Since I don’t have full cable I have taken to watching PBS a lot recently. They have some really good shows by the way, who knew! I watched two documentaries tonight that were such an incredible contrast it was hard to believe. The first was on the ways the U.S. – Pakistan relationship has been strained by the fighting in Afghanistan. The show was trying to answer the question of whether or not Musharraf and Pakistan will ever be able to do what the U.S. needs them to in order to capture the Taliban and al Qaeda leaders living along the boarder of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Much of the show centered around the complicated mess that is tribal politics in that area of the world. Musharraf, I believe, truly is trying to aid the U.S. but his government and country are so divided by tribal and religious loyalties that he is barely able to keep himself in office, let alone effectively hunt down al Qaeda. Time and again they brought up examples of how the pro-Taliban forces in the Pakistani government are basically allowing al Qaeda and the Taliban freely recruit new fighters for the war in Afghanistan. One Pakistani commander attempted to tell the U.S. at one point that things there are very complicated and you can’t just start throwing your weight around and expecting people to snap too and fall in line. I am continually awed at the massive crowds who reach a fever pitch when calling for the downfall of the U.S. and speaking of how they will delight in killing Americans. These are the times when I find myself agreeing with the Pope and saying what is wrong with you people? I don’t want that to sound like some kind of racial or religious indictment but simply a matter of logic. Why do these people so vehemently hate us? You and me? I don’t understand! I hear the points Bin Laden makes when he says it is for the injustices in Somalia and our support for Israel and things like that. Those are valid discussion points, we can sit down and talk out those kinds of differences. But why is the West so evil to these people? I believe in a moral right and wrong governed by my Christian beliefs but I would never think of killing someone who acted differently from me. I would want to bear my soul to that person and show them the love Christ has shown me! I really do believe that Islam is a peaceful, moral religion so why is it that so many are willing to kill for it? Who really believes that by killing other people you gain higher standing in Heaven? That just doesn’t make sense!

The next documentary that was on was about Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement here in the U.S. during the 1960′s. What a stark contrast to the scenes from the previous hour! Where as the mosques and town squares of Pakistan (and the Middle East as a whole) are filled with people shouting about death to Bush the dog, here is King standing in the face of oppression even worse than what these wackos in al Qaeda can think up and speaking about loving your neighbor and about how non-violent protest is the most powerful weapon of the oppressed. North Korea is on the verge of starting a nuclear war because they feel left out and here is King talking about his dream of a world “where men will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character!” Wow! In Lebanon billboards in English paid for by Hezbollah taunt the Israelis and the U.S. with declarations of victory and one liners about how Israel will never be safe. And King tells us the day is coming when by God’s divine intervention we will throw down our weapons and join hands across all divides and thank Him that we are at last free from the bondage and oppression of sin! How has a world so desperate for an answer to the brokenness we see every day forgotten about a man who did so much in so little time!

I am becoming increasingly convinced that Christians must take a stand and instead of shouting the same message of bemoaning the evils of the world out there (yes, I’m talking about gay marriage and abortion) and the scorched Earth theology of turn or burn and trying to cram Jesus down the throats of anyone we can get our hands on and simply say enough! I have had it with people who can’t accept that other people see things differently. I think the human condition is at such a low point that rather than quibbling over who is right and wrong when it comes to the question of eternal life that we all just need to take a step back and call it a draw. I believe with all my heart and mind that God is God and Jesus is his Son sent to redeem our sins but we have reached such a level of shouting and intolerance for differences of opinion there are Christians who are convinced unless you believe Bush can do no wrong and that the most important issues to consider when you vote are a candidates stance on Gay marriage and whether Roe v Wade should be over turned then you aren’t a true Christian! Shame on whoever taught you that. I look back on my trip this last summer to Europe and Turkey with my dad and brother and some of what I learned about Paul and his quibbles with the early church. One of Paul’s biggest beefs was the fight over whether or not Gentiles (non-Jews) should be allowed into the church or not. Some early church father’s believe that much as the Jews were God’s chosen people, so Christians were just the natural progression of Judaism and thus closed to non-Jews. Paul answered with a resounding no! God sent Jesus for everyone, not just Jews or some new Chosen people who would replace them but for everyone regardless of race, creed, or class! Why is it acceptable for Christians today to be so apathetic and close minded! I am certainly not offering up myself as any shining example but why are churches not reaching out to the communities they are in and truly serving!

I am reminded of one of the stories Donald Miller tells in his book Blue Like Jazz about ministering to the students of Reed College in Portland, Oregon by setting up a booth on campus and apologizing to students for injustices perpetrated by Christians on others. Whether it be for things like Manifest Destiny or the Inquisition or whatever. I’ll be one of the first to admit right along with them that we Christians really have dropped the ball over and over and over again, but we are reaching a point in history when the consequences become exponentially greater every time we do. The Christian church is silent about the events in Rwanda in the mid-nineties and what is the result? No one stands up to bring attention to the events in Dafur Sudan where hundreds of thousands of Christians are being slaughtered. We ignore mistakes like Somalia and Lebanon while clinging to others like Cuba and Iran and wonder why we are rewarded with Sudan, Iraq, and Afghanistan and billions of people around the globe who want us to mind our own business. We have locked ourselves in a bitter cycle of violence by reacting to a broken world with actions motivated by fear and in-security. I am not advocating some isolationist policy of fortress America nor am I advocating blanket forgiveness for the leaders of al Qaeda and anyone else who promotes a message of hate. All I am asking is that the next time you hear someone say they feel abandoned or oppressed or disenfranchised, you ask why and then ask yourself how you can show them the love of Jesus today. Then maybe, just maybe, we can start changing the world one broken life at a time.

Filed under: Uncategorized by Jonathan Assink