WWJD

My wife has friends who travel to Africa to spread Jesus’ message and
protect embattled Christians. I ’m not that comfortable with the
mission and motivation, but while they are there they provide
invaluable assistance to the people. It is hard to take issue with
people putting their own lives on hold to help others. Help is help.
I would, however, be more comfortable if they simply offered help
without challenging long held, and in my eyes legitimate, beliefs and
values. I am also more than a little skeptical of the goal of helping
Christians who are being oppressed. Are Christians oppressed in
majority Muslim countries? Absolutely. Is every Christian in a
majority Muslim country oppressed? Is the solution to challenge
Islam’s legitimacy? Is the perilous position of religious minorities
just a phenomenon to be found in the Muslim world? I’ll leave the
other questions for you to ponder yourself, but I’ll answer that last
question with this story. This last Friday, two imams on their way
to a conference on prejudice against Muslims were kicked off of a
plane because the other passengers were uncomfortable. They were put
through several rounds of additional security scans, and ultimately
the pilot refused to fly them. I could give countless other examples,
such as a Congressional investigation into the threat posed by
American Muslims to … er … America(?), but this example is plenty
illustrative. It makes me think of my grandfather, who always
responded to my stories of international events by saying we needed to
help ourselves before we help others. I still don’t buy that
argument, but there is something to be said for helping others too.
There is something to be said for offering help without strings or
agendas. There is something to be said for not vilifying an entire
religion. There is something to be said for fighting religious
discrimination and oppression everywhere you find it, even at home
(and the same of course could be said of poverty, injustice writ
large, etc.). Ultimately, there is something to be said for
supporting and commending anyone who gives help to people in need
wherever they may be without necessarily accepting or leaving
unchallenged all of their goals, values, motivations, or assertions.