Got me... Good!

This morning on my facebook feed I saw a rather authentic looking post by George Takei, for those of you who aren't utter sci-fi geeks, he played Mr. Sulu on Star trek.  Takei is, pretty much  hands down, one of the best people to follow on facebook, because, well, he's darn funny.  The graphic in question has Takei in a Jedi hood with a lightsaber and announced that he had been tapped to play a Jedi master in the upcoming JJ Abrams production of Star Wars VII.  Hey, it seemed plausible.  Takei has some acting chops and would also win many kudos in the fandom of things sci-fi.  A cross-over homage to the original Star Trek, in the galaxy far far away of Star Wars!  Great God Jim! That would be better than bulls-eyeing Womprats in a T-16!
Except a few hours later, Takei posts: "Gotcha!"  Oh yeah, it's April Fools Day!  Duh, I should have known that, I was woken up this morning by my nine-year old pranking his sister (and his mother) that there was a puppy in the yard.
Like I said, he's got a sense of humor.  The best things about the prank were that it was plausible and that most of us out there in Sci-fi fandom who follow Takei, probably really WANTED it to be true.  The prank was harmless, the worst thing that was going to happen was some fanboy (like me) might have shared the post on facebook and publicly fallen for a joke (like I almost did, but didn't have time).  But the prank leads me to an interesting consideration of how and why we believe, because belief is a powerful thing and it's a honking big part of what I do for a living.
Belief can be dangerous, and it can be wonderful and sometimes it can be both at the same time.  Belief can comfort people who grieve and search for meaning and belief can inspire people to violence against those who do not share their belief.  When all you are asked to believe is that a quirky old actor got a small supporting role in a new movie, no one's going to get hurt.  When you are asked to believe that God wants you to kill a thousand people in His name... well someone's going to get hurt.
As I found out this morning, people are more gullible when they want to believe something.  In the case of this fanboy, I wanted to believe that two of my favorite fantasy universes could collide (why not throw in some Hobbits instead of Ewoks this time!), but what inspires some of the more hateful manifestations of belief?
Without going into any specific controversies, which would tend to derail the light-hearted spirit of April Fools day, I am interested in what happens when belief ceases to be the positive, creative force we call faith and becomes a force for ignorance, hatred and violence.  Oh well, I guess the light-heart got derailed anyway.
We see it all the time, belief in something that cannot qualify as faith.  As the Apostle Paul said, "faith, hope and love abide..."  That would seem to indicate that those three things must somehow coexist.  If you say you are acting on faith, but your actions are devoid of hope and love than you may be acting simply on belief.  I believed that George Takei was going to be playing a Jedi master, for a a minute, but I did not let that belief alter my life.  I still went for a walk, I still went to work, and I didn't shout hateful things at anyone who disagreed with me, or who called my belief into question, and I certainly did not kill anyone or take hostages to ensure that Takei was going to really get the part.
As a follower of Jesus Christ, I believe that the God, in whom I put my faith, calls me to lay down my life for the sake of the faith that I have been given.  However, I do not see anywhere in the scriptures I use as a guide for my journey, a way to justify taking someone else's life for the sake of that faith.  Nor do I see a justification for hatred, intolerance and general skulduggery in the name of Jesus.
I am often wrong in the things I believe, but faith is another matter, bound as it is to hope and love, and rooted in the grace of God, it will not let me down.