Death Threats
By Sally Bishai (04/15/06)
What do you do when you have an opinion? Tell your friends? Whine to your family? Try to persuade your colleagues? If you’re anything like me, you might answer "All of the above." You'd do it even if you had some wacky, out-there idea that you knew people would disagree with. After all, just putting your idea out there can't really hurt you, can it?
For the most part, no, it can’t.
I’ve read articles and books in the past week that run the gamut of opinions—from pro-abortion to pro-choice to pro-life... and everything in between.
I’ve read the writings of people who think that unmarried non-virgins were going to hell, and checked out the other side, perusing the musings of those finding virginity outdated, offensive, and insane.
And I’ve read authors stating that Islam was either the best thing since sliced bread, the most dangerous plague in all the world, or a subjective set of guidelines that culminated in everyone’s entry to heaven, Muslim or not.
As any semi-well-read person can imagine, these are all very different—and differing—opinions.
And, while I can’t say I agree with every one I just threw at you, the truth is that I must defend the rights of the people who believe these things so THAT they CAN believe these things.
Why? Because I’m that big of a person. And because this is America, land of the free.
(This is not to say that I would defend something that I felt was morally wrong, like pornography, drug use, extramarital sex, homosexuality or even drinking and smoking, so I guess my religiously-derived bias is showing, big surprise..)
But everyone on earth doesn’t live in America, and even if they did, they could be in danger of external retaliation against their opinions and views.
Meaning that if they said something that, say, a Canadian didn’t like, there’s always the chance that the non-liker could leave Canada, come here, and whoop the person who made the offensive claim.
Now, most people wouldn’t think about crossing national—or state—lines to get someone who said something, no matter how offensive it was.
For example, I am a Christian, and I try to make this part of my life the very center of my life, like the center of a wheel, with all the other things—school, work, writing, family, documentaries, photography, cooking, friends, etc.—as the spokes coming out of the center, dependent on the Lord I’ve chosen to reign in my life.
(I don’t need to tell you that the hub of the wheel has to be IN the center, or else the wheel spins funny. I also will refrain from mentioning the fact that God IS the center of all life, and even if we don’t place Him at the center, He’s still the hub from which all spokes radiate; the wheel might not spin the right way if this hub is in the wrong place, though!)
That being said, I have to (further) say that, whether someone dissed the Pope or the saints or the prophets or the apostles, or even Jesus Himself—while I wouldn’t be happy with the statement, I would never track the disser down and do things to him.
I couldn’t.
It wouldn’t make them retract their views, even if they recanted their statements, and honestly, why should I? Their problem with God is between them and God, and nothing I say or do will change that.
I should grant them the right to believe what they will about whatever they will.
My God is big enough to take it, and creating a fight over opinions other than my own—even if I know I’m right!—will never solve anything.
I would also expect the same rights that I granted them in the last few paragraphs to be given to me.
After all, aren’t all humans equal? Am I less of a person because I do or don’t believe a certain way?
The reason I bring this up is because I feel as though the world is becoming less and less tolerant of certain people’s rights to say things.
In other countries and in certain religions, I can certainly understand this. I don’t agree with it at all, but I was not surprised, for example, to read the following story. Check out an excerpt:
Islamists Post Hit List of 'Apostates'
“An Egyptian group calling itself the "al-Jama’ah Consultative Council" has sent an e-mail hit list to people deemed 'apostates' yesterday. The group warned that those people on the list who had left the faith would have three days (as of yesterday) to repent or they would be killed. The group also warned that the wives and children of the Muslim apostates were being followed & would be killed.
Under Islamic Law, the maximum penalty for apostasy is death.
The list includes prominent Muslims living in the West who have spoken out against violent Islamic extremism and intolerance, some still living in Muslim countries, as well as Coptic Christians who have advocated equal treatment in Egypt.”
(Check out the full article at http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/169819.php )
As I was saying, while I was sad to read this article, I wasn’t surprised in the least. These threats against free-thinkers and anti-Muslims are nothing new.
But this is America, and I should be allowed to pray, wear a cross (or other religious jewelry) or say “God bless you” when someone sneezes. Shouldn’t I?
I should be allowed to say the name of Jesus in school without fearing expulsion or being fired, right?
The thing is, though, that the nation is moving in the opposite direction.
And while Christians are forced to shut up, there are several schools in the nation that not only teach about Islam, Judaism and “the earth religions,” they actually teach children in detail how to pray the Islamic prayers, how to kneel, etc.
That’s right, they’re all “Ok, say it with me again! La Ilaha il Allah... Yes, that’s good!”.
I’m sure the ACLU wouldn’t be too cross at this, and would probably help them out, whilst fighting to have the utterance of the word “Jesus” a punishable offense.
See, while I would love to hear that everyone on earth has embraced Christ’s sovereignty and become a true Christian, I would never think of banning other religions, or even banning one religion.
I do believe people should ask “WHY”—as in “Why do I believe what I believe? Does the faith make sense? Would I die for this faith?”
After all, what’s the use of claming you’re part of a belief system if 1- you don’t learn all the ins and outs of the religion, and 2- if you don’t even agree with the ins and outs (although you wouldn’t even know them well enough to know that you did not agree with them if you didn’t, erm, know about them in the first place).
My point in all this (and there is one!) is that we should know what we believe. There exists a great debate (which I’m not touching with a 20-foot pole, not for all the tea in China, or all the jewels in the Crown, or any other cliché you can think of, that I currently can’t...) about the nature of Islam, and another about the nature of Christianity.
Are the “true Muslims” those who are interested in reforming the religion and re-shaping it for a new century and a new globe? Or are they the ones like Osama bin Laden?
Are the “true Christians” the ritual-based people like Catholics and Orthodox, or their cousins, the “faith, fire, and brimstone” folk (protestants)? Are they mutually exclusive? And what about the (dum da dum dum DUM!) Jehovah’s Witnesses?
I can’t answer these questions for you.
Well, I can answer them, certainly, but only with the logic produced by my finite brain, and filtered through a heart that has a great love for Jesus Christ.
Meaning, while I dig JC more than any guy on the planet, or anything, for that matter, neither I nor any other human can conclusively say what happens after you die.
And after a person leaves this plane is the only time the question of a religion’s validity can be answered.
After all, no one can dispute the day-to-day benefits of a faith, or what a religion does for an earthbound individual; the Shirley McLaine types that think they’re gods really do sometimes feel very peaceful and in-control of their lives, the devout Christians and Muslims no doubt feel a certain pride and satisfaction when they tell an unbeliever about their respective faiths, and no one can deny the tangible waves of calm that emanate from many Buddhists and Hindus.
But how a person feels on earth is no conclusive indicator of where they go after death; for example, a child may cover his eyes and believe himself to be unseen, but that feeling of safety has no bearing on the truth.
Furthermore, we don’t even know what happens when a person dies (regardless of destination).
There could be a long tunnel, a grassy field with golden light, a silver mirror that a beautiful angel pushes you into (like in the Phantom of the Opera when Christine goes to the lake below the opera house), a lake full of visible flames, or even just eternal blackness.
All these experiences are personal.
Meaning, what’s in my heart (intentions), what good and bad deeds I do, what I truly believe in my heart of hearts (beliefs) and what I see after I draw my last breath are all things that can’t be shared with another person, not totally.
I can tell you every thought in my head, but my description won’t perfectly match the reality of the thought, the image. Most people aren’t SO detail-oriented, and besides, it would take too long.
But the point is that, just as these experiences are personal, so, too, should the choice of 1- what religion I practice (or leave) and 2- my expression of this religion to the inner and outer worlds.
Meaning, while we may disagree, or agree to disagree, I really wish that, despite all these disagreements, we could drop the disses, disparaging, disrespect and death threats and all just... get along!
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