Christian vs. Christianity

A news article has recently sparked my memory.  CBS reported two days ago,

A 13-year-old girl who said she had been raped was stoned to death in Somalia after being accused of adultery by Islamic militants, a human rights group said. 

Dozens of men stoned Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow to death Oct. 27 in a stadium packed with 1,000 spectators in the southern port city of Kismayo,Amnesty International and Somali media reported, citing witnesses. 

The Islamic militia in charge of Kismayo had accused her of adultery after she reported that three men had raped her, the rights group said.

My freshman year at high school was the year I really started loving God and the Bible.  I read it before, during and after classes while attending church, youth group and a men’s bible study. It was an intense year of growth for me.   

I became enthralled with the romance of Christianity, things like dying to live and uncanny sacrifice made me passionate about my religion.  They also made me aware of what my religion had been, was currently, and could become.  

To put this into a less offensive context, I’m going to talk about another major world religion - Islam.  Not many Christians enjoy hearing about the travesty that their religion has implemented on the world; though it reaches far and deep.  This recent article is a fantastic depiction of what religion can be turned into: a machine of hatred and a political vehicle for dominance. It can not only be a political vehicle for dominance, but one which can put another (the female) sex in oppression (thats for another article though).

The basic teachings of Islam are simple:

There is one God, pray to that God, give to the poor, have a testimony of faith,and make a trip to Mecca.

All of which can be found in Christianity except the last one.  If this is what you knew about Islam, could you, in all honesty, classify these men who raped this 13-year-old girl or the ones who had her stoned, as Islamic?  What about the 9/11 terrorists?  After all, a Jihad is not a physical war, but a spiritual war of purification (much like a Christian fighting against lust and for purity in their heart).

All too often we throw the man in with the idea, like peeing in your drinking water.

The memory which I previously mentioned was at the end of my freshman year of high school.  Oddly enough, that day I was riding the school bus.  I got to talk to a friend of mine on the bus, and like most of my conversations it turned into one about God.  My friend was not a Christian, but was what he liked to call “exploring Christianity.”  As the bus neared his stop I got the courage to ask,

“Kyle, why aren’t you a Christian?”

He stopped filing off the bus and came back to where I was standing while people pushed him towards the front, “Because Christians don’t follow Christianity.”

My heart broke because I knew he was right, and also because I knew no way to tell him, “you wouldn’t have to be that way though.”

It is a sad day when I have to convince a group of atheists that Jesus does in fact love homosexual people because some Christians who don’t actually follow Jesus say otherwise.  It is equally sad to hear my uncle tell me that all Muslims are terrorists and that Islam breeds hate.  When I know for a fact from discussing with Muslims that they put millions of Christians to shame in their expression of love.

We as Christians can not stray so far from Christianity that we mis-represent God.  As children of light, our job is to blot out darkness, not repackage it and distribute it for mass consumption.  As the salt of the earth our job is to be the spice of life.  The Muslims have five pillars of their faith, we only have two: love God, and love people.  If we could manage that for a day, then we can truly call ourselves followers of Christ - the way Christianity was meant to be.  Until that day comes, we will forever be viewed by people the same way my uncle views Muslims.  If you don’t believe me, look at our past, examine our present and fear our future.

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