The 21st Century started off giving possibly the defining theme of the century: Terrorism. We have known the presence of terrorists in our midst before, but the fall of the WTC Towers burned the image indelibly in our minds. That was followed by the bombs in London's Tubes as well as the carnage at Madrid's Atocha Station. There are other events too many to list. (At Right: In Oklahoma City an innocent child died at the hands of a religious terrorist.)

On Sunday last we faced a murder in an American Church which has to be called an act of Christian terrorism. A Christian and anti abortionist walked into a religious service and murdered a doctor who performed abortions.

You have to wonder who is coping whom here. Did the Muslims get terrorism from the Crusaders nine centuries ago and now the Christians are getting it back from the Muslims?

If this trend continues, will gay people be safe from any believer with a cause, a gun, and his god on his side?

Before I am accused of being anti Christian, let's look at the gory history of Christian terrorism:

• In 1191 Richard the Lion Hearted (of Robin Hood fame) chose to chop off the heads of 2,700 Arab prisoners in one day rather than setting them free because he could not afford to feed them. It was an act that set the Muslims at war with Christians ever since.
• Circa 1900: Following the US Civil War, it became fashionable for Christians leaders in the south to dress up in bed sheets and lynch African Americans without due process of law. Many men of color were flogged, tortured, and hanged on the lies of prejudiced white people. The symbol for this religious organization was a burning cross, and its membership was rife with Christian clergymen.
• 1995: A born again Christian, Timothy McVeigh, bombed a court building in Oklahoma City killing 168 people including members of a kindergarten school. He never repented for his carnage and believed until the end that Jesus made him do it.

It is easy for intelligent people to say that these Christians were wrong, but how do we protect our society in general and gay people in particular from unintelligent terrorists, Muslims or Christians? When a man cannot pray safely in his place of worship, to what extremes will religious fanatics go?

It will be interesting to see if any of the self appointed religious leaders in the conservative churches will speak out against this murder without putting the blame on the victim for his beliefs.