Is "Radical Christianity" the Same as "Radical Islam"?

Gerald Duane Lewis

An interesting story has popped up on the fringes of the news this week. It's about the attempted murder of a trans woman, Crystal Raquel Cash, by Gerald Duane Lewis. (News articles cited at the bottom of this post.)

The Crime

Lewis was in Cash's store when he asked to use the bathroom, after which he shot Cash in the jaw. Cash survived and the police found and arrested the shooter.

According to Cash, Lewis used a "homophobic slur" during the assault. The news stories have noted that Lewis used to be a member of Israel United In Christ, which has been labeled a "hate group" by the Southern Poverty Law Center

Christian Extremist?

Crystal Raquel Cash

Some have labeled Lewis a "Christian extremist", a kind of person who, in the minds of liberals, is comparable to a Muslim jihadi. One blogger has commented

if Lewis had claimed allegiance to Islam instead of Christianity, this crime would have received a great deal more attention in local and national media.

This statement assumes that it's fair to compare violence in the name of Islam and violence in the name of Christianity. This is a ridiculous assumption that ignores the significant differences between Christianity and Islam. Sadly, however, it is said to be common in liberal circles in the US.

Thankfully, Dan McLaughlin (attorney and a contributing columnist at National Review Online) has written a helpful article debunking this idea. Here are some parts that are particularly important for Evangelicals (emphases added):

One of the persistent fallacies that emerges from the left side of the political spectrum... is that there is some sort of equivalence between violence in the name of radical Islam and violence in the name of, say, Christianity.

... [T]here is no significant leadership in the modern Christian world – either religious or civil leadership – openly arguing for violence in the name of Christian doctrine, or providing it with a veneer of legitimacy. The leadership of the major denominations, from top to bottom, are foursquare against violence to enforce Christian morals, and the New Testament is notably short on violent punishments.

... The [Muslim] radicals are not a small, isolated, fringe movement. They control territory.... They have tens, possibly hundreds, of thousands of volunteers, and larger numbers of sympathizers, such as the many people in Muslim countries who tell pollsters they support the death penalty for leaving Islam.

Why Christians Want Religious Freedom for Everyone

Biblical Christians want religious freedom for everyone because faith in Christ must be a free choice, not compelled. This is a clear and practically uncontested teaching in the Bible, defensible from a broad range of texts. To cite one example, Christ Himself said that the Father is seeking those who will worship Him “in spirit and truth” (John 4:23). The next verse makes it clear that God isn't interested in any other type of worshiper (John 4:24).

Moreover, Biblical Christians ought to treat all kinds of people with kindness, because the Bible states that all kinds of sins are offensive to God, that all people are sinners and stand condemned before God, and that anyone who is saved is saved only by the pure, unmerited grace of God (Rom. 6:23).

So, if you want to know what a truly radical Christian looks like, don't look to people like Lewis. Find a person who exemplifies these two things, plus every other virtue that the Bible upholds.

if Lewis had claimed allegiance to Islam instead of Christianity, this crime would have received a great deal more attention in local and national media. - See more at: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/progressivesecularhumanist/2016/07/christian-terrorist-shoots-trans-woman-in-face/#sthash.Vm2lbvdp

SOURCES:

1. Al Mohler, "The Briefing", January 13, 2016.
2. Dan McLaughlin, "There Is No Radical Christianity That Compares to Radical Islam," The Corner.
   
3. Israel United In Christ website and Tumblr.
4. Richard Gootee, "Evansville shooting suspect identifies with alleged hate group", The Courier & Press.
5. Matthew Tharrett, "Trans Woman Unable To Speak After Being Shot In The Face By Christian Extremist", New Now Next.
6. Bill Morlin, "Black Separatist Suspect Identified in Shooting of Transgender Woman", Southern Poverty Law Center.
7. Mari Brighe, "Alleged Hate Group Member Charged in Shooting of Trans Woman in Indiana", The Advocate.
8. Michael Stone, "Christian Terrorist Shoots Trans Woman in Face", Progressive Secular Humanist.
   
   Christian Terrorist Shoots Trans Woman In FaceChristian
   Christian Terrorist Shoots Trans Woman In Face
   

   Christian Terrorist Shoots Trans Woman In Face
   Christian Terrorist Shoots Trans Woman In Face