convince you to murder those who do anything different from you.
Any “faith” that can convince you that apostates deserve death can convince you to attach chains to a person’s body and rip them limb from limb on a rack — or set them on fire.
Any “faith” that can convince you that miracles happen — by clerical vote — can convince you to mob anyone who disagrees with those clerics.
Any “faith” that can convince you — by clerical vote 300 years after his death — that a man is a god can convince you of virtually anything!
Any “faith” that can convince you that anything said or done in the advancement of Islam (or Christianity or Judaism, …) is acceptable can convince you to lie about your real purpose and agenda.
Any “faith” that can convince you that there is one god and he is on your side in any confrontation with anyone else can convince you that your way is the only way and others must accept your way, by force, if necessary.
Any “faith” that can convince you that you that God wants you to impose “his will” on others can convince you to murder them. In short, irrational beliefs lead to irrational acts — and to the extent that black and white “ancient inerrant” texts are at odds with modern civilization, we see the difference expressed as violent acts of terrorism. And the continuous refrain is: “If you only believe …”
The human race can try to eat from only the edge of the “ancient inerrant” apple. But it seems that a better plan might be to find a different apple — one with edible fruit on a solid core. We could call it the “rational” cultivar — crisp and sweet, through and through.