The Presbyterian Church (USA) headquarters building in Louisville, Kentucky is draped today with a banner paying homage to a man who intentionally rejected the Christian faith and embraced the religion of Islam.
The giant banner, contrary to some Islamic teachings, includes a photograph of Muhammad Ali.
The banner says that the Presbyterian Church (USA) is “celebrating the life and blessing of Muhammad Ali.”
The hanging of the banner is noted on the Facebook page of the denomination’s Presbyterian Women’s organization. The post there reads, “Muhammad Ali’s funeral is today in Louisville. The PC(USA) and PW pay tribute to his life and legacy. Though a fighter, he was a peacemaker who used his celebrity to witness to nonviolence.” (See the PW Facebook post embedded at the end of the article.)
Two theological considerations:
- the paying of tribute or homage, and
- the source of blessing.
To pay tribute is to pay homage. Homage, in the American culture means simple respect. But in other cultures it continues to mean the worship, reverence and obeisance due to a feudal lord. It is to bow down which is, in a word, idolatry. Tribute and homage, from this perspective is something reserved exclusively for Jesus and not Muhammad. To pay homage to a man who was the self-proclaimed “greatest” is to deny — consciously or unconsciously — the reality of the One who really is the greatest.
I do not suspect that the PCUSA intended the Muslim feudal meaning when it printed and hung the banner. But the meaning of a word in the watching world matters and the world is watching Louisville today.
Now, to the second issue: bestowing the quality of blessing upon Muhammad Ali.
For Muslims and Christians alike, blessing is a very common practice. Both will say “God bless you” when you sneeze and both wish you “God’s blessing” when you part company. But the god to whom Muslims and Christians are making that appeal are very different. For Muslims, blessings are always made as a direct invocation to Allah. Is that what the banner on the PCUSA headquarters is communicating to the world? If not, then what are they saying?
You may accuse me of picking at nits but can you see how the banner might be confusing to those passing by on the street?
One person asked if I thought the banner was blatant mockery. “Are they celebrating his life and blessing because they know that salvation only comes from Christ so Ali is now eternally lost?” I doubt that but you can see how from his perspective the banner is a mockery of someone’s choice to deny Christ and gives glory to all that can be glorified, their life now past.
Words matter. Images matter. Worldview matters. What we are communicating, how we are communicating it and how the audiences around the world that might see or hear it must all be considered before we hang a banner over us that isn’t Christ.
14 Comments. Leave new
Yeah the guy was a great boxer, he was also a draft dodger, and joined a radical islamic sect run by Malcom X, later becoming a sunni muslim. What is the purpose of the HQ’s of a major “Christian” denomination of putting this on the building?
It’s the same mentality that the louisvile sluggers gave us when they allowed an athiest ordained pastor to stay in the pcusa, while running off orthodox pastors, the same pcusa that worries about where the tomatoes are coming from, or doesn’t mind we’re losing members because the coffers are full.
No they couldn’t put a picture of Jesus up there, instead they put up a picture of a muslim once radical, and then put our name on it, again acting like they speak for all of us. What arrogance.
One further unfortunate use of language by the PW. In Islam, when Christians “pay tribute,” they are willingly declaring themselves “dhimmis,” i.e., third class citizens in an Islamic state where their annual “tribute” buys their safety from Islamic attack for another year. The “tribute payment” is known as jizya.
To many Muslim readers, this language coming from Christian sources will confirm in their minds that Islam is rightly supreme over Christianity, and that Presbyterians are now recognizing their dhimmi status!
Political correctness has done great damage to society. This includes the Presbyterian Church(USA). Don’t you realize how ignorant it sounds to say there is only one way to get to Heaven and that is through Jesus Christ. Surely no loving and understanding God would promote a preposterous idea like that. Everyone knows that Ali was a good man and deserved to go to Heaven. The very thought that he may not go to Heaven is just wrong, biased and hateful. Unless prompt action is taken to soften and humanize Christianity we will never be accepted by society. This time God is wrong and we are right. The teachings of the Bible are archaic and must be altered and corrected ASAP for the good of the Church and Society. The banner with Ali shows we got the message and we are trying!
I hope that your tongue was in your cheek!?
Ali was a presence in Louisville. He was friendly with everyone and I mean everyone. The people at GA are recognizing a friend, neighbor and native son. Forget all the snarky comments, they are just unkind.
Mateen — Concur 100%.
Thank you Carmen. Concur 100%.
James,
you’re not going to see a mosque hang up a picture of D.James Kennedy in tribute to him for his contribution in the spreading of the Gospel.
If it was hung on HQ, does that imply sponsorship of it and/or funding of it? Or was that PW?
Thank you for starting this discussion–our presbytery leadership is now experiencing pew-backlash
A Presbyterian News Service article quoted Tony De La Rosa, interim executive director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency, as saying, “Muhammad Ali was a man of many gifts, who shared them graciously with the whole world because he was so grounded in his faith. He was a shining example of what God calls us all to be as a people of faith.” Read it here: https://www.presbyterianmission.org/story/crowds-turn-louisville-honor-muhammad-ali/
I wonder if they hung a banner for Mother Theresa or Ken Bailey?
Correct! Even if HQ did put up a banner of Jesus Christ, they’d have a debate over what Jesus should look like! For surely a “European” Jesus would denote imperialism and colonization. If such a banner went up they’d likely choose one of He Qi’s renditions, instead of a relatable Savior. It’s a crying shame what these mainline [liberal] denominations are doing to Christianity.
Greetings,
First of all, we do not and cannot know that Muhammad Ali is eternally lost. We are not saved by our religion — we are saved by the blood of Jesus Christ which was shed for all. It is fairly clear from the Bible that just giving mental assent to theological propositions (as many evangelical believe) does not save you. God looks on the heart (which for most of us is far from God most of the time) not on the lips. God is sovereign and free and God can save whoever God chooses to save, for whatever reason. Just as God used Mozart to convey beauty in music to the human race, perhaps God chose Muhammad Ali to convey to Americans that war in not something that God loves as much as we do and that patriotism can be just as much an idol as worshiping an edifice made of bricks and mortar (just ask Donald Trump who worships his buildings and himself, and is a pagan, not a Christian any more than Muhammad Ali was). When Muhammad Ali won the Gold Medal in boxing in the Olympics, he was still a n***** to the people of Louisville, so perhaps some respect was due to him at long last. I am very tired of smug racist Christians deciding who can be saved — perhaps they need to check on themselves to see if they are saved. If God desires that none should perish (2 Peter 3:9), perhaps we should not be so quick to consign all of our “enemies” (who we are supposed to love) to hell.
Somewhat arrogant little piece, Keith….complete with little straw men to help support you. Had family in Louisville (white)at the time who NEVER considered Clay (or Ali) just a n*****. Do you never feel just a little bit hypocritical writing so condescendingly while accusing other Christians of being racist and smug?!!