As I perused the news headlines of this past month, I couldn’t help but notice just how inaccurate titles and labels have become in our media.
The first title I noticed was “Dad,” as in the headline, “Dad convicted of murdering son.” I’m not sure that “dad” is the right word for that headline. This man exchanged his dad title when he became his son’s murderer.
In another story, I noticed a headline that described an “American pastor” who was captured by Brazilian police after eluding authorities for several months. He’d gone to Brazil to avoid charges in Minnesota for molesting several girls under his care as “pastor.”
If someone made me editor for the day, I wouldn’t allow my writers to identify this man as a pastor. That’s because the minute this guy had his first thought about raping a child, he morphed from being pastor to predator.
I also have a problem with headlines that use words like “church” and “Baptist” when describing groups like the Westboro Baptist Church. This is the infamous group from Topeka, Kansas, that insists that God hates gays, Jews, Steve Jobs and, more than likely, me.
When people spout this kind of hate they forfeit all resemblance to a church. Furthermore, as an ordained Baptist minister, I can definitely say they don’t resemble any Baptist I’ve ever known or care to know. I’m sure the residents of Westboro would also like to be excluded from the name.
Editors ought to use the word “cult” to describe that type of group, which is on the same level as the KKK. In fact, if KKK wasn’t taken, you could call them KKK, for “Kansas’ Kooky Kult.” (I don’t imagine they’re good spellers.)
Finally, you’re likely reading many headlines containing the word Muslim or Islam. So, what do those words mean?
In the Western World, we use the word Muslim to identify one who has chosen to follow the world religion of Islam. That’s because, in the West, our religion is normally a choice of the heart. The problem with that thinking is that it assumes that Muslims worldwide choose to be Muslim.
However, as a military chaplain who spent two years in Turkey, I can tell you that there is a second way to use the word “Muslim.” In Islamic countries such as Turkey, “Muslim” is an identifying term of birth, not necessarily a free-will choice.
These Muslims consider themselves born this way; they don’t necessarily believe that way. In fact, in many Middle Eastern countries, Muslims equate conversion to Christianity with renouncing citizenship.
When we use the word Muslim, we must clarify its meaning. Are we using it to identify a person who believes in Allah and has chosen to follow Islam? Or do we use it to identify a place of origin and birth?
That said, we aren’t at war with the Muslim religion. We are at war with ISIS, many of whom have “Islam” on their passports or birth certificates, but not in their heart.
True Muslims aren’t burning POWs in cages or decapitating innocent hostages. The people doing that are fanatic lunatics overtaken by their religious ideations. Using “Muslim” to identify ISIS terrorists is as erroneous as using the word Christian to describe a KKK member.
So, next time you hear someone use the label “Muslim” to refer to the ISIS terrorists, you might want to ask if they consider the KKK to be just another Christian church. If not, I’d advise them to switch to the more descriptive word of terrorist.
