I am a Christian, but I get sick and tired of hearing other Christians talk about how "persecuted" they are as if no one else is. Look at what is going on right now with the TLC show All-American Muslim. Lowe's pulled their advertisements from the show after being pressured by a conservative Christian group. Now, the show's rating are dropping, and it may be pulled by its network. That sounds like a case of Christians persecuting Muslims to me. The group says that the show is not depicting Muslims as they really are. However, not all Muslims are violent and believe in killing people. There is only a very small percentage that are like that. Most Muslims want the same things as we do. They want the same opportunities we enjoy. What's wrong with that anyway? Are they not HUMAN BEINGS, just like us?
One of the main tenets of Christianity is that we are love our neighbors as ourselves. Guess what, folks? We have Muslim neighbors, gay neighbors, black neighbors, Jewish neighbors, etc. Jesus wants us to LOVE them, not hate them. After all, that is what this holiday season is supposed to be about, isn't it? Showing love and peace to all men and women? That means we are to love and respect EVERYONE around us, even the ones we don't agree with or even particularly like. If we allow that love and respect to come forth, it can help to make a world a better place for our children and grandchildren.
So instead of worrying about whether we say "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays", why don't we concentrate instead on bringing forth the true spirit of the season?
"Let There Be Peace on Earth" by Vince Gill
It is pretty frustrating when people imply that Christianity is some kind of oppressed minority just because of things like the "Happy Holidays" phrase. The reality is that Christians hold the lion's share of every kind of power in this country, and like you say, muslims and other groups have it much, much worse.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I couldn't agree more with the message of inclusiveness and acceptance in this post -- very well said!