The Dark Side of Christianity

A small news item on the independant TV station last week mentioned that a Muslim guy had gone to buy timber from a Christian company. The lady there insisted that he remove his fez before she'd serve him, as it "offended" her.

Sheesh!

They interviewed the guy afterward, and this is (basically) what he had to say:

"She says she's a Christian. That means she follows Jesus. Jesus would never have treated anyone like she treated me."

He knows more about Jesus than some Christians I know....!

The camera crew followed him back to the company to find out the story behind the story. They were shown the door with a barely-veiled hostility, clothed in a pasted-on smile by the "Christian" lady.

And I felt horrible for people everywhere who see that as the only thing Christianity is. I cringed at the label "Christian", wondering if there's a way to redeem those of us who find such behaviour toward our fellow-man beyond horrific (yet are lumped into the same category because we choose to call ourselves followers of Christ) - if for no other reason than that we are all God-made, no matter what we look like or what we believe.

And I wondered how many Christians would take the time to know what Muslims believe, so that when they act or react in a certain way, they'd know why or why not.

Messy Christian talks about being Christian (a Jesus-follower) within the context of another religious/cultural tradition. I believe it's possible - and that there are more Christians out there than we realize. More than they realize.

If only the "official" Christians would practice what they preach...