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Thoughts on The Recent Violent Protests

As I'm writing this post, there are many news reports out describing many, many Muslim groups engaging in protests against the United States.  This all is in response to a video circulating on the internet entitled "Innocence of Muslims" which, among other things, mocks the founder of Islam, the Prophet Mohammed.

My initial reaction to stories such as these is shock and horror over the violence.  There are some people in the world who feel that insult can only be appeased by a greater insult, violence with violence, and that no attack, no matter how small, can go unchallenged.  Personally I find such an attitude barbaric and nonsensical.  If one were to take it to its logical conclusion, the entire world would not stop fighting.  This is why in the Old Testament cities of refuge were to be set up in Israel so that a person could flee there and escape the cycle of violence (Numbers 35).

At the same time, the video that sparked all of these riots is one of the most insulting, offensive things I've seen in a long time.  If I were Muslim I would be just as outraged as many people are today.  Reflecting on these issues reminds of when I was in college and saw an episode of South Park that portrayed Jesus in a boxing match with Satan.  In the cartoon Jesus was drawn as a skinny, wimpy man while Satan was large and heavily muscled.  While clearly outmatched (at least in the cartoon) Jesus won when he got a shot in and Satan threw the match.  (It turns out that Satan bet against himself, and won a lot of money by losing.) I was so upset that they would go to this extreme that I stopped watching the show altogether.

While in the United States we enjoy many, many freedoms that others don't have, I think its important to use those freedoms wisely.  While it will never be illegal to voice one's opinion, it may not be kind to do so in certain situations.  "The Innocense of Muslims" is clearly a case where someone used their freedom of speech in a way that antagonized others, and insulted them.  This in no way gives anyone the right to commit acts of violence.  But at the same time, why provoke?  St. Paul was pretty clear about using the freedom we have in Christ judiciously.  In a case of whether someone felt it was okay to eat meat or not, St. Paul stated that if your freedom causes a brother to stumble, then you're not acting in love (Romans 14).

In the Kaballah love is always tempered by restraint.  I would take it a step further and say that freedom is tempered by restraint.  Though I may have the right to put all kinds of garbage on the internet for the world to see, I'm exercising restraint and choosing not to.  This doesn't limit my freedom, instead it gives it focus, like light becoming a laser-beam.  By exercising restraint in certain areas, it allows me to concentrate my energies towards more loving and productive endeavors - hopefully ones that make a more positive impact on the world

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