In order to understand what I'm about to write, you will need to see this video: Muslims "Stoning" Christians In Dearborn, MI. Once you've watched it (if you can stomach it), then read on.
I heard about this earlier in the week and just now got around to watching the video. Conservative sites said it was a story that had been all but ignored by the media. The troubling thing about the video is what it implies throughout - Christians are being mistreated at the hand of Muslims.
It starts with a clip of President Obama speaking to a group in Dearborn, Michigan, expressing his gratitude for their support of his candidacy. He specifically mentions his full name, as if to say that the Muslim vote, which apparently is significant, played a big part in winning the election. So, in Dearborn, Muslims love their president - with the Muslim sounding name - and they support the rights of Muslims over those of "Christians." That may or may not be the case, but it won't be proven by this particular video.
Then, the video goes to this chaotic scene with people shouting, and a voice can be heard yelling over a megaphone "God is NOT Allah. God IS Jesus." I notice in the background a few banners that are never fully visible, but garner a lot of attention from the crowd. One says in part "burn in the lake of fire." The other says, in part for what is seen "liars and thieves." Each of the protesters are wearing shirts that say something about Jesus that can't be fully seen. The megaphone yells "God is not Allah. God is Jesus." A bottle or some other object whizzes by the camera and the video transitions to the next scene.
Stop right there.
This is taking place at the 2012 Arab Fair, which is obviously geared to those of the Muslim faith. These "Christians" have showed up to protest, much like the Westboro Baptist Church pickets soldier funeral services. They are not guests and from the reactions of people in the video, they are not friendly, either. All of that combined may explain the crowd's reception of this group.
The next scene shows a guy who appears to be the group's leader tells a police officer that his group has been there before. The officer tells the guy they're not going to be allowed to use the megaphone any longer because they're disturbing the peace. Those involved with the protest seem surprised that they are not being protected while they practice their freedom of speech.
After several scenes of angry exchanges with various fair goers, the scene changes and shows the protesters walking away from a large, restless crowd. Then, an older officer addresses the leader of the protesters, telling him he can't guarantee their safety or that of his officers and asks them to leave the event. A voice of reason in the midst of the madness, but it's wasted on the group who think they're doing "God's work." As the group leaves the fair, they are pulled over by police. A voice notes how many police are involved in escorting their group away from the fair and how none of them had been enlisted to protect them when they were still at the fair. The video is intended as some sort of indictment for the city of Dearborn and their support of the Muslim faith. Instead, I think it is a clear indictment of ill-advised and poor Christian behavior in the public square.
The Apostle Paul writes in his letter to the Romans "don't let what you know as good be spoken of as evil." In other words, think about how your behavior can been seen and perceived by those who are not Christians. Is there anything good about Jesus and Christianity that anyone can take away from that day in Dearborn? Not that I can tell. I could see, if these protesters were handing out free bottles of water or other cold drinks and telling people "Jesus loves you;" only to have the crowd turn on them like we see in the video, THAT would be a story. Instead, what we have are people holding provocative signs and banners, saying provocative statements over a megaphone and stirring up the crowd with anti-Christian sentiments. That isn't much of a story, except the protesters were able to get out of the situation without serious injury.
If there really is a war on religion in our society, it's because of ridiculous behavior like this being passed off as being "Christian" and society, at large, is tired of it. And if that's the case, if we find ourselves getting shut down, we're only going to have ourselves to blame in the end.
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