I love to address controversial subjects and have a healthy, lively debate on difficult issues, and every day of my life, on radio, in writing, on social media, and in public debates, I give people a platform to disagree with me. Bring it on!
Contrary views are warmly welcomed, and often, they sharpen my thinking and expand my understanding.
The last column I wrote here on WND, focusing on the Muhammad cartoon contest, ended with the words, “That’s my take. What’s yours?”
Obviously, I was inviting dissenting opinions, and I have no issue with those who feel that standing for freedom of expression trumps all other concerns.
What I object to, and what I find ugly and even dangerous, are the comments of those who accuse me of cowardice because I was not in favor of the contest. They could not have been more wrong if they tried.
To be sure, I’m constantly maligned online and elsewhere (it goes with the territory), and in the last few days alone, an Orthodox Jewish man commenting on my YouTube channel called me “Another greedy, clueless preacher, feeding on the ignorant, and preying on the people of Israel … a fool and a charlatan,” while a professing Christian claimed that the God I believed in was “anti christ, devoid of all lawfulness = Satan.”
Again, this goes with the territory. Plus, Jesus told us we’d be falsely accused for the gospel, which for me is a cause for rejoicing not complaining (Matthew 5:10-12).
What concerned me with some of the comments to my last article was not the false accusations but rather that people didn’t have the ability to see the difference between cowardice and gospel strategy.
Of course, it’s amusing for me to see people sit in the comfort of their homes and accuse me of cowardice. Live in my world for a year, and we’ll see who the coward is.
Get spat in the face for sharing the gospel and have someone tell you if they catch you doing that again, they’ll strangle you with their own hands.
Join me in some of my campus events, debating homosexual issues or talking about radical Islam, where the university requires armed police to be present.
Come to India with me into a radical Hindu village where you are told not to address certain volatile subjects like idolatry, adultery and murder, and then get up and preach on those very themes because you feel God wants you to – and the next night, have your meeting shut down by Hindu militants who take over the stage with knives and razor blades in their hands.
Or stand with me by the gravesite of one of my spiritual sons who was martyred by al-Qaida terrorists three years ago for his effective missionary work in the Muslim world, leaving behind a young widow and two sons, and join me on Skype as we speak with his team members who are still serving in terribly dangerous situations, risking their lives to bring the gospel to the lost.
Or talk to our team currently serving in Northern Iraq, not far from ISIS, or to a courageous female colleague serving in Nigeria, not far from Boko Haram, and understand that part of the reason they are serving there is because of our ministry philosophy of glorifying Jesus whether by life or by death (see Philippians 1:20-21; Revelation 12:11).
I personally practice the “shout louder” policy when people try to silence me, self-publishing my book “A Queer Thing Happened to America” when it was deemed too hot to handle by other publishers, even putting their rejections on the back cover, calling it, “The Book the Publishers Were Afraid to Touch,” and naming my publishing company EqualTime books.
And on a regular basis, I confront the evils of radical Islam, stating that while it is not the only expression of Islam, it is a valid expression of Islam based on the Quran and the example of Muhammad.
Accusing me of cowardice is as silly as claiming I don’t have a mustache.
More importantly, in my column, I spoke of Pamela Geller’s “tremendous courage” and wrote that, “I commend her along with others … for refusing to bow to intimidation and fear.”
I also stated that “I defend Geller’s right to hold the contest,” pointing out that I have had some of her colleagues on my radio show (including Robert Spencer, who spoke at the contest) and that I frequently link to their websites, often retweeting Geller’s tweets as well.
I also understand that Christians are not killing Muslims for insulting our faith but that Muslims are killing us simply for following Jesus and that a contest like this is a way for Americans to say, “Not in our country!”
Again, I absolutely defend our rights to do so and commend the courage of those who do.
I simply stated that from the perspective of sharing the gospel with Muslims, most of whom are not murderous, I found the cartoon contest to be an unnecessary provocation.
If you differ with my assessment, I have no problem with it whatsoever, because I agree that Sharia law must be resisted and that free speech is critically important.
But just as I speak the truth about homosexual “marriage,” knowing that in doing so I will offend LGBT readers and listeners, I don’t call them “faggots” or the like, and I do my best to speak the truth in love. Put another way, I know that the truth can offend and will not back down from it, but I do my best not to be offensive.
Perhaps we could learn a lesson from the really courageous ones, the Christians being persecuted to the death by Muslims worldwide. They are suffering because they follow Jesus, not because they mock Muhammad.
Again, you can differ with me on the cartoon contest, and that’s fine and valid. But for heaven’s sake, if you want to be taken seriously, drop the “cowardice” rhetoric.
It may apply to some, but it certainly doesn’t apply here.
