Maybe I shouldn’t be, but I am shocked that many are abandoning fundamental American principles and seeking to deny Muslims the right to practice and live according to their faith. In a neighboring suburb, 500 people recently showed up at a city council meeting to protest the approval of a mosque’s building permit.
The protesters and their kindred spirits throughout the country assert that the United States is a Christian country, that Islam contradicts Christian values, that Muslims do not assimilate into American culture, and that the US should not be “soiled” by Islamic beliefs. Above all, they fear that Muslims will succeed in doing what Christians want to do – convert others.
Admittedly, some Muslims hate the United States, do not want to assimilate, and want to change our culture. Nevertheless, I can think of nothing more un-American and less Christian than preventing Muslims from practicing Islam, nor anything more unnecessary.
I do not want to paint with a broad brush, in either direction, and I suspect most Christians, while concerned, are not of the protesting variety. Nor am I here to debate the relative merits of two religions with fundamentally conflicting beliefs. We both think we are right (and I know I am).
Sweet Land of Liberty
One of this country’s core values is religious freedom. We are taught from an early age that America was founded by people seeking religious freedom. The Constitution prohibits government interference in religious practice, and any state-sponsored religions were abolished 200 years ago (see this blog post for more discussion).
Less than a century ago, after their country surprise-attacked and declared war on us, the US government interred (a polite word for imprisoned)120,000 people of Japanese descent, including US citizens. Within a few years, the Supreme Court outlawed the “camps,” and the government ultimately issued an apology and paid reparations. Should we fear repeating our ancestors’ mistake by allowing the government to suppress freedom?
A few years before I was born, the prevailing view was that a Catholic could not be President, based on the mistaken belief that his allegiance would be to the Pope rather than the Constitution. JFK’s presidency proved that fear unfounded, and few would bat an eye at a Catholic President today. Have we transferred an irrational fear onto another religion? Might our grandchildren be party to another example of overcoming discrimination?
How can anyone advocate restricting others’ religious freedom without jeopardizing their own? After the 9/11 attacks by radical Muslim terrorists, the government justified relaxing our Fourth Amendment privacy protections and enacted the Patriot Act in hopes of preventing terrorism. Predictably, the courts ruled some provisions and overreaching execution unconstitutional, and the Act was significantly curtailed in 2015. Remember Ben Franklin’s words uttered centuries ago, “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”
Anti-Christian
When the new Way began, the human embodiment of the Christian Triune God necessarily extended a warm invitation to non-believers, including those outside the “chosen” tribe.
Attacking another faith is also inconsistent with the essential Christian commandment to love others. The protesting Christians counter by suggesting that the attacks are a loving, save-their-souls-from-hell act and part of the Great Commission to make disciples of Christ.
Perhaps their hearts are in the right place, but their execution isn’t. Is declaring Islam false and obstructing its practice an effective recruiting method? Oppositional “Christians” do more harm to the cause of making disciples than any radical Imam.
Many have misinterpreted the Wandering Worshipper’s tolerance of non-Christian faiths as rejecting Christianity’s exclusive path to salvation or as insufficiently Christian. They fail to appreciate how tolerance facilitates engagement.
In fact, a low-key, non-confrontational, example-driven approach may make one more effective. I may be what the protesters allege Muslims are – a one-man sleeper cell or a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
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For those whose fear would justify ignoring the Constitution, you have nothing to fear. For those whose zeal to fulfill their Christian Commission would justify hostile attacks, they are unnecessary. I will explain why next week.
