Enough.

There's been a lot of discussion about what's happening with the proposed mosque near ground zero in New York City. Actually, the word "discussion" is really a rather obvious euphemism for the low quality of discourse that's prevailed over the last several weeks, culminating in a proposed Koran burning in reprisal. This seemed like a good time, on the day before the 9th anniversary of 9/11, to write about this. First, a quick word about the invective, the vitriol and the thinly veiled bigotry I hear just about every day now:

ENOUGH.

Many of the people I hear engaging in this kind of nasty rhetoric are the same ones who would be first in line to chastise a fellow Christian for cursing by pressing into service Paul's injunction to the Ephesians: "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths." (Eph 4:29). You know what's really ironic? Paul wrote this letter to the church in Ephesus to address the problem of the widening racial/social gap between the Jewish Christians and the newer Gentile converts or those who were headed in that direction. The letter is all about erasing (or at least blurring) the ethnic lines that were dividing them because God's love is for EVERYONE who will avail him/herself of it. He says the same things in Galatians 3:28 and in Romans 10:12. In other words, it's not about swearing; it's about not doing exactly what many people are now doing: filling their speech and their interactions with what amounts to nothing more than racial or ethnic bigotry. The only thing the vast majority of Muslims in the world have in common with the attackers on 9/11 is their religious beliefs and ethnicity.

STOP.

First and foremost, as Christians, we are called to love without judgment. That includes the very men who flew the plans on 9/11. I realize that's a tall order for most people, including me, but we can start somewhere easier. How about our Muslim friends, neighbors, co-workers or acquaintances? Furthermore, as Christians we should know that we have an Enemy and it's not Islam. Our Enemy would like nothing better than to distract us from engaging others with God's love, splitting us up so as to make us easier targets. We are called to BE Jesus to Islam, not to judge it, find it wanting and pour out our hatred on it. The Christians who are doing that are committing an act that's at least as hostile as the men who planned and executed the attacks. If we fly the black flag of hatred over our lives then the Enemy has won. He's achieved exactly what he wanted to achieve. Don't be fooled; if you can hate this entire ethnic group, you can hate any of them. There will always be a reason because of the pervasively degenerative effects of sin. Besides, isn't Christianity supposed to be attractional? Isn't it God's kindness that leads to repentance? If God, who could do it any way he wanted, does it that way, do you think it's a good idea for us to behave differently? If the bible is clear on one aspect of Christian behavior it is that it should be characterized by love and by mercy, which are the fruit of the Tree of Life.

Even putting Christianity entirely aside, as a former soldier, I can tell you this with great assurance: burning Korans and spewing hate-speech is not going to help the men and women who are currently serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and other places. You're not being a patriot. You're making their jobs harder and more dangerous. You're deepening the nationalist resentment and prolonging and intensifying the violence. This is bad enough...please don't make it worse by intentionally escalating the tension. Also remember that the very liberty that guarantees Christian freedom also guarantees Muslim freedom. If we start digging away at the ground underneath Islam, we will certainly find that we have eroded the ground underneath Christianity. I know this is hard for some to hear, but this is not a Christian nation. This is a nation where religious pluralism is the rule and the law. That is the way the Founding Fathers set things up. The reasons were many and varied, but a quick survey of the last several thousand years of history will make this abundantly clear: you don't want a state-sponsored religion. In every nation where that has been the case the result has been persecution of one minority or another at best, and genocide at worst.

I was serving in the military on Tuesday, the 11th of September 2001. I served for two years after that, though my term of service should have ended in March of 2002. I know the idea of a mosque so close to ground zero seems like it's in poor taste because of the specific nature of the attacks. I understand the visceral reaction. However, the foundational tenet of Christian ethics is the idea that no feeling has a right to be indulged simply because it exists. We examine everything in the light of Jesus' finished work and the kingdom to come, and then choose our behavior accordingly. Jesus has called us to do lots of things that seem unnatural; loving those who seem to hate us is just one of them. The acquisition of any new habit or behavior takes an inordinate amount of energy and concentration. It will be difficult, but why not start here? We have to start somewhere.

"How can you speak good things when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." - Matthew 12:34

"As water reflects a face, so a man's heart reflects the man." - Proverbs 27:19

"Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear." - Ephesians 4:29