Credit: Hanay, Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
When we talk about violence and religion, the religion of Islam usually gets mentioned. As I write this, there seems to be a serious war in the Middle East between Israel and Iran, Jews and Shiite Muslims. Hopefully, this recent eruption of violent war, with the related violence between Israel and Hamas, will find a peaceful end.
In the news, there is almost no information about Muslims or Jews in other parts of the world joining in. In recent news, activists and protesters who wanted to travel to Gaza and give their support the Gaza side of the violence, were sent away by authorities in Libya and Egypt. People in the Middle East, in places like Egypt and Libya, who are mostly Muslim in their religion, seem to be aware of the danger from religious violence.
I don’t claim to understand the details of any violence in the Middle East, but it is clear that some people are acting to prevent it from exploding into a larger war. If that is true, we should all be grateful.
Also, I know it is risky for me to write about violent conflicts in the world. As a disclaimer, I am not trying to take sides. I sincerely hope that the violence can come to a conclusion, and I hope that people in those places can return to their peaceful lives.
There are some things we should know, and think about.
One question we should ask is; Does religion promote violence?
Christians might feel good about this question, after reading some instructions in the Bible. For example, the famous preacher and missionary Paul the Apostle was treated with violence by governments and believers in other religions. He was arrested, and shortly after he wrote several books in the Bible, he was executed. The story is that he was beheaded.
That man wrote from prison to Christians: “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you …” (verse 1)
And this is a sample of what he urged: “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4: 31 and 32).
I am writing as a Christian, and we might feel good about ourselves, after reading those words. It’s easy to think that we are not like those other people. Those words describe what we should do and who we should be, in this world. We could add; not like those other people in the world. (Smirk.)
If you are a Christian, and you feel good after reading those words in the book of Ephesians, there is an important question to ask: Why did they have to be told?
Notice that they were not simply told, they were urged. The instructions were given with some force.
We give instructions to our children, and possibly to our dogs and cats for one reason; we want to turn them away from doing a wrong thing. Perfect children do not require instruction or correction. We are told that “clamor and slander” should be “put away from you.”
We only put away what we have in us.
There is an interesting news story from Minnesota. You have probably heard about a man named Vance Boelter, who was arrested for allegedly murdering some political leaders in Minnesota. At this time, he has not been tried and convicted, so we should be careful about making accusations.
It’s also alleged that the accused man had a list of names of political leaders, and that was a hit list. Several people were identified, to be killed. Apparently only two people, and their dog, died, but another couple were shot and survived. Several others were named in the hit list but apparently they are unharmed.
So, did Vance Boelter have any known religious convictions?
Yes, it seems that he was an Evangelical Christian, and a graduate of a Bible College in Dallas Texas “Christ for the Nations.” He attended the school from 1988 to 1990 and apparently he has been out of contact with the school since then.
The school is being severely criticized now, because of the alleged actions of one of their graduates. This is a crisis for the Christian school:
Criticism of the Christian school seems to be unreasonable. Hopefully, more information will come out as the investigation and the trial proceed.
At this time, it is important to know that Christians have instructions, and they should choose to follow those directions. Also, they have the option to disobey. Violence is a human problem, and anyone, with any set of beliefs, can follow that human inclination.
That same teacher, Paul, gave these instructions: “Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator” (Colossians 3: 9 and 10).
We are called to something higher, but there are options. We each choose the journey for our life.
There is a lesson for us all, in the news.
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