via Jesus Politics, Franklin Graham spouts more of the kind of maturity all too often typical of the American Civil religion. Anyone who defends the peaceful Islamic themes from distortion by Christians who afford nothing of the “exegetical” hack jobs they do for their own “difficult passages” in the Christian Bible to the Islamic theologians who try to “contextualize” the violent war-like passges in the Koran. It really disgusts me how blindly they follow this path, and fail to show any ability to see their own approach to Islam as similar in any way to those who they think misunderstand Christianity. There are no “explanations” allowed to defenses offered by those wishing to undserstand Islam as they themselves would insist that detractors from Christanity shold consider.

Jay Vorhees has a good post here on this topic

Jesus Politics: Franklin Graham: I don’t need an education from Islam

“Do they want to indoctrinate me? Yes. I know about Islam. I don’t need an education from Islam,” he said. “If people think Islam is such a wonderful religion, just go to Saudi Arabia and make it your home. Just live there. If you think Islam is such a wonderful religion, I mean, go and live under the Taliban somewhere. I mean, you’re free to do that.”

I commented:

Yes Jay,

I often wonder what many of these “Islam is evil at its core” people would choose as their faith if they had grown up in the Middle East, in an Arab country. Judging by the proclivity of many of them toward Civil Religion, I suspect that they would have been a vocal member of the status-quo, popular religion, and joined in with angered Muslims accusing Christians of generalized hatred toward Islam. I have long believed in a “Cosmic Christ” who reveals himself in and through many “other cultural forms”, seeking to “break through” ANY cultural “norms” which inhibit “Beloved Community”.

Dale

The clincher on the “maturity” of these “islamic curse” people is the “go live there” remark. Not too different from the “America , love it or leave it”. “Move to some other country if you don’t like it”.