If you have been following the news lately, you know that the Pope has stirred up a hornet's nest by implying that Muhommed was 'evil & inhuman.' Actually, he was quoting a 14th century Byzantine emperor who said, "Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." [It is curious that for many, the historical record of Mohommed's actions is absolutely irrelevant. And as John Gibson at FoxNews notes, "As The Times and TIME magazine and others have pointed out, it's hard to think of another religion that presently calls for war and death as the method of bringing the faith to the unenlightened."] 
Now regardless of what you think of the Pope's comments, many folks are left scratching their heads that a religious and social phenomenom that wants to be taken seriously as the essence of peace simultaneously calls for violence when anyone insults, criticizes, or calls into question the actions and / or teachings of Muhommed /Islam. For example, the cries have gone out that the Pope must be executed. Death to the Pope. A nun was shot and attacks upon churches in Palestine have increased. Protesting outside Westminster Abbey, Anjem Choudary said, "The Muslims take their religion very seriously and non-Muslims must appreciate that and they must also understand that there may be serious consequences if you insult Islam and the prophet....Whoever insults the message of Mohammed is going to be subject to capital punishment....I think that warning needs to be understood by all people who want to insult Islam and want to insult the prophet of Islam." 
All this is to say that I believe that Islam is fundamentally incapable of 'taking a hit.' For all their talk of Allah being merciful, Allah is not capable of taking a hit. Contrast this with Christianity's teaching that God took on flesh in the person of Jesus Christ and took THE ULTIMATE hit when he was beaten, stripped, humilliated, insulted, and crucified.
If you didn't read Piper's excellent article on "Being Insulted" when all the hullabaloo erupted when the Danish cartoonist characterized Muhommed, then you should check it out. Piper says,
"The work of Muhammad is based on being honored and the work of Christ is based on being insulted. This produces two very different reactions to mockery....That’s the most basic difference between Christ and Muhammad and between a Muslim and a follower of Christ. For Christ, enduring the mockery of the cross was the essence of his mission. And for a true follower of Christ enduring suffering patiently for the glory of Christ is the essence of obedience. “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account” (Matthew 5:11). During his life on earth Jesus was called a bastard (John 8:41), a drunkard (Matthew 11:19), a blasphemer (Matthew 26:65), a devil (Matthew 10:25); and he promised his followers the same: “If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household” (Matthew 10:25)....It means that a religion with no insulted Savior will not endure insults to win the scoffers. It means that this religion is destined to bear the impossible load of upholding the honor of one who did not die and rise again to make that possible. It means that Jesus Christ is still the only hope of peace with God and peace with man."
Lord, give us the ability to follow the Lord Jesus and to take hits for His glory--not only to take them, but also to rejoice in them.
"Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church..." (Colossians 1:24).
"...and when they [i.e., the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council] had called in the Apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Then they left the presence of the council, [and shouted death to their enemies? threatened violence & terrorism? No, they left...]rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name" (Acts 5:40-41).
Update: My good friend, Brian Franklin, sent me this commentary by Chuck Colson.
4 comments:
Wow, excellent thoughts and links, John. Thanks!
Your commments were very helpful. Thanks for the post!
Your buddy three blocks away.
"For example, the cries have gone out that the Pope must be executed. Death to the Pope. A nun was shot and attacks upon churches in Palestine have increased."
Are you sure the murder of the nun in Somalia was connected to the Pope's lecture? I've read a couple of articles which implied she was "merely" another victim of that country's sudden further descent into violent chaos.
Thanks for all the good links!
Alan, thanks for the question. The point I was trying to make was that peace loving Muslims were responsible for the violence. It wasn't Christians or Jews or atheists or whatever that shot that killed the nun and targeted violence against Christians. The problem, I think, goes to the heart of what Islam means, which is not "peace," but "submission" -- submission to the Islamic state through one of two means.
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