Religion forum

Events that would make Jesus cry
On Sept. 26, two men sprayed a chemical irritant through the window of a Dayton, Ohio, mosque into a room where babies and children were playing during their parents’ prayers. Coughing with scratchy throats, the congregation evacuated the building, treated the children and concluded their prayer service at another location.

It was the weekend Muslims around the world celebrated the end to Ramadan, the annual month-long fast during which the faithful eat and drink nothing during daylight hours. Ramadan is the highest holy month of the year throughout Islam. Imagine an attack on the church nursery on Christmas Eve or Easter morning.

This was also the weekend that many Christian groups promoted screenings of a DVD called “Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West.” In materials promoting the movie, organizers say, “We should be as equally zealous as suicide bombers, to choose to live lives of truth and meaning.” More than 70 newspapers ran the ad promoting “Obsession.”

People who “choose to live lives of truth and meaning” don’t gas children. News anchors from CNN and FOX have endorsed the movie. Surely, they do not also believe we should take our moral cues from suicide bombers. If a connection between the movie and the Dayton violence is ever established, I hope they will have the decency to be ashamed.

As a Christian and a pastor, I have an obligation to speak up on behalf of those who live in fear. And, as ecumenical as many of us Christians are, we have an obligation to stand against anyone, even Christians, who perpetrate violence in the name of faith. We share a common confession that Jesus is Christ, but we do not have to accept the opinion that being Christian justifies holy war against people of other faiths.

There may be no connection between the mass-screenings of the DVD in churches and the attack on the mosque. The timing may simply be a coincidence. But at least two men justified their actions in some way. Whether it came from seeing the movie or from a wider, cultural hatred and mistrust of Islam doesn’t matter. Violence against people of faith hurts us all.

I can’t tell you what to think or how to act. And I won’t. But I will say that I hope no one ever is inspired to an act of violence through anything I say or do. This means I will assume the best intentions of others. I will speak well of my neighbors whose faith differs from mine. And when I see acts of violence or hatred, I will seek not retaliation but reconciliation, justice, and peace.

I hope the men who sprayed the gas are found and charged with their crime. But it mustn’t end there. I also hope they will learn a wider, deeper, more generous faith that takes moral cues not from suicide bombers but from Jesus. He brought about change by talking to people, healing the sick, and standing up for the poor and marginalized. To quote a bumper sticker I saw recently, “When Jesus said love your enemies, I think he meant don’t kill them.”

The events of the last weekend would make Jesus cry. I hope something you and I do this week will wipe away the tears and bring wholeness and healing to a hurting and fragmented world.

The Rev. David Cobb
Pastor, First Christian Church

Personal relationship the solution to religion
I was surprised but delighted that I could finally agree with David McLoughlin for a change, at least partially.

In his efforts to put down people of faith again in the Sept. 20 Forum, he posed the question, “Could religion be the problem?” I answer a resounding, “Yes!”

In fact, atheism is a religion. It takes more faith to be an atheist than it does not to be one. It also takes a lot of foolishness to be one as well.

At least two times in the Bible this is affirmed. Psalm 14:1 tells us, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.”

And again in Psalm 53:1 we read, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.”

I am not calling anyone a fool, but God does in His word. In fact, the Bible also warns us against our calling someone a fool (Matthew 5:22). These verses in the Psalms also talk about me and everyone else in the world when it says, “there is none that doeth good.” Repeatedly the Holy Scriptures affirm the sinfulness of man and our need of God’s redemption.

The Bible goes to great lengths to show that God reached down to us and provided a means by which our sinful condition could be forgiven by accepting the finished work of Christ, who died for us, was buried and raised from the dead the third day.

God does not force us to become His children; otherwise, we would be robots. Likewise, the salvation that God offers does not automatically forgive all mankind of our sin. It must be acted upon, and received individually and personally. I did that at the age of 16, and I can tell you it works. My life is full of peace and purpose.

It has been my privilege to see many come to faith in the risen Christ over the years that I have walked with Him. I am praying for David that he, too, will come to the realization that he needs to fall on his knees at the feet of Jesus, as did Thomas. When he did, he declared, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28).

People can sing the praises of atheism all they want, but I know of no hospital or school that has ever been started by atheism, but these kinds of institutions abound in the world that were started by Christians.

David, I agree with you that religion is not the answer; the answer is a personal vital relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Dr. William Culbertson, former president of Moody Bible Institute, once said, “The devil, rather than converting people to complete atheism, gives them a vaccination of religion to keep them from getting the real thing.” Remember that atheism is a religion as well. May I ask, have you allowed Satan to vaccinate you? If so, it is not too late to call on the Lord. He will answer if you will call. The ball is in your court.

RALPH GREEN II
Goode