Church Uses ISIS Flag As A “Great Tool For Evangelism”

(Credit: news.com.au)

A little while back I wrote a post about ISIS and the Good Samaritan.

It was about how we should think about the Samaritan’s identity in a contemporary context. Not surprisingly, not everyone was thrilled with the idea of imagining a member of ISIS as the Good Samaritan. I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess that this ISIS/Jesus connection may stir the pot just a bit more.

Apparently as part of an evangelism campaign, several churches in Sydney have co-opted the ISIS flag and replaced the Arabic writing with a “Love your enemies” quote from Jesus written in an Arabic looking font.

According to the article I read, the company behind the campaign described the co-opted flag as “a great tool for evangelism…designed to engage with the community and spark conversations.”

If nothing else, I’m sure it’s a head turner. Of course, if (when?) it appeared in the United States, I’m guessing it would do more than turn heads.

But without offering my own commentary on the flag’s merits, I’m curious to know what you think.

It this a creative way to get people talking about the faith or is its value limited to its ability to shock passersby?

Does it actually get you to rethink Jesus’ call to love your enemies or do you just find it offensive given the atrocities committed by ISIS?

Let me know what you think in the comments.