Last week, Rupert Murdoch, creator of the FOX News network blustered out the following tweet: "Maybe most Moslems peaceful, but until they recognize and destroy their growing jihadist cancer they must be held responsible." Almost immediately, Harry Potter author, JK Rowling, blustered back, " (Since I'm a Christian) The Spanish Inquisition was my fault, as is all Christian fundamentalist violence. Oh, and Jim Bakker." How did we survive in the days before Twitter?

Rowling, a lifelong member of the Church of Scotland, is nothing short of a literary genius. Which is the reason I was very disappointed with her response. I know Tweets are brief, but justifying mainstream Muslims not speaking out  about extremists in their religion because Christians fail to do the same is old news - an argument used by everyone from Rosie O'Donnell to Jim Wallis. It is also a classic example of creating a diversion. The failure of Christians to speak out on corruption in the name of Jesus doesn't excuse Muslims from ignoring corruption in the name of Allah.

Have Christians looked the other way when some who proclaim Christ's name have been immoral or corrupt? Of course. I remember the pastor I heard in the late 1980's declaring that Jimmy Swaggert did some of his 'best preaching' during the days of his sex and financial scandals. I remember another pastor who, holding up the book "88 Reasons Jesus Will Return in 1988" say, "The dates may be wrong, but everything in this book will come to pass some day." There are those, it seems, who will support and defend anything as long as it has the adjective "Christian" stuck in front of it, from the scary (Christian militia) to the absurd (Christian juggler?)

It needs to be said, though, that many in church and para-church leadership have called out those who have been, to use Murdoch's blustery word, a cancer in their own right. The best example I can remember in my lifetime is "Cornerstone" Magazine's investigative article about the ministry of Mike Warnke. I don't have time to recap the story (see more here: http://www.answers.org/satan/warnke.html) but
it's enough to say that he was exploiting thousands of people world wide out of tens of millions of dollars. But "Cornerstone", a publication of Jesus People USA in Chicago, wrote a very thorough piece exploring Mike's lies, abuse and fraud, essentially shutting down a very corrupt scam.

While Cornerstone's article may be the best example of Christians holding  those who exploit in the name of Jesus accountable, no one has made holding the church accountable more fun than Steve Taylor. Time Magazine once called Taylor the 'bad boy of Christian music'. Coming onto the Christian rock scene in the early 80's, Taylor blended punk and pop brilliantly. More importantly, he said what needed to be said. Consider these lyrics from "You Don't Owe Me Nothing":

"There was a time in Christendom

The road to God was hard to tread

' Til charlatans in leisure suits

Saw dollars dancing in their heads"

He took on American believers' trend to 'church hop' with biting satire in"Steeple Chase" and he took on church conformity in "I Want to be a Clone". He took on Bob Jones' University in "We Don't Need no Color Code", Robert Tilton in "Cash Cow", and Jimmy Swaggart in "Guilty by Association". No lack of calling Christian hypocrisy on the carpet in Taylor's music, Ms. Rowling.

(On an aside, both Cornerstone and Steve Taylor followed the Mathew 18 approach to confronting sin. All of the specific people that were named or alluded to had been confronted privately - and often - by fellow Christians as diverse as Gospel music Hall of Famer Mylon Lefevre to David Wilkerson of "Cross and the Switchblade" fame. When private confrontation fails, scripture says, to bring the issues to the church at large. And so they did.  I know it would be easy to write Taylor off as a Christian curmudgeon, whining about anything he doesn't like about the church. But, in his defense, he also addresses secular issues with songs like "Baby Doe", "Since I Gave Up Hope I Feel A Lot Better", and "Smug", in which he speaks to the unlikely combination of Rush Limbaugh and Barbara Streisand.)

So, JK, many Christians have called out those within the church who use the name of Christ for less than sincere and honorable purposes. But what about Mr. Murdoch's claim about Muslims failing to do likewise? It is hard for me to understand how , as the founder of one of the biggest news networks in the history of the world, Mr. Murdoch doesn't seem capable of doing a simple web search. If he had, he would have discovered many, many Islamic groups, congregations and individuals who have done exactly what he claims they haven't. The President of Palestine, for example,  just marched for peace in Paris after the most recent terror attack there. Again, I don't have the time or space for more examples, but you can start here: http://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/commonwordcommonlord/2014/08/think-muslims-havent-condemned-isis-think-again.html A simple search will uncover many more examples.

The best example I am aware of is a story I heard from a Christian missionary who spoke at our church a few years ago. I don't remember which African country he and his wife were stationed in, but he told us how, on the day after the 9/11 attacks, many of their Muslim neighbors came to their home to express their condolences. No satirical punk songs; no investigative journalism; no blustery, un-researched tweets; Just a knock on the door and an, "I'm so sorry this happened."

It was with this account in mind a few years ago, that I contacted the Imam of Portland, Maine's mosque. The mosque had been vandalized, and I said, "I am the student ministries coordinator at Windham Christian, and I'd like to offer our high school to help with any repairs of the recent damage." He thanked me and explained that their insurance would cover the cost of having repairs done professionally. Apparently he felt that professional contractors could do the job better that a bunch of untrained teens, many with the attention spans of hummingbirds. Go figure. Nonetheless, the offer was very appreciated.

OK, so I was naïve to think teenagers could do that particular job. But I'll practice sincere naivety than accusatory bluster any time.