On January 7th of this year 12 employees of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical magazine in Paris, were murdered by Muslim extremists. The blood bath was a response to a series of cartoon drawings making fun of Muhammad, the founder of the Muslim religion. This was not the first time that cartoons about Muhammad have ignited violence.
In 2005 the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published 12 editorial cartoons, many of which were about Muhammad. That led to protests around the world. Some of those protests led to violence which resulted in at least 200 deaths. In addition to attacks on Danish and other European embassies, churches and individual Christians were also targeted.
Later in 2005, an article published by the Danish news service Ritzau revealed that Mr. Kåre Bluitgen was having a hard time finding someone willing to illustrate his children’s book Koranen og profeten Muhammeds liv (The Qur’an and the life of the Prophet Muhammad). One artist finally agreed to help only if he could remain anonymous. He feared for the safety of his family.
It is important to point out that the Muslim religion is not the only one to endure unfair mockery. In an online article, During his life on earth, Jesus was called a bastard (John 8:41), a drunkard (Matthew 11:19), a blasphemer (Matthew 26:65), a devil (Matthew 10:25); and he promised his followers the same: “If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, [the Devil] how much more will they malign those of his household” (Matthew 10:25). The caricature and mockery of Christ have continued to this day. Martin Scorsese portrayed Jesus in The Last Temptation of Christ as wracked with doubt and beset with sexual lust. Andres Serrano was funded by the National Endowment for the Arts [our tax money!] to portray Jesus on a cross sunk in a bottle of urine. The Da Vinci Code portrayed Jesus as a mere mortal who married and fathered children. I am opposed to the unfair and hurtful mockery of any religion. The followers of Christ, though, have tended to have peaceful reactions when Jesus is mocked. Why is that? The answer is found in the difference between the leaders of the two religions. Muhammad quotes Allah as saying: “Fight in the cause of God those who fight you…” (Quran 2:19). When Jesus was about to be crucified, though, He didn’t fight back. “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth” (Isaiah 53:7). Instead of opposing all shame, Christians rejoice in the death and dishonor that Christ endured on the Cross because that is how He paid the penalty for our sin. That is why we enjoy “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising [considered as nothing] the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:2–3). If you don’t trust what Christ did on the Cross to pay for your sin, what are you going to do when you stand before a Holy God someday? It doesn’t matter how much sin you have. Jesus can take sin-laden people and make them pure and clean in His sight: “Although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet [Jesus] has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach” (Colossians 1:21–22). When people are secure in their eternal forgiveness, it brings calmness during this life’s temporary hardships. That is why Christians can endure ugly insults without responding with anger or violence. Jesus even pronounced a blessing on those who suffer for Him. “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11–12). Following Christ is not easy, but it brings “the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension….” (Philippians 4:7). Who you are following affects how you respond to insults. I’m glad I’m following Jesus, and I hope you will join me on the road to eternal life.
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