WINGARDIUM RADICAL     ISLAMIC TERRORIST

          In the beginning the elohim created skies and earth.

          Welcome back. Let’s talk about condemnation.

          Try as I might I just can’t force myself to condemn Omar Mateen as a radical Islamic terrorist. He was a destroyed man long before he fired his first shot. However, the argument that America will finally end those evil Muslims if we condemn them by the right name is a silly argument unless you believe in spells and potions.

          In the spell wingardium radical Islamic terrorist do we emphasize the first syllable in Islamic or the last syllable to make the magic work?  Does it matter so long as we remember to flick and switch?

          Those words do not belong together. We who are Christians must disagree when we hear them. Here’s one reason why those words do not belong together. When Muslims hear the words “radical Islamic terrorist” after a degenerate fanatic who claims to be doing the work of Allah has ended his bloodbath, which resembles the bloodbath of that nut who fancies himself to be the Angel of Death for the Lord Jesus Christ, good Muslims are not inspired to do good in the world; rather they must contend with the wicked trinity of rage, despair, and fear trembling in their hearts and minds.

          You see, when those words are uttered, a whole lot of Muslims do not  hear a presidential candidate say them, or an American say them, or a Westerner say them. They hear Christians saying them and feel the dark ancient hatred stir within them.

          I’ve got to be very honest here. Our Christian forebears forgot about those commandments that fulfill God’s law, you know, the three commandments about loving God, loving the neighbor, loving the enemy. They conveniently forgot the Golden Rule too, or they did what people do today and cast it aside as some rule impossible to follow on earth yet entirely doable in heaven.

          Had believers turned away from the way of the world, a way of violence, domination, imperialism, and bigotry, the history of Western Civilization might have proceeded with greater respect and concern for other human beings.

          The words, “She’s a Christian” would have meant something through the centuries instead of becoming the weighted words they are today. How hard it is to uplift those words when they are heavy with other meanings:  anti-intellectual, delusional, duped, hypocritical, pious, self righteous, resentful, coercive, and inhospitable.

          That last one really hurts. It drives a stake in the heart of Christ. Being hospitable to others was his way of showing how the kingdom of God looked when it happened.

          Alas, history tells a torn again tale. We, the Christians, embraced violence as a truth that did not contradict our Christ, and see where we are now. We’re no different than anyone else who murders in the name of their God.

          If we had acted with kindness and forgiveness throughout history, people of all faiths would have been our friends. They might have felt themselves to be everlastingly invited to come to us for refuge. Instead, we truck with the world and the ways of the world. This bad company has given us the same stink as any other disturbed servant of a god who proclaims his truth with murder.

          Though hatred is a part of our heritage, it has never been God’s way. The historical stain of Christian condemnation, intimidation, and violence can never be transformed until we act as followers of Christ who love and worship the God of love.

          It’s never too late to love, nor too foolish to refuse hate.

          Ponder that for a day. Next time, I’ll write about our Christian politicians and how they’ve turned faith, which is an ultimate concern into patriotism, which is beneath God and humanity.

          Blessings…