Though some could argue with me, I believe Kevin Smith is one of the greatest writers and directors of our time.

His five major films ("Clerks," "Mallrats," "Chasing Amy," "Dogma" and "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back"), despite being full of slapstick and silliness, are full of insight into society far beyond Red Bank, N.J.

One of these films is "Dogma." Smith didn't want people to get too much out of the movie, asking "How seriously can you take a film with a rubber poop monster in it?" and throwing in a funny disclaimer placard to start.

You can't help but take a few lessons from that piece of pure filmmaking genius.

A line from "Dogma" that sticks out in my mind is one delivered by Salma Hayek, who plays a muse named Serendipity. "It's not about who's right or wrong," she says. "It doesn't matter what you have faith in, just that you have faith."

Sage advice, I say. It's too bad other religious folk don't heed those words.

Which brings me to the point of this seemingly obtuse ramble. It seems there are more than a few members of the clergy who aren't recognizing faith in God is faith in God.

A story I read in Tuesday's New York Times (one that wasn't fabricated) talks about evangelical Christians working to "woo Muslims away from Islam."

"At the grass roots of evangelical Christianity, many are now absorbing the antipathy for Islam that emerged last year with the incendiary comments of ministers," the report says.

Those comments? One from Franklin Graham called Islam "a very evil and wicked religion." Jerry Vines, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, referred to Muhammad, the founder and prophet of Islam, as a "demon-possessed pedophile."

Whoa. Harsh words. And if you think it's just Christians who are missionary, guess again.

There was a seminar in Grove City, Ohio, taught by an evangelical preacher who was originally from Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. He spoke of Islam with "a snappy PowerPoint presentation showing passages from the Quran that he said proved Islam was regressive, fraudulent and violent," according to the report.

The teacher wouldn't give his name for fear it would put his life in danger.

He concluded the presentation with handy dandy tips for what to do when you encounter a Muslim: "Don't approach them in groups. Don't bring them to your church, because they will misunderstand the singing and clapping as a party. Do invite them home for a meal. Do bring them chocolate chip cookies."

Chocolate chip cookies?

What do they think they're dealing with? I can only hope those true to their faith will require more than a tasty dessert to be whisked away from their beliefs.

I think maybe that's the problem with organized religion. See, if you practice something on your own, or in small groups, you're more inclined to be open to the beliefs of others.

Once large groups of people get together to worship the same thing, you get the feeling you are right. And if you are right, that means other people must be wrong - at least in some certain capacity.

The two religions in question, Christianity and Islam, aren't known for being the most peaceful of faiths. Christians are responsible for contributing to horrific events such as the Spanish Inquisition and spreading disease-ridden blankets to Native Americans in the quest for land.

And of course we've all heard radical Muslims refer to Christians as "the infidels." A traditional punishment for a Muslim woman who commits adultery or has a child out of wedlock is to bury her in the sand up to her neck and stone her to death.

And let us not forget the Crusades, or the conquest and reconquest of Spain that took place between the eighth and 13th centuries.

All in the name of what your brain, puny in the scheme of things, thinks is right. Puny in the face of the God you hold high.

The same God other people hold high. Could it be just a coincidence the world's major monotheistic religions - Christianity, Islam and Judaism - began in the same region? The Middle East.

With that in mind, it seems even more meaningless for these factions to be waging war against one another.

I could have sworn one of those commandments Moses (a prophet in more than one of those religions, mind you) brought down from Mount Sinai was "thou shalt not kill."

The moral of the story is no religion is perfect and there will always be fundamentalists. Certainly honest dialogue is better than suicide bombing and fanatic missionaries.

Arrogance is the real enemy here; maybe pride is one of the seven deadly sins for a reason.

Joseph Clark is the State News opinion writer. He can be reached at clarkjo6@msu.edu.