“Say My Name”

Many of us recall the iconic scene from AMC’s Breaking Bad when Walter White demands his drug rival say his name: “Heisenberg“. A fantastic vignette in television history.

Nothing against Bryan Cranston, but he had as many takes as needed to nail the scene. Plus the rival was an actor reading his lines. Not exactly a mystery as to the outcome. Muhammad Ali did this in real life in a live event, in the center of a ring, in front of thousands of fans. On February 7th, 1967, Ali fought Ernie Terrell in the Houston Astrodome. In the 2-part HBO series, What’s My Name: Muhammad Ali, you see Ali as he beat Terrell savagely during the bout, but never moved in for the knockout. Throughout the fight, Ali asked Terrell “What’s my name?” due to Terrell’s refusal to acknowledge Ali’s name change from Cassius Clay in a pre-fight press conference. The sheer ferocity displayed by Ali is chilling as you see and hear him demand retribution, as he literally beats the man into submitting to his will.

The documentary is a reminder of how gargantuan a character Ali was during the 60s and 70s. We forget that Ali performed at the highest level, while under suffocating scrutiny from the American white public, national media, and his own race. Imagine if Lebron James in 2019 converted to Islam and went to court to avoid fighting in a US war? The response would be withering, I can’t imagine the fortitude required by Ali to stand up for what he believed in, and still dominate in the ring. He wasn’t participating in a team sport where other players could carry the load. His sport is mano-a-mano. Keep in mind this was a time when Martin Luther King Jr, Malcom X and Bobby Kennedy were all assassinated, almost entirely due to their rightful stance on African-American civil rights.

Can a Good Muslim and Good Christian Exist in Heaven?

The thing about the film and Ali that keeps me up at night is Ali’s firm belief that God was using him as an instrument for righteousness. And he was. Ali inspired people throughout his life to fight for what’s right, that all men are equal and deserving of their seat at every table, whether political, economic or the neighbor next door. Amen to that. The challenge is this, and it’s touched on briefly when Ali meets with Martin Luther King, Jr. Islam and Christianity have fundamentally different foundational doctrines. Islam says Christ was a prophet, Christianity says He’s the savior of the world, the only Son of God and part of the Trinity. As much as we wish these two major faiths are both right, they can’t be due to the law of contradictory truths. Either one is right, or both are wrong, but they can’t both be right. It’s like saying a person is both dead AND alive. In our current culture of pluralism, this ain’t a popular idea. Plenty of folks live by the idea that your truth is yours, and mine is mine. But that concept has challenges for another day… as in how do we know which person has the right truth? For clarity, I’m not questioning Ali’s stance on equality of man. 100% alignment. 

Here’s what scares me. Let’s say God does evaluate entry to heaven based on merit, in other words, based on a person’s good deeds. Lots of people have that belief. If that’s the case, I’m in a bit of a pickle compared to Muhammad Ali. He impacted and inspired millions of lives, and donated millions of dollars to charity. If God measures our lives based on cultural impact, I’m WAY down the list compared to Ali. Sure, there’s a chance that God might say, “No worries, just impact the lives around you.” Fair enough, but how do I find out exactly what He’s measuring in terms of impact? I’ve donated money to charities, but is there a required lifetime amount? Or what if there’s a certain number of times I have to volunteer to offset all the times I’ve gotten jealous, been snarky or selfish?…. Uh, gulp, I really don’t like that line of questioning.

I have friends who get quite pissed off when I walk this trail. They default to a position of “Look man, I just do my best!” and rest in that ambiguous position without definitive metrics. Let me ask it this way. Someone PLEASE tell me the perfect list of what’s required for me to enter heaven when I die? Yes, I understand that I must love my neighbor. But I don’t always. Hell, I don’t always LIKE my friends. Yes, I realize I need to be selfless, and do my best to not hurt others. But I haven’t been with the former, and have with the latter. That’s where that Jesus dude becomes a grace-filled alternative. Go read up on Him.

See ya next time. ML