Onward Christian Tourists

Israel is crawling with tour buses filled with religious “pilgrims.” They wear nametags, feast on buffet dinners and hold prayer sessions at all of the major sites – where Jesus was born, where Jesus died, where Gabrielle told the shepards of Christ’s birth, where Jesus turned water into wine, where Jesus attended synagogue, where Jesus started preaching, Joseph’s carpentry shop, where Mary was told she was to bear the son of God, where Mary dripped breast milk on a rock…you get the picture.

One would think that these would be places of great piousness, places where groups from Sri Lanka to Spain would gather in harmony to celebrate the teachings of Our Lord, Jesus and all that he stood for…one would think these would be places of love and generosity. In reality, however, Christian values give way to fervor. Guides elbow those who aren’t paying members of their group. Priests bark orders at antsy pilgrims trying to get a glimpse before their turn. It’s a rat race in which the idol symbols of Christianity create a momentary fanaticism and in which the cornerstones of Christianity are lost. Granted, the Ten Commandments didn’t specifically include “Thou shalt not yell at your neighbor for waling into your photo,” but the general principles should lead one to this conclusion. It is sad to see the good of Christianity crumble in the very places is should be the strongest. The tour buses can take these people to places where Jesus walked, but apparently can’t make them walk like Jesus.