Motakhalef or Mokhtalef?
By Sally Bishai (02/26/06)
People think that Christians are crazy.
I know they do.
Not only do we believe that a guy was born, 2000 years back, of a virgin, BUT we believe that He was the Son of God.
That His death on a cross saved us from sin.
And that His teachings mean something today. (This is not even touching on the fact that we believe He rose from the dead on the third day.)
To believe someone mad for believing in (and staking eternity on) this "fairy-tale" sounding, erm, set of beliefs (for lack of another word) may not be so out there.
After all, to a person living in a 'modern' day and age--where wireless internet and cell phones are a way of life--the story of Jesus might seem like superstition or myth. I can totally understand that.
But.
It's not the aforementioned that has this article titled the way it is; rather, it's the way we Christians (are supposed to) live that has me pondering whether we fit under the umbrella of "Mokhtalef" or "Motakhalef."
Oh, I should probably get around to telling my non-Arabic-speaking readers what these words mean; "Mokhtalefeen" means "those who are different." "Motakhalefeen," however, means "those who are mentally challenged."
And you have to admit that any religion that tells its subscribers to NOT drink, NOT smoke, NOT use drugs, NOT sleep with anyone they're not married to, and NOT lie/cheat/steal (amongst others) could very well be pegged as mad, in this "If it feels good, do it!" and "dog eat dog" sort of world.
So the question emerges again, "Are Christians different or just weird?"
Or you could even put it like this: Are we trying to be saints.. or are we just insane?
After all, you'd HAVE to be mad to give up the pleasures of this life.
Wouldn't you?
Well.. not necessarily. Keep in mind, to our system of beliefs, we're actually suffering now (if you can call a lack of STDs and hangovers and lung cancer) so that we wouldn't suffer later (in the eternal, one-person lake full of fire, meaning).
I know it sounds as though I mean that we're working our way to heaven, or buying salvation, but that's not what I mean at all.
After all, we can never be perfect; as Christians, we're merely held accountable for our sins. And forgiven for them. (The whole "knock and the door shall be opened to you" thing.. and by the way, that's not saying that 'unbelievers' aren't going to be held accountable--they will be. After their death. And it ain't gonna be pretty.)
Why can't we work our way into heaven, then?
Well, in the Christian teachings, we find that you could actually live a "good" life, and follow all the "rules," and still end up in hell. That's because we believe that humans are born flawed (aka "with a sinful nature") and that we require a saviour, Jesus Christ.
Many non-Christians don't believe that any of this is true, and feel as though we're mad for living with so many restrictions on a life that will only happen once.
So they would consider Christians "Motakhalefeen."
Some, however, realise the sacrifices that we Christians are making (not that other religious of other faiths AREN’T, only that I’m discussing THIS faith right now) and, while they would never admit to it, or choose the same path that we have, they understand that we're striving for sainthood, that we ARE different (any true and practicing Christian would take this as a compliment), that we are IN the world but not OF it.
And if this makes us "Motakhalefeen" by the standards of "the world," then so be it!
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