Reflection on John Piper's essay

Please see the original article at http://www.desiringgod.org/library/fresh_words/2006/020806.html

It seems to me that John Piper is doing what Brian McLaren warns us against: comparing "their" worst to "our" best.

I have met muslims who responded to criticism of their faith and discrimination with reason, patience, wisdom, and  humility. There are even muslims who (gasp!) rather than demanding honor and recognition, say publicly that the muslim faith needs reform and restoration to the ideals of justice and equality. (For a muslim who is serious about reforming her faith, check out www.muslim-refusenik.com.)  I am not sure that at the "core" of the muslim faith is the demand for honor. From what I know of Islam, at the core of it is submission to God (as they understand Him). 

Christians are not always the meek, humble, peace-loving followers of Jesus that we'd like to present ourselves to be. Christian history is filled with violence and intolerance - from crusades (where many muslims too young to either mock or scoff Christians were slaughtered) to spiteful political rhetoric whenever the society at large fails to honor the Bible or Christian faith.

Christian also regularly see persecution where none exists, and tend to act like they have monopoly on Jesus, and claim "mockery" whenever an outsider to their faith incorporates Jesus in some way into their art, literature, philosophy, faith, or worldview. I have heard Christians claim "mockery" regarding: Jesus Christ Superstar, Last Temptation of Christ, Jesus of Montreal, popular song "What if God was one of us", nativity scenes that include two women, rather than a man and a woman, and so on. There's nothing humble, meek, or self-sacrificing in perceiving insult where none is present! Rather than act wounded and despised, and feel persecuted, maybe Christians should stop and give thanks to God that people from all walks of life are attracted enough to Jesus to include Him in their stories.

For the record: I find the violence that followed the insulting cartoons absolutely unjustifiable and unacceptable.

That said, however, I think that the root of this conflict isn't in cartoons, OR in deficiency of Muslim faith (and moral superiority of Christian faith). The cartoons served as a trigger for the violence, which is the result of an ongoing conflict between the western world and the muslim countries.  That conflict needs to be addressed and resolved - and bashing the muslim faith while arrogantly bragging about Christian humility and meekness doesn't seem to be the best way to go about it.

It reminds me of an old joke:

A Dominican monk was asked about his order's unique area of expertise. He answered. "Take the Trappists. They derive spiritual insights from observing silence. The Jesuits, of course, are the intellectuals and teachers among the orders; the Franciscans feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and take care of animals. We Dominicans meditate a great deal on humility. I think I may say that in humility we are tops."

Galina Freed

Comments

[Alice]

Well said.

"The cartoons served as a trigger for the violence, which is the result of an ongoing conflict between the western world and the muslim countries."

Exactly. I am sick of people taking the cartoon fiasco completely out of context, and acting like it's some isolated incident that appeared out of the blue.

[vasilisa]

Galina, that's so well said!

...and then there was the whole burning of the Beatles records, because of something stupid John Lennon said :-)

Everyone is prone to overreacting, and there are extremists in all religious and non-religious walks of life. It's just such a pity that these cartoons are used over and over to widen the gap between people and religions, when we really should be looking for ways to bring us together.