Wednesday, October 27, 2004

Was Jesus a Fundamentalist Christian?

I am amazed by the widespread myth that Christian Fundamentalists are no different than Islamic Fundamentalists at their core. Even fleeting analysis reveals that one is the polar opposite of the other.

A true Christian is, by definition, a follower of the teachings of Christ. For His part, Christ could be accurately labeled an extreme fundamentalist Christian (the first one in fact) because he followed his own teachings to the letter. So what does being an extremist, fundamentalist Christian entail?

Extreme Christianity would require Christians to be more bold in telling the world of the good news of eternal life through Christ (and doing so through friendly persuasion and living a life of righteousness), doing everything possible to help the poor, fighting against evil, doing what is good, etc. That is fundamentalist Christianity. More of that behavior would be good for the world would it not? (unless you're part of the aforementioned group of evil people :-)

However, to be a good Muslim (and I'm not talking "good" by Western standards which is to be a "moderate" but rather "good" by Wahabi standards, that is, a close adherent of the Quran) one must engage in a battle against modernity, Judaism and Christianity. Women must be subjugated, free thought must be suppressed, and temptation (such as Hollywood likes to export) must be avoided at all costs. In fact, the very concept of democracy is anathema to the teachings of the Quran. We think that exporting American democracy is a good thing for Muslim countries whereas they see it as an evil.

Just look at the fundamentals of each faith. One teaches caring for widows and orphans and allowing the freedom to choose to be with God or avoid Him forever. The other religion mandates the killing Jews and Infidels wherever they are as an essential tenet of the faith. It is interesting how prophetic it is that of the two teachings, Jesus Christ's are considered evil and Mohammed's tolerable.

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