Two sides to every story.

The documentary done by Michael Wilson and Natalie Zimmerman called Silhouette City was a debauchery of the Christian faith.  Although the movie defamed the Christian faith and portrayed it in a very fascist and benign way, it still represented a piece of religion that exists.  Silhouette City seeks to bring the attention of people to the right-winged attitude of Christian religion.   But this belief is skewed in that it is a radical belief system that only a small percentage of Christians readily identify with.  This misinterpretation is not healthy to the Christian faith, and the true followers of the faith who only seek to do gods bidding in a healthy and socially accepted way.  This way, is how we are instructed to spread the word of god. 

            Despite the distressing nature of the film, it did give me as a person the opportunity to see another side to the issue at hand.  The film allowed me as a Christian to view how people view our religion and its social and cultural nature.   Although I didn’t agree with how the people portrayed the Christian faith, I still was able to come away with a better understanding.  This minority of radical Christian fundamentalists are what many people see when they look at the Christian faith.  The same can be said for Islamic religious practices.   Everyone thinks that just because you practice Islam, you must be a terrorist.  It’s the common misconception that people associate just because of your faith.  Although these people make up only a small percentage of the total religious movement, those people are the ones that get the most attention; and it is because those people do things that put them in the line of the media and bring fear and disruption to society through that fear.   

            I learned a lot of valuable things from this movie and came away with a new understanding of how to approach not only my faith, but the faith and non-belief of others.  I need to be respectful of people and their values and ideals.  It’s not ethical or moral to force my religion upon people just because they don’t share the same values.  I knew this as a Christian, but some Christians don’t understand this concept.   Religion is something that should be the decision of the person accepting it, and the only way for them to truly be a Christian is to accept it full heartedly.  If we force people to accept things they unwilling reject, are we any better than a bully?  The reality is, is that we as humans and Christians need to nurture and love our fellow humans.  When the time is right, god will help us to place a seed into that person’s heart.  I only hope and pray that a movement will overtake the Christian religion to stop this religious persecution that we as Christians know only too well.  Have we not learned from our own past?  I look forward to the day when our world can be free from this persecution and social injustice.