When the Homily is about Immunology

Time, the Grand Equivocator

Much is being said today about Islam, and indeed religion in general, as we watch the ongoing controversy with regard to the Danish cartoons. But one thing in particular that keeps rubbing me the wrong way is the utilization of time as the primary factor of equivocation between religions. Let me explain.

All over the country (and perhaps the western world) today, many students will take part in a Comparative Religions class at a University or college. Perhaps they are using a Houston Smith text like I did in my Comparative Religions class, and indeed if one believes the overarching theme of Houston Smith, you ought to be attending you local Unitarian Universalist meetings.

Taking the next step, as I did in my humble religious training, by which I mean that you actually study the various world religions in greater depth – even going so far as reading source texts and adherents’ commentary, you learn rather quickly that the world’s religions do NOT teach the same things, do NOT have the same “spirit” in their numerous sage founders. In fact, you begin to learn that in some cases, the religions themselves speak against other religions.

It was curious to me that one point brought up in many of the discussions on the cartoons, is that the creation of an image of Muhammad is an attack on a primary tenet/law of the Islamic faith and that THIS is the crucial catalyst that is fueling the rage we are seeing. But as I studied Islam (and by no means do I claim any grand expertise – I took ONE class), I found that the Koran itself had numerous surrahs that directly criticized and attacked some very primary tenets of Christianity (i.e. the Divinity of Christ, the Death of Christ, the Resurrection of Christ.) So much for equivocation.

Ahem…now back to the issue of time. A popular belief that often arises in conversations regarding the current controversy seems to focus on the idea that Islam needs to “modernize” or that it needs a “reformation” like Christianity has done and had. As if to say that Christianity would be reacting like we’ve seen throughout the Islamic world when “The DaVinci Code” comes out if we had not modernized or had a reformation. What is particularly irritating is the notion that this modernization or “reformation” (for let’s face it, half of those shooting off about the reformation have no idea what it was) took place because of secular enlightenment.

So, were it not for secular enlightenment (and let us go ahead and assume all the worse we are told), Christians would still be persecuting heretics (cutting off body parts, burning them at the stake), slaying Jews and Infidel Muslims wholesale, we’d still be having inquisitions with threats of death, we’d have blasphemy laws punishable by death, we’d subjugate and beat our women, etc etc etc. All but for secular enlightenment, the European west would look…well…would look like most Middle East countries.

Well I say poopie on them. Tell me this: are we more or less in keeping with the teachings of Christ if we torture heretics? Are we more or less in keeping with the teachings of Christ if we slay Jews and Muslims wholesale? Are we more or less in keeping with the teachings of Christ when we threaten death on those who refuse to convert to Christianity? Are we more or less in keeping with the teachings of Christ when make laws to kill those who insult Jesus? And, are we more or less in keeping with the teachings of Christ when we beat our wives into submission?

Maybe I’m wrong and maybe Jesus and other particular sage-like religious founders are the same. Maybe Dan Brown is right and Jesus got married, heck maybe he had numerous wives and a few concubines to boot. Maybe he took up the sword and instead a war of words with Pharisees he slew them for insulting him. And maybe when the soldiers came to arrest him he called upon his disciple to draw their scimitars and ambush the approaching caravan thus preventing his shaming before all of Jerusalem. Or if they failed in this effort, when they led him before Pilate or Herod he might have instigated a riot and overthrown the Jews and Romans to become the true Caliph of Jerusalem. Maybe Jesus instituted peace treaties and made war on neighboring factions and cities. Maybe Jesus was a politician, a ruler, a king, a warrior prophet, and not God come to earth to call us to real holiness.

If so, then I suppose all the commentary I keep hearing is right. Were it not for time, and the influence of secular enlightenment we’d be rioting in the streets and calling for the beheading of Dan Brown. And we needn't make any mention of what Jesus ACTUALLY taught.