Today’s Lesson In Christian Religious Tolerance
I’m an atheist, and I’ve got to say I would never even think about disrepecting someone’s religious beliefs in this manner:
Tensions flared Friday evening at the annual Arab International Festival in Dearborn as members of some Christian missionary groups — including one called the Bible Believers — taunted Arab Americans with a pig’s head and signs that promoted hatred of Islam.
“You’re gonna burn in hell,” one missionary shouted at a group of young Arab-American boys listening to him speak on Warren Avenue, where the festival takes place.
The festival continues today in Dearborn, but the members of the Bible Believers won’t be there because they’ll be protesting a gay festival in Ohio, said Arab Festival organizers.
The three-day festival is the largest public gathering of Arab-Americans in the U.S.; it has drawn Christian missionaries for years, but in 2009, some become more aggressive, leading to arrests and legal feuds. Dearborn has the highest concentration of Arab-Americans in the U.S., many of them Muslim, making it a magnet for some Christian missionaries.
The Bible Believers also protested at last year’s Arab Festival, holding up both anti-Muslim and anti-Catholic signs and causing one Arab-American Muslim girl to cry.
About a dozen with the group stood facing the festival on Friday with signs that made bigoted remarks about Islam and its prophet, Mohammed. One of the missionaries had a pig’s head mounted on a pole that he displayed in front of his group. Muslims don’t eat pigs because their faith teaches that the animal is unclean.
Some of the signs the missionaries held read: “Islam is a religion of blood and murder” and “Muhammad (Islam’s prophet) is a … liar, false prophet, murderer, child molesting pervert.”
Wayne County sheriffs tried to keep the peace; a few times, three officers on horseback rode by, trying to keep the young Arab Americans at a distance from the Christian missionaries.
At one point, some kids started throwing water bottles and pop cans at the missionaries. Others chanted “Allah-U-Akbar” (God is the greatest). One of the Christians shouted in response “Jesus Akbar.”
I’m honestly not even sure what to say about something like this. It’s disgusting, for sure, and it certainly doesn’t bode well for the future of interfaith relations in the United States. The funny thing is that, technically, these people are all worshiping the same God.
Trust me. As a Christian, this disgusts me even more.
I would hope that sentiment would be universal, but I’m sure there’s some element for which this will evoke the “Hell yea!” response
That’s exactly why we need a strong and absolute separation between church and state.
Yea, Jesus would stand in the street and spew hate…
@anjin-san:
More likely he’d treat them the same way he treated the money changers in the Temple
But I doubt that either side would admit it’s the Zoroastrian god Mazda.
I wonder if these doorknobs are aware that Hell is a town in Livingston County , Michigan.
They should also know that there is no Fire Dept. in Hell, MI. Proving once and for all there is no such thing as Hellfire!
http://www.gotohellmi.com/
@Doug Mataconis: This is far more appropriate:
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence” Matt 23:25
This has nothing to do with Christianity. It’s just a group of low-IQ jerks who have found the ultimate team jersey to wear to go up against the “other side”.
Can’t tell for sure from the blurry picture, but it looks like a couple of them are packing. I guess they don’t have much faith that their god will protect them.
@DRS: If someone claims to be Christian I take them at their word. I’m not going to argue with them and say that they are not.
Sorry, Ernie, I’m a Christian too and I’m getting tired of idiots doing stupid, offensive things in the name of Christ. Nothing those jerks are doing or saying at the festival falls into the teachings of Christianity. It’s more than past time that they get called out on their crap by people who truly follow the ways of Jesus.
And I’m not interested in arguing with them. You can’t reason with livestock.
We are dealing with tribalism but religion is a form of tribalism. Like Doug I too am an atheist but I recognize that even that is tribalism. We are genetically tribal creatures and that may be our downfall – our dinosaur moment.
So, the only thing that can drag this group of Christians away from tormenting Muslims… is the opportunity of tormenting gays?
Wrong.
So when do we get to see some posts on idiot Muslims and atheists doing stupid ****?
Oh I forgot, they are only a tiny tiny percentage so shut up about it…
@G.A.:
Once again, GA demonstrates the vast and expanding void that is his ignorance about his own religion.
hey……
Not how to preach to the unsaved anyhow… This don’t mean that some of the sings are inaccurate but to make a sign and stand there like a hater is as you said.
Now I don’t mind at all making fun of Muslims or atheists or fake Christians but I understand that I am not being a good Christian and that I am a dumb ass who needs a lot of work.I call myself a true believer and I am ashamed of my lack of self control and inability to stay in the Word.
Not an excuses , lol, I don’t think…..
I”m sorry but what don’t you get about Muslims not worshiping the God of the Bible?
I have yet to see a workman approved by God post anything on this site, I have seen a few with a clue but most of them seem to be trapped within religions dogma. I Tom study more then you ever have and I am afraid but I pray not, ever will.
I put in around three hours this morning, learning form people who are Bible believing blood bought, meaning what I believe to be Christians.how about you. I am just making a statement of fact.
I Know for a fact that you Hate a God that you don’t believe in from what you write don’t I?
same goes for many of the rest of you which disqualifies you form being atheist if there even can be such a thing, I don’t believe it.
I truly need to go the way Floyd, damn my addictions!!!!!
Can’t have a thread about religion without G.A. making his stand on the street corner to be seen
So G-Spot believes there are many Gods!
I’ll have to say, this is so much more disgusting than the murder of Coptic Christians in Egypt and the burning of Christian churches with Christians inside by Muslim nuts. Or how about the child rape rings being run in Britain?
But I suppose it is more startling, the hatred not being in the teachings of Christ like hatred, rape and murder are part of Islam.
Not to excuse such behavior but it is understandable that eventually with the attacks against Christianity that some nuts would take up the banner in an in your face and offensive manner.
Sure Christianity promotes tolerance of others. But to paraphrase a saying often used here, Christianity isn’t a suicide pact.
@G.A.: Dear Gollum, please go back to Mordor.
Right, I mean how many times could Jesus possibly expect you to forgive someone? Christian’s can’t possibly be expected to just turn the other cheek.
Greetings:
Thank God we have Mr. Mataconis keeping his eye out for those rampaging Christians out to set the world on fire. When I look around the world these days, I can’t help but think what a wonderful word it would be if we could only get those Christians to act more like Muslims. He sees through their thin veneer of civility; scratch a Christian and what do you find, a Crusader or a Occupier.
Islam is the millstone. If you plan doesn’t include constraining or eradicating Islam, you don’t have a plan. You have a hope.
Trying to excuse these troglodytes by comparing them to Islamist extremists is pathetic…that same kind of argument was used to try to excuse government-sanctioned torture, “Hey, at least we aren’t as bad as…!” Some really high standards there…
All you people not taking a bunch of other people to the lake of fire with you interests me.
And your full of crap if you’re saying I am preaching to you to be noticed.
I tell most that they are full of crap and make jokes about stupid liberals and defend people.
Hey you got a face lol….
Blow me libtardSure…I believe in GOD…Not in any of his fallen angels or their minions or the crap religions they invent.Unlike you.
Who’s that dude you worship now, oh ya his names Obama….
Oh they turn the other cheek a lot, I sure do. Some times my sin nature takes over, I am not that spiritually mature .There are many Christians who turn the other cheek all the time and a lot of them are dead.Because of let me think hmmm…. non Christians.
One wonders what the world would be like if all the Christians turned the other cheek.
We sure do know what happens when non Christians don’t.
Or when a few of them pass ****up laws like
abortionMurder you child because you’re a sorry a$$ stupid A$$ heartless a$$ Godless POS…Push that red button gimps!!!!
GA,
You are drifting in personal attacks, which is a violation of our comment policy. Consider this a warning
Oh sorry Doug…got carried away…..
I apologize:) I apologize to libs too…for the personal attacks….And I forgive them for all they have ever done apon me.
Hey Doug, I’m agnostic, but I couldn’t care less about the muzzies getting a taste of their own intolerant medicine. Dearborn has become quite a muslim extremist operating base, with Islamic jihad centers and mosques that are breeding grounds for terrorism.
That “Arab Fest” is an annual forum for radical muslims to congregate and spew hatespeech. It’s a hatefest that promotes ‘death to the infidel’ speeches and booths stocked with pro-terrorist flyers.
The muslim “culture” practices intolerance in the form of inflammatory rhetoric, bombings, beheadings, “honor killings”, and assaults in the name of their “allah” on a daily basis.
9/11 didn’t hit close enough for some people to get a clue.
Oh, and by the way, too bad you didn’t watch the video that shows the “tolerant” muslims assaulting the protesters with cans, bottles, and rocks.
Today’s lesson in Islamic tolerance: http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/
Consider those examples to be an every day lesson.
@SFC MAC: Kinda like the intolerant Penn State college students who rioted and burned cars when their beloved JoePa was fired for allowing a child molestor to operate on the campus.