For over 2000 years Christianity shapes people’s spirituality across the world. What started in Judea and gained important momentum in Ancient Rome, spread rapidly across the Middle Eve European societies, who further promulgated Christianity to the rest of the world. Through colonization, missionary work or violent imposition, Christianity is the world’s most spread religion since the age of the discoveries, in the late middle ages (Spielvogel 504).
Nicholas Kristof’s (2015) article from New York Times, “For Many, Faith Comes at a High Price” discusses Christianity in the context of the current socio – political events, marked by the rupture between Orient and Occident, specifically between the terrorist movements like the Islamic State and the occidental world. The article criticizes the oppression of Christians in the Muslim world, as it criticizes the intolerance of any other non – Muslim religion in extremist Arabic countries. However, the author also remarks that in the democratic world, political leaders like the American Republican Ted Cruz or Jeb Bush are engaging in religious discrimination, by favoring the Christian immigrants and asylum seekers to non – Christian ones.
With this approach, Kristof (2015) may have intended to present a balanced article that reflects the religious discrimination and extremism in both the Islamic and the Occidental worlds. Nevertheless, putting an equality sign between ISIS and republican politicians seems very harsh and exaggerated, as such comparison seriously dehumanizes the Western representatives. While it is fair to say that assigning refugee status should be done on the basis of vulnerability and not based on religious aspects, one cannot compare Cruz or Bush’s affirmed intention of offering asylum to Christians with the atrocities coordinated by ISIS.
However, the article speaks about political, social and religious justice in a world that this Christian value is severely threatened by the misinterpretation of religious beliefs in both the extremist confessions and in the moderate ones. Kristof (2015) mentions the story of the Muslim lawyer, Ali Dadkhah, who defended a Christian pastor alleged with apostasy and obtained his acquittal, being sent to prison for nine years for sustaining his credence in justice, fighting against religious oppression. This example demonstrates that even in the most extremist corners of the world justice still exist. Nevertheless, it also tells that justice can be easily suffocated and discouraged by punishing the justice seekers, even if their actions are altruistic and their personal wars for justice are carried on for the benefit of others.
The article connects the political events and terrorist actions that persecute Christians in the Islamic nations like Iran, Iraq, Syria or Saudi Arabia, with the Christmas holiday, the greatest Christian celebration that annually praises the birth of Jesus Christ. It aims to produce a parallel between Jesus’ persecutions and the current terrors experienced by Christians who die for their religion or flee their natal countries to seek protect. Nevertheless, the context in which Jesus Christ was sacrificed more than 2000 years ago greatly differs from the current one. While turning the other check and forgiving the oppressor was a valid approach for one person in the Ancient world, the exact approach might solely encourage more oppression and violence against defenseless Christians in the Muslim countries in the nowadays context.
Kristof’s article shares personal insights about practicing Christian principles like forgiveness and resignation in a world of terror. While the writing is meant to be balanced, presenting facts that demonstrate religious discrimination all across the world, it nevertheless presents incomplete arguments that encourage confusing and ineffective actions. Nevertheless, the presentation of the Christians’ persecutions in the Islamic countries is meant to raise awareness on a serious matter, which is the first step in solving this problem.
Works Cited
Kristof, Nicholas. For Many, Faith Comes at a High Price. [Online] 19 December 2015. Available from < http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/20/opinion/sunday/for-many-faith-comes-at-a-high-price.html>. 6 May 2016.
Spielvogel, Jackson, J. Western Civilization Since 1300. Stamford: Cengage Learning. 2015. Print.
