I'm Stunned and Confused!

I just finished watching on CNN the installment of "God's Warriors" that I had missed, the one on "God's Islamic Warriors." All I can say is that I am stunned and confused, and even a little upset. I don't feel this way because I feel threatened, although clearly Islamic militancy is a problem; I feel this way because everything I just saw goes 180 degrees against everything I believe about God.

First, I am stunned by just how little I understand - and I don't think I ever can understand - the mindset of a religion that exalts the taking of other people's lives in the name of God. I'm confused and disoriented. I realized, as I watched interview after interview with people so filled with anger and hatred, that I simply have no category for expressing my religious faith and hatred simultaneously. The two are mutally exclusive. As a Christian, I cannot hate.

Perhaps the fundamental differences between Christianity and Islam spring from the lives and examples of their founders. At church, I am currently teaching through the New Testament book of 1 Peter. The apostle continuously points to the sacrifice of Jesus as our example for life. Last week I taught on 1 Peter 2:21-25. Peter addresses the slave and tells him to endure injustice and to continue doing good. Then, perhaps knowing that that is a very difficult teaching, he grounds this imperative in the willing sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. The willing submission of Jesus to injustice is our example. The contrast between Jesus and Muhammad simply could not be more profound.

I was struck by the weeping Muslims do during that festival honoring the sacrifice of Imam Husein (not sure how to spell his name). As I saw those people crying so freely, I thought of the passion of Christ - and Amanpour even referred to the dramatic presentation of Husein's death as a "passion play" - but even here, Husein died in battle! His sacrifice was not Christ-like. It would be like us crying over the death of Davy Crockett at the Alamo. Not quite the same as Good Friday, is it?

I should also mention how stunned I am at the implication, perhaps unstated but still present, that somehow Amanpour's "Christian warriors" are on the same level as the jihadists. The comparison is simply laughable.