Necessary Roughness

The AP reported Sunday that the Pope baptized Magdi Allam, a former Muslim who wrote against Islamic extremism. This morning the AP reported that a Jordanian Islamic Center condemned the act.

In an act of diplomacy, the Vatican’s newspaper announced: “There are no hostile intentions toward a great religion like that of Islam.” There may be no plans for the Swiss Guard to start an invasion any time soon, but the salvation of a soul is a hostile act against the gates of hell.

I appreciate the act. Indeed, the local priest could have done the baptism. The Pope wanted the point of discussion: nobody should be executed for choosing Christianity.

It is an interesting example of Two Kingdoms philosophy, where God rules in both temporal and spiritual circles. The Pontiff is using the right-hand kingdom, the salvation of someone’s soul, to change attitudes and affect left-hand regimes on earth. It is a light hand on the moral rudder of society.

The Vatican should not need to borrow a page from the Bush presidency and say that moderate Islam is a religion of peace, or that the Vatican means no offense. It is almost a holy subterfuge, a little like Abraham passing his wife off as his sister, to ward off the knife so that more souls can be saved.