Convert Before It's Too late

I’ve decided to become a Muslim.

OK, maybe not a real Muslim. That would probably take some time and effort. I’d likely have to learn a bunch of stuff from the Koran. Maybe even go to a Mosque a few times. Sounds like that would be a lot of trouble. So, I’m going to become a virtual Muslim. A quasi, neo, semi-Muslim. Maybe not in body, but certainly in spirit. I won’t pray five times a day. That’d be a pain in the ass. Especially the getting down on the knees part. Ugh. Way too strenuous. But, I promise to drink five beers a day and face Mecca while doing it. Allah will understand. After all, it’s the thought that counts.

I used to think of myself as a Christian. Maybe not an engaged, practicing Christian, but at least someone who respected and loved what Christianity stood for. But, I have come to understand that this Christianity thing is finito. A phase that has passed its best before date. These days I see Christianity as a lame, sad joke. A mere shadow of its former glorious self.

It used to be that real Christians went riding around on horseback smitin’ blasphemers and pounding heretics upside their ugly heads. Stuff a man could sink his teeth into. These were noble, selfless men. All they wanted was to save their fellow man from eternal damnation. Those they couldn’t save were beheaded or burnt at the stake or some such thing. Heck, a man’s gotta have some fun.

Those were the days.

OK, maybe some Christians went a bit too far in the promotion and endorsement of their religion and their god. (Kinda like what Muslims do today.) But they meant well. To them, it was unthinkable that anyone would not believe in their god and his teachings. To them, religion was a matter of importance – something to be proud of. These days, Christians are almost apologetic in the way they go about their lives. It’s almost as if they are embarrassed by their god.

Amazing, isn’t it, how, in a few short years, the followers of a religion could go from resolute adherence to flagrant disregard.

A short while ago, a public art gallery displayed a work of art. The work of art consisted of a glass jar full of the artist’s urine. Submerged in the urine was a metal crucifix with Christ attached. The artist called his work "Piss Christ". Nice.

Oddly, the Gallery was not burned to the ground. Thank heavens Jesus is not Mohammad. Imagine what would have happened.

And then there’s Martin Scorsese’s movie, “The Last Temptation of Christ”, which was, at the least, disrespectful and, at the most, sacrilegious. The movie was screened to critical acclaim in Christian nations. There were no riots. No one was killed. There were not even any demonstrations of any significant note.

Christians have become cowards. Weak kneed girlymen. Timid, uncertain and hesitant. Afraid to stand up for their beliefs. Scared to take action against those who would subvert and destroy their religion. And, never doubt it, there are many who wish to wipe out Christianity from western culture. And top of the list isn’t Muslims. It’s secular humanist atheists. These knuckleheads are everywhere – in our media, in our Universities and education systems, in our unions. And they never miss a chance to speak out against Christianity. Oddly, though, they are strangely quiet when Muslims riot, rape, murder and commit genocide in the name of their religion and their god.

In modern western culture, Jesus has been portrayed as a homosexual and adulterer. His mother Mary’s image has been smeared with cow dung and publicly displayed as art. In a nation formed and built by Christians, all images relating to Christianity have been removed from all public spaces. This, in the name of the separation of Church and state. Never mind that the concept of the separation of church and state came about to protect the church from the state and not vice versa. Never mind that only feeble minded cretins are offended by a nativity scene at Christmas or a sculpture of the ten commandments at a court house.

It pains me to say it, but, in some ways, I admire Muslims more than I admire Christians. Muslims stand up for what they believe in. They are fiercely proud of their religion and they actually take action to defend against those who would ridicule and belittle their god.

Christians, on the other hand, take no action when their god is defiled.

Consider this. Christians believe that Jesus is the son of god. He was sent to earth to deliver humans from their sins and provide a way for them to redeem themselves and obtain eternal life in heaven. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (This is from the Bible - John 3:16) I wrote that from memory. I learned it as a child. Some memories last forever.

In other words, Christians are supposed to believe that in order to get into heaven, you HAVE to believe that Jesus is the only path to salvation. You must accept Jesus Christ as your personal savior, and strive to live in accordance with his teachings. Of course, the rub here is that if you do not accept Christ as your personal savior, you’ll go to hell. That’s pretty serious stuff.

So, what do today’s sensitive, compassionate batch of Christians do? Why, they allow Christ to be demeaned and minimized in their culture. They form a societal model that glorifies multiculturalism and promotes the idea that all religions are equal and valid.

If all religions are valid. Then none are. If my god is as valid as yours, then I might as well worship your god. After all, why should I limit myself to one god when I can walk along the god buffet and choose the one that appeals to me the most?

It would seem that a lot of Christians have replaced Jesus in their lives with intangible secular concepts like tolerance and multiculturalism. They use these elusive, vague ideals to justify their disinterest in their own religion. Their fridges are full, their houses are warm. They have become apathetic. They believe they are going to heaven. But, apparently, they have stopped caring if anyone else is going.

Look, either Jesus is the only way to heaven or he is not. And if he is not, then Christianity is a farce. But if he is, Christians are doing everyone else a grave disservice by not standing up to those who defile him. Shouldn’t they be trying to convince everyone to convert to Christianity rather than meekly standing by watching all the Muslims and other non Christians go to hell?

Islam has given its followers pestilence, illiteracy and poverty in the nations they dominate. But, for some odd reason, it has also given them resolve. On the other hand, Christianity has given its followers health, literacy and prosperity. But, for some reason, it has also given them self doubt.

It would appear that the less you have to lose the more desperately you cling to what you believe. And the more comfortable you are the less you believe in what has made you comfortable in the first place. An old western saying is that “there are no atheists in foxholes”. What this means is that it’s easy to be an atheist when there is nothing at stake and your life is not on the line. Perhaps if we had more foxholes, we’d have more Christians. Who knows.

Whatever the case, one thing is clear. The future will belong to those who, as a group, know who they are and have the resolve to defend their identity. The future will never belong to those who continually question who they are and, therefore, cannot summon the resolve to defend who and what they are.

That’s why I’m betting on the Muslims. At least they know who they are and what they stand for.