GAINESVILLE, FL - SEPTEMBER 10: Conor Munro (R) joins a protest across the street from Dove World Outreach Center.The vast majority of Gainesville, Fla residents want the world to know that Pastor Terry Jones doesn’t represent them. The New York Times describes Gainsville as “educated and progressive, with a gay mayor and a City Commission made up entirely of Democrats.” Gainsville, continues the NYT, has more smoothie joints than gun shops.

While the majority of residents in Gainsville consider the best actions to protest the lone-wolf tactics of Terry Jones, one local woman names Joy Revels has gone into high gear at her T-shirt printing shop Dragonfly.

Earlier this year, Joy refused to print shirts for Jones with the slogan “Islam is of the devil”.

Today Joy Revel is preaching her own message on tees: ‘Love, not Dove.’ Printing the shirts and asking only for donations, she sold 1,000 by last night.

CHIP LITHERLAND / THE NEW YORK TIMESJoy Revel says she refuses to stoop to the level of Pastor Terry Jones; her inspired tee-message response to Koran-burning is fired by her favorite Elvis Costello song about peace and love.

Elvis Costello - Peace Love and Understanding

Men More Conservative

Watching the themes of this drama unfold these past few weeks, reminds us that American women are more likely to be liberal or moderate than American men.

Sarah Palin conveys a message that mama grizzlies are ready to roam through every trash can in America, cleaning up the mess left by progressive-thinking people.

In reality mama grizzlies don’t represent the majority of American women. A 2009 Gallup poll reminds us that women are more likely than men to be “moderate” or “liberal” and Democrats at every age.

Women are generally more pragmatic, solution-oriented and less ideological than men, which is why Conservatism has less appeal to us. We see this reality in action in Joy Revel’s response to Terry Jones in Gainsville.

The Power of One … or a Few

The age of the Internet allows a publicity-seeking, disenfranchised individual like Pastor Terry Jones to threaten global security and perhaps launch WWIII. His goal is a really big fire, in our opinion.

Reading this morning’s Washington Post story Fla. pastor’s Koran-burning threat started with a tweet, it’s alleged that the entire Koran-burning episode began with President Obama’s support of a Kenyan constitution that would recognize sharia law and abortion. The final Jones tweet of the day was: 9/11/2010 Int Burn a Koran Day.

Is this a reason why 20% of Americans believe that President Obama is a Muslim? There are more surprises from WaPo this morning.

In a scenario that is almost impossible to comprehend — but why should we be surprised — enter anti-abortion rights activist Randall Terry in the same Washington Post story.

Supporting Terry Jones, Randall Terry has said that he will tear out pages of the Koran in front of the White House this morning, during services commemorating the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Terry has issued a PR statement on the ChristianNewswire, one that embraces the key arguments of Anne of Carversville that fundamentalists are seeking a third world war, obsessed as they are with fire and a keen desire to get that final big ticket to heaven, as God’s chosen people.

Randall Terry asks in Burning Qurans: Should We Condemn St. Paul? Let Us Beware, Lest the Frenzy Cloud Our Judgement if we’re seriously rejecting the idea that use of fire on behalf of God’s prohibition against false religions is an ill-conceived plan.

Terry reminds us that fire that came down on Sodom and Gomorrah; with Moses burning the golden calf; Joshua burning cities in Canaan.

St. Paul the Apostle oversaw the burning of “sacred” books on witchcraft (see Acts 19:19); and of course, the lake of fire is the final place of torment for all who reject the Lord and his Christ (see Rev. 21:8).

In the Christian era, the “sacred” places of pagan Greek and Roman deities were desecrated; many of their idols were defaced and burned. Delphi and the Roman Forum — the respective centers of pagan Greco/Roman deities — both lie in ruins; the stones of their “sacred” temples were taken away to build Catholic churches, including St. Peter’s Cathedral…

Randall Terry reminds us that burning witchcraft books and presumably women, too, is justified in the name of God. Feminist history begins to ring some bells here.

His words draw a complete circle around the channels of Anne of Carversville, where we insist that readers understand that the global oppression of women is tied neatly and tightly by the noose of fundamentalist religions: Christian, Muslim, Jewish.

We live in a time when all roads lead to Jerusalem, and we must not forget this reality. The greatest danger of thinking, rational, moderate and progressive people is not understanding the power of single voices in achieving the fundamentalist goal which is Armageddon, the second coming of Christ and a final trip to heaven for the chosen few.

Trust me. There are no moderates or progressives in heaven, as conceived by Terry Jones, Randall Terry or St. Paul. Their vision leaves out the majority of American women and probably even mama grizzlies, if you really pin down their promises.

In the fundamentalist vision of the pearly gates, I promise you that women are seen but not heard. Anne