BY LAUREN RAMSEYER
ASSISTANT EDITOR
If you have had any access to the media within these last weeks, you will have seen links to horrific footage of ISIS’ most recent victim, Lt. Muath al-Kasaesbeh, the Jordanian pilot who was caged and burned to death.
As if these horrible acts of violence are not enough to call the world into the condemnation of vicious and unthinkable behavior, Americans are left with their commander-in-chief contrasting these actions of Islamic extremists with those who follow the life and teachings of Christ.
During the annual Presidential Prayer Breakfast in Washington D.C. on Feb. 5, President Obama called out ISIS as “a brutal vicious death cult that in the name of religion carries out unspeakable acts of barbarism.”
Wow. Those are some fighting words coming from our commander-and-chief. Or, at least, so the world believed until he followed this scathing description of Islamic terrorists by comparing them to other faiths, namely Christians.
President Obama continued by saying, “Unless we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ.”
“High horse?” I think it is beyond reasonable to expect people to take a stand and judge the actions of these groups murdering innocent people – it doesn’t matter what religion they profess.
The murdering of innocent people is intolerable. What is worse is when these actions are taken in the name of some higher power. This is not to say that Christian or American people have not ever been found guilty of committing sins against others, there is a good reason why we have the sacrament of confession.
Yes, there have been terrible acts of violence throughout all of human history but bickering about which one is worse is senseless. No, not all Christians are perfect, but Jesus was. No, not every Muslim is a terrorist, but according to our modern definition of terrorism, Muhammad would be considered one.
If a Christian kills in the name of Christ, that person is in direct opposition to the teachings of Christ. On the other hand, if a Muslim kills in the name of Allah, he is justified by the teachings of Muhammad and of the Koran.
Obama’s attempt to divert the attention of the media off the heinous crimes of these radical Islamists and onto the violent actions of individuals who lived thousands of years ago is curious as well as historically inaccurate.
More importantly, his endeavor to create a moral equivalency between the beliefs of Christians of today and Islamic terrorists, namely ISIS, is wrong, and I pray someday he understands.
Pray for the future of our nation and also for the lives of innocents trapped under the rule of injustice.