I am loving this clip from The Daily Show:
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Wish You Weren’t Here | ||||
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It’s been a long time since I’ve watched Jon Stewart. And, at least in this case, he’s the only one saying what needs to be said.
He’s the only one drawing the necessary comparisons and standing up for those who need a voice.
It’s great.
The Friendly Atheist also tells about a Christian’s response to the clip and the situation at large.
Today, I read a response to this story from Rachel Held Evans — she’s a Christian who recently published the book Evolving in Monkey Town, about her upbringing in Dayton, Tennessee, home of the Scopes Monkey Trial.
She saw that clip and this ABC News report and wrote the following (emphasis hers):
But what brought me to tears was the fact that, according to the report, there were “no public comments in favor of the mosque.”
None.
No one spoke up for their neighbors.
No one stood up for the oppressed.
No one was willing to face the inevitable disdain that would have followed had they done the right thing.
…
The Muslim community, however, often suffers in silence. And around here, I get the sense that the hatred runs deep. It amazes me that the same folks who so loudly champion their rights to guns and free speech guaranteed by the constitution seem to think freedom of religion is negotiable.
As Christians, we must speak up, for it is no coincidence that when Jesus was asked, Who is my neighbor? he chose the most hated religious-ethnic group of the day — Samaritans — to tell his story.
Yes! That’s the type of response more Christians ought to be giving. If they’re going to pick and choose which parts of the Bible to follow, standing up for minorities is a good lesson to get behind. Many pastors talk about this in church, but how rarely do we see Christians actually following through on it? Certainly not the ones opposing the mosque.
(For what it’s worth, speaking up for the rights of others isn’t limited to Christians — it’s just a decent, human thing to do and atheists do it all the time — but if her faith makes her do something positive, fantastic.)
Love. It.
