In the midst of the well-publicized controversies recently surrounding “9/11,” I was encouraged and overjoyed by some of the results. Yes, in the turmoil surrounding the strong objections by some people over the location of a Muslim-sponsored, multi-faith Cultural Center near Ground Zero, and the planned burning of the Qu’ran (or Koran) by the Gainesville, Florida, pastor ---- a unified Christian LIGHT shined!
Rising to the surface were the reminders from several sources that the vast majority of Muslims (especially American Muslims) are not terrorists, but rather peaceful and peace-loving citizens. And, even more, were the proclamations criticizing (condemning) the words and planned actions of a Christian pastor to burn the Muslim holy book. These responses are cause for thanksgiving, in the midst of potential trouble.
For example, our own Executive Director Ken Hunn circulated to us the National Association of Evangelical statement from NAE President Keith Anderson that “the plans announced by a Florida group to burn copies of the Qu’ran on September 11 do not represent the vast majority of Christians. To all followers of Islam, please do not judge all Christians by the behavior of one extremist. One person with 30 silent followers does not speak for 300 million Americans who will never burn a Qu’ran” ..... and there was more!
A news release from Church of the Brethren Headquarters in Elgin, Illinois, led by General Secretary Stan Noffsinger, likewise criticized the pastor’s announced actions as being totally un-Christian. Similar statements appeared from:
World Council of Churches
National Council of Churches
Mennonite Central Committee
A youth leader from the Nigerian Ch. Of the Brethren
Christians Working Together
Massachusetts Bible Society
Sojourners, Washington D.C., via Jim Wallis (Chief Executive Officer)
Open Doors, a group serving persecuted Christians worldwide
And many more!
Then, too, I received the following “Pastor’s Log” from a Baptist minister friend, who formerly lived here in St. Petersburg, Florida. Here is his September church newsletter column in Annapolis, Maryland (written prior to 9/11/2010) – and he is pleased to have me share it with you:
We are rapidly approaching a date that, if we are not careful, will become a date to commemorate fear and hate instead of casting out fear and overcoming hate with the real courage of the constitutional rights of religious freedom and property rights for everyone!
I am sad and ashamed of some people who call themselves Christian, some who intend to use the date of September 11 to exhibit hate by burning the Koran. This is shameful and outrageous, and anyone who would support such a thing is either ignorant of history or intentionally supportive of actions designed to incite more evil and violence. Hate is not a Christian virtue and the role of any responsible Christian community will be to remind their followers that “God is love” and that we are to “love our enemies.” These are simple truths we learn from our Holy Book, the Bible. Another lesson taught in the Bible by Jesus is, “love your neighbor as yourself.” How is it possible to say you are a follower of Jesus when you do not follow what he says? How is it possible to love our Muslim neighbor and burn the Holy Book of that neighbor?
The World Trade Center site, now known as Ground Zero, has become, in recent days, a center of hostility and hate instead of a place where we might be able to teach tolerance and respect. Let us turn off the voices of fear. Let us reject those who incite violence. Let us respectfully follow the laws of our land and a real reading of the Constitution. Let us not turn back the clock to the hateful actions that led to the events of 9/11/2001. Let us not turn the clock back to the days of Joseph McCarthy. We are better than this and we have the power to act in ways consistent with love instead of hate. If we live by the law of an eye for an eye we would all go blind.
Muslims are not more or less tolerant than anyone else. Yet, that fact does not excuse people who claim to be Christian to take actions that intentionally incite less tolerance because some small group of people in the Muslim community acts with intolerance or are seemingly insensitive to someone’s imagined injustice. If you value your freedom of religion, you’d better protect theirs. For, you may be next if someone decides they don’t like your religion. Martin Niemoller, a conservative German pastor who first supported Adolf Hitler, but later realized the evil he was bringing to the world and the nationalization of churches, said, “First they came for the Communists but I was not a Communist so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Socialists and the Trade Unionists but I was not one of them, so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Jews but I was not Jewish so I did not speak out. And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me.”
You can possess all the “truth” in the world, but if you are all about hate, then your “truth” means nothing at all!
I am a Christian and call myself a follower of Jesus Christ. That confession has some very specific implications for everyone who chooses this identity. Some of these implications were mentioned earlier when I spoke of Jesus’ lessons on love. I John 2:5b-6 says, “This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did” (NIV). This is not up for discussion and it is not up for debate. The people who call themselves Christian and advocate for hate in our communities are not following the teachings of Jesus.
As indicated earlier, when some of the basic “outreach-tenets” of our faith and conduct are agreed upon, underscored, and proclaimed – that is cause for thanksgiving and rejoicing!
May the world hear what individual Christians and Christian groups were saying! May our personal convictions grow stronger and be demonstrated more widely. May such emphases appear more openly and impact more people and policies every day! And may Jesus, our Lord and Example, be honored more highly by the way we live our lives every day.
-Phil Lersch, for the Brethren Peace Leadership Team:
Rich Hagopian
Carolyn Hagopian
Ryan Gilmer
Matt Black
Mark Logan
Chantal Logan
