Fear of the Believers, the "Blind Sheep"?

In recent months and years, Christians have at times been criticized for blindly following their religion. I had my own wake up call a few weeks ago, when I looked up the phrase "love the sinner, hate the sin" in the Bible - only to find that it doesn't exist! It can be dangerous to believe everything a pastor says or "follow the crowd" of congregants, especially if they aren't behaving in the most Christ-like of ways.

But while Christians may be sometimes targeted by atheists, church and state separatists and others, the heat Muslims receive for supposedly adhering very strictly to their religion comes from more diverse sources and is more widespread.

In his book, The Muslim Tide, journalist Doug Saunders describes the belief that "unlike, other immigrants, [Muslims] are loyal to Islam, not to their host society. They do not regard their religion a as a private source of inspiration, but as a political ideology they intend to act upon" (5). He goes on to describe the numerous cases of discrimination Muslims have faced in the Western world in the last decades at the hands of those who believe this, from the New York City police surveillance to the well-funded protests of the TLC documentary, All-American Muslim.

In essence, Muslims get discriminated against because people think they're all going to be terrorists.

The truth is that Islam in general doesn't teach or advocate violence or extremism. The majority of Muslims, especially Muslim Americans, don't support suicide bombing. And as one of my sources, a convert to Islam. said, "I've never heard anything but love and respect taught in a mosque. If there’s some secret agenda that we’re supposed to be lying and furthering Islam, I have not got the newsletter. I guess it’s above my pay grade."

So why do people hold on to the negative stereotypes they have about Muslims? I believe it's because these stereotypes inspire a feeling of symbolic threat. Just as some people criticize Christians of being blind sheep following a wayward pastor, others criticize Muslims of being brainwashed into obeying those extremists who do advocate for jihad.

The key to eliminating those feelings of threat and fear and prejudice is the same key that Muslims and Christians and people of other religions use to avoid become extremists, "blind sheep," or otherwise "carried about by every wave of doctrine" (Ephesians 4:14, NT). It is simply: think critically.

The Bible asks people to ask before they receive and knock before expecting metaphorical doors to be opened. The Quran also includes teachings that suggest that being thoughtful and meaningful in spiritual pursuits are desirable characteristics. Almost every religion has a book of scripture or doctrine against which questionable teachings from leaders should be compared for veracity. Religious people certainly should have faith, but that doesn't mean they relinquish their decision-making abilities, or that they lose the integrity to stand up when false doctrines are being introduced.

The same goes for people who are not religious. It is unacceptable to be "carried away by every wave of doctrine," whether that doctrine is religious or secular. It may be easy to believe that all Christians are helpless sheep and all Muslims are violent terrorists, but those beliefs are false. One must always analyze the data and try to discover the objective, absolute truth.

Conclusion: thinking logically and critically - and being governed by the mind and not the fearful heart - is key to reducing feelings of threat and eliminating prejudice.