Credit where credit is due: Somewhere warm and breezy, Jesus is smiling into his Corona

Be the change you want to see in the world.

• M.K. Gandhi

I spend a lot of time focusing on what I perceive to be the excesses of Christians- those zealous, self-righteous sorts who elevate themselves over those who happen to think and believe differently. Some will probably tell you that I’m not exactly an impartial judge of such overbaked religiosity, and if I was being honest, I’d have to plead guilty to that charge. Because of this, I feel the need to give a heartfelt pat on the back when one is warranted.

In this instance, I’m taking my hat off the the good Christian folks at Heartsong Church in Memphis, TN. When the people at Heartsong learned that a mosque was to be built next door, they didn’t whine, they didn’t scream, and they didn’t have conniptions about the evil of Islam. Nor did they threaten to burn Korans. No, they put up a sign up a sign welcoming the Memphis Islamic Center to the neighborhood. No rallies, no protests, no politicians looking to burnish their career prospects. Just “Hello! How are you? Welcome to the neighborhood!!” It’s the sort of thing that just warms my heart…because this is what the religion I grew up in does. It sees the good in people. It welcomes those who are different with open arms. It treats others in the manner it wishes to be treated. Heartsong even offered the use of their facilities to the Memphis Islamic Center while their mosque is under construction. Hmm…you mean that good people can believe differently, get along, AND work together for the common good. Damn, that’s almost un-American. ;-)

Watching Keith Olbermann’s piece on Countdown last night warmed my heart. We should be able to get along, despite our differences…and yet too often religion is used to divide instead of unite. Good people CAN come together. Yet, just down the road in Murfreesboro, good, God-fearing Christians are up in arms because a mosque is being built. Methinks these folks could take a lesson from Heartsong Church, who actually understand and act upon the teachings of Jesus Christ. What a novel concept….

The sad thing about this story is that it stands out for being so unusual. In an era of religious division and ecclesiastical enmity, here’s an example of a congregation actually living the teachings of Jesus Christ. Hot damn; imagine that, eh??

You see; I’m aware that not all Christians are hateful, fear-driven, knuckle-dragging troglodytes bent on creating an anti-democratic dominionist theocracy. In fact, I’d hazard a guess that the majority of Christians do endeavor to live their beliefs to the best of their ability. It’s just easy to lose sight of that reality when the people who make the most noise and garner the most attention are the haters and the zealots.