By John Stonestreet, Breakpoint commentaries
The horrific acts of terror in France offer a reminder to Christians. Christ’s kingdom advances in love, not force. I’ll explain.
G.K. Chesterton once said, “It is the test of a good religion whether you can joke about it.” Well, if that is indeed the test, then recent events in Paris prove that radical Islam fails miserably.
The horrific attacks in France were sparked by cartoons published by the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. Throughout the years, many of Charlie Hebdo’s cartoons have mocked various religions and religious beliefs, including Muhammad and Islam, something that outraged radical Muslims. For example, an imam in London (that’s right—London), Anjem Choudary, wrote in the wake of the massacres that the twelve victims brought their deaths on themselves. Said Choudary, “It is time that the sanctity of a Prophet revered by up to one-quarter of the world’s population was protected.”
On one level, of course, Christians can agree that mocking the religious beliefs of others is deplorable. In fact, we face that kind of mockery ourselves. Who can forget the piece of so-called art produced by Andres Serrano in which a crucifix was immersed in a jar of urine? In more recent days, the exhibition of blasphemous nativity scenes has become something of a pop culture trend.
So we can identify with the outrage that many Muslims feel when their religion is mocked.