Radical Christianity vs. Radical Islam
Finally, Bill Maher
got something right. Following the Boston bombings, Maher responded to
Brian Levy, the director of the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at
California State University in San Bernardino (a great example of needed
reforms in public higher education), "[T]here's only one faith, for
example, that kills you or wants to kill you if you draw a bad cartoon of the
prophet. There's only one faith that kills you or wants to kill you if
you renounce the faith."
There you have it.
Even a flaming atheist can recognize the difference between a religion of
peace and one full of bloodlust. The Tsarnaevs are just the most recent
example of the tragic bitter fruitproduced by radical Islamists. To further
Maher's point, consider and contrast the efforts of radical Islamists with
those of radical Christians.
Just what is a
"radical Christian"? Some might call them (with apologies
to DC Talk) "Jesus Freaks." Examples are all
around us, and most are virtually unknown outside their home towns (mainly
because they don't make the news by killing people). They plant churches,
feed the poor, heal the sick; they open orphanages and pregnancy resource
centers; they visit prisoners and deliver the oppressed; in other words, they
have sold themselves out to be the hands and feet of the One they worship.
Some popular
examples would include men like the late Jim Elliot, who served and evangelized
the Quechua Indians, even though it cost him his life. Countless Christians
have forsaken the comforts of Western civilization to go and fulfill the call
of Christ. In other words, Christianity exports its radicals to bring
life and hope, while much of Islam does so to bring death and despair.
Radical Christian
and Habitat for Humanity founder Millard Fuller and his wife Linda started an
organization "that has helped build or repair more than 600,000 houses and
served more than 3 million people around the world." The
organization began in 1968, and the Fullers moved to Mbandaka, Zaire (now the
Democratic Republic of Congo) in 1973 to spread their mission of affordable
housing to developing countries.
Meanwhile, Muslims
in Pakistan recently burnednearly 200 Christian homes over
the allegedblasphemy against Muhammad by a Christian sanitation
worker. Coptic Christians continue to suffer under the "reforms" taking
place in Egypt. The Coptic minority have been murdered and seen
their homes, businesses, and churches looted and burned.
Radical Christians
build hospitals. Radical Muslims seek to fill them up. Christians
have led the world in caring for the sick and dying among us. As Virginia Health
Information notes, "[s]ome of the earliest hospitals
existed in ancient Rome in 100 BC as important centers for the emergency care
of sick and wounded soldiers. With the spread of Christianity, hospitals grew
as part of the church's mission and became part of the community as they tended
to health care not only for soldiers but also for all who needed
it."
The first hospital
in North America, the Hospital de Jesus Nazareno, was founded by Cortés.
The first hospital in the U.S, Pennsylvania Hospital, was founded by a
Quaker, Dr. Thomas Bond (with the aid of Benjamin Franklin). The Catholic
Church alone operates over 1,100 hospitals and long-termhealth
care facilities in the U.S. What's more, a 2010 study revealed that Christian hospitals in the
U.S. outperform all others.
Radical Christians
build schools. The world's first university, birthed in 1088, was The
University of Bologna in Italy. It was founded to teach canon (church)
law. The second-oldest university, The University of Paris, grew out of
the cathedral schools of Notre-Dame and soon became a great center for
Christian orthodox studies. Dr. Alvin J. Schmidt, in his book Under
the Influence: How Christianity Transformed Civilization, points out that
every college established in colonial America, except the University of
Pennsylvania, was founded by some denomination of Christianity. He adds
that, preceding the Civil War, 92 percent of the 182colleges
and universities in the U.S. were established by some branch of the
church.
Radical Muslims
attack young girls who merely want an education. In 2012, Taliban forces
in Afghanistan were responsible for what was described as "an
intentional act to poison schoolgirls." More than 150 girls in
northeastern Afghanistan suffered in the attack. "Every day [in
fact, just the other day], you hear that somebody's thrown acid at a
girl's face ... or they poison their water," moaned the founder of a girls
school outside Kabul.
According to the
U.N., there were nearly 200 attacks on schools and hospitals in Afghanistan in
2011. In addition, radical Islamists also attackadministrators who don't conform to their ideas of
what constitutes a proper education. According to Reuters,
"[r]adical Muslims burst into a Tunisian school ... and assaulted [nearly
killing] its chief after he barred entry to a teenage girl wearing a
niqab."
Car bombs detonated
by Muslim radicals have killed dozens in Somalia and Nigeria this year alone.
Just last month, Muslim suicide bombers in Pakistan and Syria killed well
over 100 people. Whether it's bombing, burning, beheading, hacking, poisoning,
or shooting, the list of Muslim violence is long and obscene.
Of course, the
proper Christian response to such violence is never revenge. (However, justice
is another matter.) As we look to be salt and light to those outside
Christianity -- whether they be violent, mocking, or merely apathetic -- we
must never forget that Christ came not to destroy lives, but to save them.
This is why, when it comes to comparing radical Christians to radical
Islamists, there is no comparison.
Trevor Grant Thomas: at the Intersection of politics, science, faith,
and reason.www.trevorgrantthomas.com
