At a recent conference intended to further understanding of Islam on the liberal and progressive Vanderbilt University campus, a Christian student challenged the Islamic death penalty for gay men and women. According to the Christian, Muslims are savages for executing gays in this life. Christians believe that gays should be pitied and comforted in this life before they are sent to Hell after death for an eternity of fiery torture.
Muslims believe that God wants gays to be killed in this life, Christians believe that gays will be subject to eternal torture in the next life.
Theologically speaking, divine punishment is all about time and place.
(Ironically, Vanderbilt University was founded by Cornelius Vanderbilt, the great great grandfather of CNN's hot silver homo, Anderson Cooper who could not be reached for comment on this tribute to his family's legacy.)
At the heart of the Vanderbilt University controversy is the fact that in the name of religious tolerance and freedom, the school employs a student adviser and working professor who advocates the extermination of gay Vanderbilt students and faculty.
The Muslim professor and chaplain says his religious views are not so bad and are not so extreme. In fact, he defended himself on not one but two counts.
His first defense is that he is not responsible for the teachings of Islam and can only "go with what Islam teaches." Kind of a just following [Allah's] orders sort of thing.
His second defense is that in Islam homosexuals are given the opportunity to disengage from their sinful behavior before they are executed. In fact, often times they are allowed months and even years of torture in a valiant and divine attempt to purge them of their homosexual habits. It is only when all else fails that they are hung, beheaded or stoned to death.
A Christian student who challenged the morality of this view, was shouted down on the basis of Christian condemnation of homosexuality. How are the two religions any different, asked one observer?
The answer is timing.
"Yes, Christianity does consider homosexuality sinful, and Christians pray for homosexuals hoping that they will find Jesus and be saved from eternal damnation, while Islamic law says they should be punished with death. See the difference?" he responded.
Other Christians have attacked Vanderbilt University, asking why a Muslim professor who advocates gay genocide is openly employed by the university while Christian professors who would work to lead homosexuals out of sin and to Jesus would be considered bigots and unemployable under university diversity and tolerance policies.
Unhappy to find myself on the same side of an argument with Evangelicals, I must indeed agree with the question.
The Muslim professor ended his defense by pointing out--and I use his words: “As Muslims, we don’t just go around killing gays. That is a ridiculous misconception/ There is a set of strict criteria that must be met before this punishment is enforced. The rule is in place to promote the Muslim values of family. Even in rare cases where all criteria is met, it is even rarer for this conclusion to be reached.”
Well that's a relief!
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