In Theory:

David Koresh, the wacko of Waco, Texas, was also a supposed Christian who led his family and followers into the 1993 gun battle with police that incinerated their compound and resulted in the cultists’ deaths.

Critics jump on such crazy examples of Christian misconduct to disparage my religion, saying that this is what you get when you take the Bible too literally or even take the Bible at all. My response is, does any of this comport with scripture? Does Jesus teach us to drink and distribute poison Kool-Aid? Are we to take up arms to promote Jesus’ values and message? Will shooting unbelievers gain God’s favor? Nothing like this can be remotely construed from the New Testament, and looking at the cases mentioned, it becomes apparent that these are deviations from Christian doctrine. Both Jones and Koresh were engaged in immorality, and both misapplied clear biblical passages about Jesus Christ to themselves.

Christianity is defined by the Bible, and specifically, the New Testament. When groups depart from this, they depart Christianity. So when allegations are made against my faith, I open the Bible and prove by scripture the unchristian nature of cults and pseudo-Christian quacks.

As for Hasan, his terrorist behavior was done in the name of Islam. If I were an American Muslim, believing he acted contrary to my Koran and Hadith, I would bend over backward to show how these books cannot possibly be construed in any way to endorse his actions or those of the Trade Center culprits. Why is this not being done by Muslims? We hear emotional distancing, but we need to have clearer, doctrinally evidentiary denunciations before we can rest assured that this is not a problem of Islam but of religious deviants.--The REV. BRYAN GRIEM is pastor of Montrose Community Church. Call (818) 249-0483.