MY KING ON TERROR
On my way to the radio station this morning the conservative talk show host I was listening to was interrupted by the news of terrorist attacks in London. After my time in the studio I turned the radio back on in time to hear another talk show host interviewing a British journalist who witnessed one of the horrific explosions.
The radio pundit was encouraging the people of London to get angry and kill their enemies. He admitted that his response was immature and that his anger had overwhelmed him but continued to call for the deaths of the terrorists who were "waging a war on American values and religion." He went as far as asking those in London to splash suspected terrorists with pig blood, knowing that a Muslim who comes in contact with the unclean fluids of the animal is damned to hell according to the teachings of their faith.
I feel today the way I felt years ago sitting on a tour bus on the way to Wichita Falls. The TV screen doused our brains in replays of hostilities against the citizens of New York continuously, foaming my sorrow and shock into rage and bloodlust. And as I swung from mourner to mercenary that September day I now realize the momentum swept me farther from the kingdom of God and closer to the ghetto of man. I realize now, regrettably, how little of my passion was expressed in or founded upon God's words or His Son's example.
So, once again I watch the enemies of life snuff out a handful of strangers I'm oddly bound to and missing. And once again my heart slouches, my face falls and my fist forms. But this time instead of patriotic rhetoric or holy war rally cries I'm taking care to listen most intently to the eternal, sustaining and true declarations of my King in hopes of being better anchored in this latest sea of emotion and press pounding. The words of the bible, especially those of Jesus, He and His people having lived so long ago under the thumb of terror with no physical freedom in sight, are my greatest comfort in the shadow of terror today. I hope they ease your anger and sorrow as well and help us to think like Christians more than Americans:
"Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes. "A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.
Matthew 10:21-24
Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Matthew 5:39
When they hurled insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered he made no threats. Instead he entrusted himself to he who judges justly.
1Peter 2:23
Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
Luke 6:27-28
If you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even "sinners" do that.
Luke 6:27-28
Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
Matthew 5:44
Love your enemies, do good to them. Then your reward will be great and you will be sons of the Most High because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
Luke 6:27-28
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:21
If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.
Proverbs 25:21
Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath.
Romans 12:19
Do not repay anyone evil for evil.
Romans 12:17
All who draw the sword will die by the sword.
Matthew 26:52
Forgive them, they know not what they do.
Matthew 26:52
Got thoughts? Discuss this SHLOG on my message-board
The radio pundit was encouraging the people of London to get angry and kill their enemies. He admitted that his response was immature and that his anger had overwhelmed him but continued to call for the deaths of the terrorists who were "waging a war on American values and religion." He went as far as asking those in London to splash suspected terrorists with pig blood, knowing that a Muslim who comes in contact with the unclean fluids of the animal is damned to hell according to the teachings of their faith.
I feel today the way I felt years ago sitting on a tour bus on the way to Wichita Falls. The TV screen doused our brains in replays of hostilities against the citizens of New York continuously, foaming my sorrow and shock into rage and bloodlust. And as I swung from mourner to mercenary that September day I now realize the momentum swept me farther from the kingdom of God and closer to the ghetto of man. I realize now, regrettably, how little of my passion was expressed in or founded upon God's words or His Son's example.So, once again I watch the enemies of life snuff out a handful of strangers I'm oddly bound to and missing. And once again my heart slouches, my face falls and my fist forms. But this time instead of patriotic rhetoric or holy war rally cries I'm taking care to listen most intently to the eternal, sustaining and true declarations of my King in hopes of being better anchored in this latest sea of emotion and press pounding. The words of the bible, especially those of Jesus, He and His people having lived so long ago under the thumb of terror with no physical freedom in sight, are my greatest comfort in the shadow of terror today. I hope they ease your anger and sorrow as well and help us to think like Christians more than Americans:
"Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes. "A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.
Matthew 10:21-24
Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Matthew 5:39
When they hurled insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered he made no threats. Instead he entrusted himself to he who judges justly.
1Peter 2:23
Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
Luke 6:27-28
If you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even "sinners" do that.
Luke 6:27-28
Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
Matthew 5:44
Love your enemies, do good to them. Then your reward will be great and you will be sons of the Most High because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
Luke 6:27-28
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:21
If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.
Proverbs 25:21
Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath.
Romans 12:19
Do not repay anyone evil for evil.
Romans 12:17
All who draw the sword will die by the sword.
Matthew 26:52
Forgive them, they know not what they do.
Matthew 26:52
Got thoughts? Discuss this SHLOG on my message-board
posted by Shaun Groves @ 7/08/2005
9 comments
9 Comments:
hmmm, yeah very well worded. what more could someone say? the Bible quotes are powerful and really help to quell the anger and take God's view of things. My husband Rob and i were praying last night for all involved, the victims and their loved ones for help and strength and the victimizers -- that their darkened hearts would be changed.
james (good lookin bloke) on my sonshine2005 blog pics has a brother in law who saw the bus explode.........it drove past him as he stood at a bus stop and just exploded about 50 yrds away from him. Its so weird, we all watched in horror on the big screens at the washbasin as it came on air..........we were in this safe haven, serving God but these folks were out there in London .....it seemed distant yet we were attached, its been hanging on us for 30 years in N.ireland so it is strange that we dont react just as maybe we should?
maybe the people in the world who have been shell shocked for so long, just think 'oh no, its happened again' maybe feeling desensitized from the constancy of being under attack or threat of attack. .
ahhh, there's the hard part.. forgiveness. I've said this often, I'm thankful that I'm not God. Cause I wouldn't give anyone a second chance if i were. We must ever be on guard to keep our hearts free of hatred and unforgiveness. Thanks for sharing... it's always enlightning and encouraging.
Very good thoughts on this difficult subject. I do believe there is another aspect to look at though. God has given us a tremendous gift with a country founded on God. The freedoms we have today are greater than any nation or society has ever had. With that gift comes the responsibility of protecting it. I don't agree with throwing pigs blood on folks or "condeming them to hell" however, there is something to be said for standing up to wrong. We need to show God's love as Christ taught, but that isn't always a "touchy-feely, nice" thing. Why do we discipline our children? Because we love them. Whether you believe in spanking or time-out or whichever way you discipline, it is never intended to be nice or comfortable for the children. It is intended to teach a lesson and to let them know that their actions were wrong, and in the future, should not happen again. Same with the situation with terrorists. We should love them and care for their souls, but we need to stand up against their sins and let them know what they are doing is wrong, and if they do it again, there will be consequences. One of Christ's greatest attributes was meekness. I always heard a neat saying..."meekness is not weakness, but strength under control." In our search to be Christ-like (Christian) we need to show this characteristic (amongst others). In this situation with terror, we as a "Christian" nation need to not lay down and be "weak" put our foot down and be strong, but also be controlled. Calling them names or calling for a slaughter of them is not beneficial and only increases their distain for America and "Christians," however, action does need to be taken to stand up to these actions.
ANdrew, I couldn't disagree more.
I do appreciate your ability to use scripture in support of your position and to state it so concisely and well, but your logic is also infected with nationalism and false presuppositions. Among them is the erroneous beliefs that:
1) America is a Christian nation or founded on distinctively Christian principles alone.
2) America is the free-est nation ever and that physical freedom is inherently good or godly.
3) Nations have been given the task of "disciplining" other peoples.
I do think you and I could have a healthy discussion about this though. You seem thoughtful about this topic more than patriotic or arrogant like some I've encountered who say what you've said but without the gentleness you show. Thanks for that.
Maybe I'll post a little more some day on this topic. But right now there is no time and it doesn't feel like the right time. Until then feel free to continue to post your great thoughts on this and more.
Thanks for being here,
SG
thanks for the response!
I began writing more thoughts on this topic, but it became quite lengthy, so I will spare posting the long document on the shlog page. I would however like to continue the discussion and send you my thoughts. If you would like me to e-mail them to you, you can contact me at andrew@andrewlael.com and I will reply back with an attachment. Until then, thanks for the words and keep on shloging! It is great!
it is such an heart-wrenching and confusing topic. for instance do these verses also aply to all types of emnity. for instance, a serial killer enters your house, binds your wife and begins torture, (BTK killer) do you think that Paul or Jesus meant for us to stand by and let the man murder and torture the people we love or prevent that person from doing so, Or stand by and let millions of Jews be murdered by the millions in ovens. I mean, Jesus stormed the temple because people were taking advantage of the poor and even this was fueled by Love. I have many friends, who are not christians, who think that retalliation is wrong but it seems that there pacifism is rooted in a general view that greed and power are only thing on our leaders minds and that somehow we are getting what is coming to us. what about taking action against government or chosing not to vote, isn't that a kind of retalliation. also, the context of these writings, arent they always in reference to those who are persecuted "for my name sake". It also seems that the suffering of the innocent is not something that God simply wants us to endure fot the sake of pacifism, but rather that Love would endure and reflect the blazing truth and power of the Love of God in our lives. I actually lost sleep last night (about 45 minutes) pondering your two points of view. i have no answer yet other than the things that Jesus says always shake me to the core of my being and latch hold until if come to terms with them. the last thing i wonder is that is letting terrorists, or anyone who would harm other innoncents, have free reign doing more harm to them and others than defending yourself while showing mercy and goodness in return. When the Pope was shot in the 80's, he was caught and jailed (retaliation) but the Pope displaying the love of Christ paid him a visit and forgave him and there is actually a photo of the two laughing....anyway gettin long here and im two days too late.
Shaun --
It's a huge topic, but it's worth noting that just war tradition begins with the very idea of "love your neighbor".
This is not to cast judgment on our present war, up or down. But the whole concept of using force to defend the innocent is richly rooted in Christian thought.
Here's a great exchange on the "presumption against violence". Some terrific arguments on both sides regarding our present circumstance, I think:
http://www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft0204/articles/justwar.html
Keep on rockin' the free world,
Brant
West Palm
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