So, I’ve been thinking about this anti-Muslim movie and the wave of hate and violence unleashed upon American and Western diplomats and embassies throughout the Arab world. Certainly the movie is itself a hate-based piece of propaganda that  espouses a view of Islam that is ill-informed, out of touch with the faith of most Muslims and was intended for this kind of reaction.  It is a stupid movie, not worth the effort to see.  I was offended enough to shut it off after just a few moments.  I think, like most of you, the depth of rage and violence shown by the killing of our Ambassador to Libya and other mob violence seems an incredibly out of control reaction to one stupid movie produced by a hateful man.  There is no movie or cartoon or news article that should prompt such rage.  That the rage is aimed at our whole nation is, if you are like me, just impossible to understand.

So, I have been thinking – and even praying – to understand the rage.  Not to condone it, not to excuse it or explain it away.  But because I have found that when people are in deep conflict, finding some semblance of understanding is the first step to dealing with the conflict.  Now, I know that for some, the only path to resolving the violence is to bomb the perpetrators back to the stone age; to take an “eye for an eye” – which always ends up being more than an eye.  There is a part of me, I must confess, that feels that way very deeply.  I am not beyond contemplating punching an idiot in the nose for being an idiot.  But, as I hope you can understand, I have to work hard to only contemplate and then confess such things.  My line of work and all, you see.

It occurs to me as I ponder, that this response by those in the Arab world is incomprehensible to me partly because I have lived my life in a society where people have the freedom to say anything — even really stupid things.  I know that when the outrageous things said on TV, in the news, in a movie are proclaimed they are not speaking for the whole country.  Heck, I know that when a leader of this country, say running for office, says something stupid, it is not necessarily policy.  I wonder if this kind of freedom of speech is as incomprehensible to people who never had it as their violence in this situation is to me.  Perhaps for them, when a movie gets circulated, it is impossible to think that the government did not have something to do with it because that is what they live with every day.  Just a thought.  Maybe a little path to understanding.  That does not mean the violence is OK.  Killing is always wrong and against the will of God – no matter the god you worship.

The other thing I have been thinking is that freedom of speech – like any freedom – can be used for good or ill. The great Danish Lutheran philosopher and pastor Soren Kierkegaard once said “People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use.” Seems to apply to our movie maker — and oh, so many more.  We have the right to say, print, paint, sculpt anything.  And even pornography has protections under this right because it is nearly impossible to judge what freely spoken or rendered communication is good and bad.

I would like to suggest that we are, however, as human beings – and certainly as Christians – to focus not on the right we have, but upon our responsibility as citizens and people of faith to express ourselves for the common good (recognizing this too is hard to discern).  In the 3rd chapter of the Letter of James the writer says: “So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits. How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue– a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God.”  What we say stands at the heart of much of the evil that takes place in the world.  Paul says in Ephesians 4:29 “Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear.” 

I have a right to call you an idiot, to insult your god and make fun of your family and the dog.  In Christ, I have the responsibility to hold my tongue, say no such thing, and even confess my hard hearted hatred and just plain meanness, seeking the Lord’s forgiveness.  Luther says that we violate the 8th commandment about bearing false witness (lying) if we do not interpret what our neighbors say in the best possible light.  Seems that my right to say whatever I want is to be disciplined by my faith and responsibility for loving my neighbor.

So for what its worth, that’s what I’ve been thinking about a movie and the mob violence.

Pax Christi,

Pastor Tim