History vs. Living History

Recently I got to have a quick visit with our new grandson-in-law, Richard. He is a remarkable young man with a degree in history from Pepperdine University with a minor in political science; or maybe it was a double major. At any rate, I had a favorable predisposition towards him with social science background. He is also Special Forces member, a medic and plans to get his medical degree. Nice catch Tara!

During that brief conversation I asked him what history he had studied and he said Middle-Eastern history. Now I’m really intrigued by this part of the world western minds have a hard time grappling to understand and mainly don’t. He also said he loved the history, but being there in his military assignments he did not love living in the culture. Interesting.

This got me to thinking about historical counterparts in our country’s history. My historical training is in western history meaning from Greek and Roman backgrounds through European and U.S. history.

At anytime, I wondered if living in those times whether they would live up to our expectations. Human nature being human nature, I think we are often disappointed with our current condition and we can see our shortcomings up close and personal.

Back to reflecting on the Mid-East; if I were to compare current history in the Middle East to U.S. history I think I would like compare it to our history in the South during our most racial bigoted eras. Especially those times when the Ku Klux Klan (the hooded order) was very active. They were likely strongest in the mid 1800’s, with another surge in the 1920’s and even today they have an estimated 5,000 to 8,000 members, our extremists.

There was a wonderful line in the TV show West Wing, in the episode Isaac and Ishmael where the character Josh compares Islamic extremism to the KKK when asked by a student why the Islamic fundamentalist terrorists want to kill us. I think it was a wonderful analogy.

For those of us of the Judeo-Christian tradition, the Middle East is where our faith developed. Jews and Muslims are cousins, the descendants of Abraham and Sarah (Jews) and the descendants of Abraham and Hagar (Muslims.) Cousins.

And yet these cousins, so close in beliefs and culture are like the Hatfield’s and the McCoy’s with a feud that never seems to end even though their religions are religions of peace and neighborliness. The polity of Islam also makes understanding them more difficult. No one speaks for Islam as a whole. Each group under the leadership of their Iman speaks only for their own group. In a way they are a bit like Baptists and Congregationalists in this country where each congregation is an entity unto itself in contrast say to the Roman Catholic church where the Pope can speak for all Roman Catholics.

I also think it is difficult for westerns to study the Koran/Quran, which reads so differently that the Old Testament or New Testament scriptures. The Quran is most like reading Proverbs in the wisdom literature of the Old Testament, a Number of pithy statements about life. But most of us in the Judeo-Christian tradition are more used to story telling. Jesus was a master teacher in that he taught through stories allowing the reader to enter the story and therefore get the idea better. Or, the Quran seems more of an academic discourse rather than a conversation and story sharing. This is too simplistic but it makes the point I want to make.

It is easy to condemn those who ways are so different that our ways as they are hard to understand. This is true for the Westerner and the Middle Easterner.

We can wonder in our society, which supposedly has, a Christian background seems so unchristian in things that we do. Though we have progressed we are still a racist country not treating all as equals. We fail to take care of our brothers and sisters in a loving and caring way. We limit our neighborliness to those near and dear. We proclaim the love of Jesus and act antagonistically towards each other. Can you really see Jesus packing a pistol, demanding preferential treatment and reaping the greatest riches for himself at the expense of others and resolving conflict with violence?

We are strange creatures no matter wherever we live. We continue to do great things and horrible things at the same time. And yet God, by whatever name we call the deity seems madly and passionately in love with us and blesses us despite our actions.

We hope and prayer that cousins, as we all are, will continue to try to get along as members of God’s family. That probably means not only believing in our religious figures but also doing what they have told us to do.