Even if the names Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church aren’t familiar to you, you’ve certainly heard about how Phelps’ followers have made their name protesting at funerals with placards such as “Thank God for Dead Soldiers” and “God Hates Fags.”
Then there’s Terry Jones, the Florida pastor who burned a copy of the Koran in March, setting off a deadly backlash particularly in Afghanistan, but in other predominantly Islamic countries as well.
These incidents are remarkable in a social climate that emphasizes personal and religious tolerance. These individuals, and others like them, use the freedoms we have in the United States to grab some headlines and demonstrate the intolerance, bigotry, and prejudice still found among some who call themselves followers of Christ.
True, Jesus warned His followers, “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves,” but He also urged them to exercise diplomacy and tact: “Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” (Matt. 10:16).
The great tragedy is that in their own twisted minds, both Phelps and Jones believe they are doing God’s will. But apparently their Bibles don’t have Matthew 7:12, where Jesus said: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”
In this age of religious bigotry and intolerance, it might be helpful to remember Ellen White’s words: “The strongest argument in favor of the gospel is a loving and lovable Christian” (Counsels on Sabbath School Work, p. 100).
As the enemies of Christianity become more strident, apparently it’s not enough to guard against heresy; we also have to guard against stupidity done in the name of Christianity.
___________
Stephen Chavez is managing editor of the Adventist Review. This article was published September 8, 2011.
