Christmas, Eid, and a Holiday Stamp

Earlier today, a well-intentioned friend sent one of those email forwards to me. It dealt with one of the US Postal Service's holiday stamps, one that commemorates the Muslim holiday, Eid. The email suggested that Americans should "adamantly and vocally boycott" the stamp. There followed a catalog of terrorist acts perpetrated against Americans by criminals who happened to be Muslim, which it was suggested we should all remember.

The email frankly upset me and I responded to my friend in part as follows:

I always make a point of purchasing overtly Christian stamps at Christmas time. That means that if I can avoid it, I don't buy stamps with Santa Claus, Christmas trees, or anything other than stamps with artwork that portray the birth of Jesus in some way.

But...there are some other things we should remember besides those...mentioned in your email:

Muslims were among those killed on 9/11. That day, Muslims were perpetrators, but Muslims were also victims;

Not all Muslims are terrorists;

There are many Muslims who are loyal, patriotic American citizens;

Today, young Americans are fighting and dying alongside Muslims in Afghanistan and Iraq in part, according to the Bush Administration, to secure freedom for Muslim people. As a nation, we believe that Muslims are people too;

And it was Christians who unleashed the two worst and most devastating wars in history, our fellow Lutherans in Germany.

Above all, I think that we should remember that, as Saint Paul writes, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." And, of course, Jesus told the crowd ready to stone the woman caught in adultery, "Those of you without sin, cast the first stone." So-called "Christians" have been guilty of horrible violence through the centuries. But that doesn't make all Christians evil.

I won't purchase an Eid stamp because I want to focus on what Christmas is about: Jesus. But I think it's wrong to paint all Muslims as criminals.

Just some thoughts I had.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

If any of former CIA intelligent analyst Michael Scheur's book, Imperial Hubris, is to be believed, Americans can ill-afford to be naive about the connection between mainstream Islam and Osama bin-Laden's arguments in favor of his terrorist acts. Islam recognizes the legitimacy of waging what Scheur terms, "defensive jihad." According to Scheur, it's seen as justified whenever Muslim lands, institutions, or individuals are threatened or encroached upon. Many Muslims feel that the US has done just this. It is to this strand of opinion that al Qaeda appeals. Americans and policy-makers need to avoid both the reality and the perception that the US has territorial or economic designs on Muslim lands.

But two points need to be made in this regard:

• Not all Muslims believe that their religion or its institutions have been thus encroached upon.
• Few Muslim would agree that "defensive jihad" is presently warranted.

When we use our words to paint our pictures of the world, we need to be careful not to use too broad a brushstroke.

One final thing, like Saint Paul when dragged in chains before King Agrippa, my hope is that all people will experience the liberation of God's unconditional acceptance, forgiveness, and new, eternal life offered through Jesus Christ. My primary aim each day of my life is to help more people know Jesus so that they can follow Him. That, in fact, is the mission Christ gives everyone who follows Him. There is a sense in which Christianity is an "imperial" faith. But true Christianity seeks converts only through the gentle persuasion of committed believers empowered by God's Spirit.

Christ's mission for Jesus-Followers does not include the kind of coercion or violence embraced by radicals, whether they call themselves Christian, Muslim, Jew, or anything else.

Nor does it include making others out to be criminals simply because they share a religious affiliation with people who are criminal.

What do you think?