The Crescent Moon and the Cross

I attended a forum last night to hear Dr. Dan McVey speak on the topic of Islam from a Christian perspective. I expected to hear insight as to why Christianity is God's religion and that all Muslims are extremists, but that is not at all what was said. The purpose of this forum, as displayed on the opening slide of the Powerpoint presentation, was to achieve a better understanding.

To learn.

Of the 60 minutes that Dr. McVey had to speak, 45 of it was informative. Islam is this. Islam is that. Mohammed did this. Muslims do that. It was amazing to hear how much Dr. McVey, a Christian, knew about Islam. How and why did he know so much about this, and why do I need to know this? I'm not a Muslim, so why do I need to know the Arabic translation of the word "submit?" For your information, Islam is translated to mean "submit." Now you know.

Why does it matter?

The heart of the issue is that approximately 90% of Muslims have never met a Christian, but they claim to know a lot about us. On the other hand, a huge number of Christians have never met a Muslim, yet we claim to know a lot about Islam. How well do you know a person if you have never met them? How do I know if what I hear about Muslims is true? Knowledge suppresses ignorance.

The reason Dr. McVey knows so much about Islam was because he served as a Christian missionary in areas of Africa and Asia where the majority of religious people were Muslims. When I first heard this, I thought that he would have met heavy resistance because of the way Muslims are protrayed on TV, but that was not the case. He said, "Whenever someone approached me and found out that I was a Christian, they said, 'Praise Allah.'" Wait, I thought we were "infidels," but they are excited to see us? He had to know their religion to be an effective communicator with them. Knowledge suppresses ignorance.

Prior to this forum, I understood that not every Muslim is a terrorist, despite what several card-carrying members of the NRA might say, and Dr. McVey explained that of all the Muslims, the extremists we hear about so often on the airwaves make up the smallest population in the Islamic faith. Knowledge suppresses ignorance.

"What does jihad mean?" asked Dr. McVey. After a quick pause, the audience began to whisper, and a general consensus was reached that jihad is Arabic for "holy war," because that's what we have been told. Much to our dismay, we were wrong. Jihad means struggle, and this war that we often refer to in terms of jihad is actually a struggle against oppression, a retaliation of sorts. Knowledge suppresses ignorance.

Ultimately, I write this post as a declaration that I do not know everything about Islam, and my presuppositions on this religion and its followers is mostly flawed. I feel like it is reasonable to say the same for the majority of non-Muslims in this world. As Christians, we must begin converasations to bridge gaps between people of different religious, social, and racial backgrounds. We need to learn who they are and stop making judgements based on what they are. If we expect the same from them, we should start the process.

I also learned that is it written in the Qur'an that Muslims are encouraged to have civil discussions with Jews and Christians, so that we may all come to an agreement about our beliefs. Sounds reasonable. We did all start from the same spot.

The Content of His Character

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
-Martin Luther King, Jr.

These words, first heard by the nation on August 28, 1963, have been forever ingrained in the hearts of millions who have fought in the civil rights movement. Before our country's birth, social caste systems were established to set certain races, genders, and nationalities above others, and Dr. King challenged the status quo with his heartfelt speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Today, it may seem that race is no longer an issue worth debating or marching over; however, discussions of race and color have seemed to perpetuate through several generations, and discrimination and prejudice still disenfranchises many.

So many subjects for discussion can be derived from the statement above - racism, equality, segregation, prejudice - but the last line seems applicable to the discussion of Christianity and culture. By believing King's statement to be true, then we are judged by our character, but what defines our character? What makes my character different from the person sitting next to me? I act like a good person, but so does that guy. I live my life the right way, but she does, too. Are we all of good character then?

Our character is defined not by how we act, but by how we react. According to Sir Isaac Newton's third law of motion, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Therefore, motion and energy is continued through the reacting forces. When a baseball bat connects with the ball traveling toward home plate, the ball reacts in the opposite direction of its path in the direction of the motion of the bat.

What does this physics lesson have to do with Christianity?

Getting stuck in traffic makes us react a certain way - frustration, anger, annoyance, impatience - and the way we react gives glimpse into the framework of our character. When we hear about culture wars in Madagascar, we react another way - ignorance, compassion, judgment. When a loved one dies of an incurable disease, our reaction brings out a new set of emotions that have been tapped before. In each case, reactions shed light on character.

When bad things happen, it is human nature to wonder, "WHY?" That is a reaction. The reaction makes us ask more questions, and sometimes we become even more confused. As a Christian, my reaction tends to be a little bit different because of an awareness of the big picture; there's more to this life than what we experience. A God-follower's character shows differently.

In the same way, Jesus acted as a model of God's character on this earth, but his character was not defined by his actions. The content of His character was defined by His reactions. While thousands of people mocked him, he did not waver. While dozens of Roman soldiers beat him before his execution, he did not recant his confession to be the Savior. When he hung on the cross as onlookers rolled dice for his clothes, he asked God to forgive them.

His reactions portray the content of His character.

Oh, Dear Christian College

Currently, the university that I attend is under the microscope for shady actions by its students and faculty in three different areas. First, a student, who was arrested for the murder of his parents in the fall of 2005, is now on trial for these charges. Second, the NCAA has addressed numerous violations in the track & field and football programs. Third, our student congress president was impeached Wednesday for several integrity violations. This third issue was written up in a local newspaper, and a person on this article online saying, "Why is this even in the paper? Anytime someone at ACU even sneezes, it makes the front page." The reason it makes the front page is because we are called to a higher standard, but we are failing to keep up with what we profess.

The frustrating thing about being associated with a Christian institute is that it seems like someone is always out to find your mistakes, and when these slip-ups are exposed, the whole world knows how we have failed. For years, my university has pledge to be a light to the world around us, but it feels as if that light is beginning to fade - at least the problems we are facing have made me feel this way - and it has made me realize how difficult is it to profess Christianity in a culture that looks for reasons to condemn us we when make the wrong choices.

I know that I will receive my degree from a business college that has excellent accreditation, and I also know that I have grown as a Christian over the four years that I have been here. But as I prepare to graduate from this institution, I am worried that when people hear that I am a graduate from the university that was involved in several scandals, they will hold it against me. Granted, most people are unaware of what has been going on in recent months here, but the fact that I am associated with it still makes me nervous.

Ultimately, the challenge that our university must face everyday is that same challenge that any person that is associated with any given religious, moral, political, or social doctrine must face: how will you remain unwavering in your beliefs despite persecution. I understand that persecution might be a strong word in the case, but its sting presents imagery that we can all associate with. No matter what I profess, there will always be someone who professes opposite ideals. Through this, as Christians and as a university, we must reset the course and conduct ourselves in a manner that is exemplary to others. Everyone fails and is judged for it. Growth and maturity comes by working to get it right again.