Faith not fear
07/06/15 05:30
There are good people of faith who have experienced major conversions. They can tell you the story of the event in their life that changed their perspective - perhaps reversed their thinking - and made them into a new person. We read in the book of Acts about Saul’s experience on the road to Damascus, when he was struck down, blinded, and discovered Jesus to be the Messiah in a sudden and dramatic experience. I don’t doubt that there are many other instances of people whose religion has been suddenly changed.
Such is not, however, my experience. I was raised in a Christian family with church as an important part of our life together. My identity was connected to the church from an early age. Among the documents that I have from a life in church are a baptismal certificate, a cradle roll certificate, Sunday School and Confirmation certificates. I followed the Christian Education process from my first days throughout my life. I attended a church-related college and pursued my graduate education at a closely-related seminary. And I have worked at the church as my primary source of employment for all of my adult life.
I’m not completely ignorant of other faiths. I have studied Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Hinduism, and other religions from an academic perspective. I know something of their practices and sacred writings. Being Christian, I have learned more of the ancient history of Judaism than of other world faiths. Because we share the same Scriptures and ancient history, it makes sense for Christians to learn both the ancient and modern practices and beliefs of Judaism.
I think I have a fairly competent understanding of the major religions of the world. But I have never been drawn to changing my religion. And, while I have never felt the need to apologize for being Christian or for my faith, I have also never been persecuted for my beliefs.
Persecution because of faith is, however, a very serious matter in this world. There is an incredible amount of violence and suffering that has come out of attempts to force conversion or to abolish certain religions. The world can never forget the horror and violence that erupted in the mid-20th Century against Jews in Europe. Now simply labeled as the Holocaust, the systematic attempt at destroying all of the Jews in Germany and neighboring countries remains a stain on the history of humanity. It was the event that produced a new concept: genocide. The world had previously seen attempts at the systematic destruction of a group of people because of their racial, ethnic, religious or national identity. The Armenian Massacre and the Nanking Massacre might well have been attempts at Genocide, and the term is now used in reference to both events, but the word was not used before 1944, when Winston Churchill called it a crime with no name. Formed from the Greek word, “Geno,” which means tribe or race, and the Latin word “Cide,” meaning killing, the term has been applied to more recent killings in Rwanda and Bosnia.
I suppose that there may be a few particularly violent and hate-filled individuals who openly call for the destruction of other people because of their beliefs or religion, but I don’t associate with those voices and haven’t much experience with such hate speech. More common, but still very alarming, are the statements I sometimes hear from people who stir up anger against others out of fear. There is a lot of fear in the unknown. And fear can be used to motivate people to donate to causes and participate in groups that may have agendas that are oppositional and destructive of human rights of other groups.
Having grown up in the shadow of the Holocaust, and having read fairly extensively about the dynamics of that horror, I am especially sensitive to all forms of discrimination. It seems to me that the horrors of genocide often grow out of a general climate of mistrust, hatred and fear and that discrimination is one of the shapes of that mistrust, hatred and fear that can accelerate into acts of violence.
One of the shapes that discrimination sometimes takes is the promotion of fear of the other. “We need to destroy “them” or “they” will destroy us. Describing the other group as the threat and promoting fear of the other can lead to a dehumanizing of an entire group or class of people and an acceptance of violence towards them.
These days there are voices within and without the Christian Church in America that sound very fearful and discriminatory when speaking of Isalm. As we have witnessed acts of terrorism that have a connection to Islamic fundamentalism, there is a real reason for concern. But that concern must not translate into the condemnation of a group of people or a religion out of ignorance. I’ve read writers who have proof texted a few verses of the Quran that appear to promote violence and forced conversion and touted them as endemic to Islam. They seem to be attempting to convince others that Islam is inherently violent and that all people of that faith should be converted away from Islam. Their rhetoric is just shy of calling for violence against others because of their faith.
Unfortunately, there are extremist forms of fundamentalism in all religions that call for the persecution of other faiths and Christianity is not without individuals who call for the elimination of other people because of their religion. We must never forget that it was Christians who promoted the Holocaust. Children of clergy were common among the ranks of the Nazi SS. Operators of death camps were regular members of Christian congregations. Clearly there is no support of such violence in the Scriptures or doctrines of the church, but our faith did not make all Christians immune from acts of unspeakable violence.
In the midst of the violence of the Nazi regime, however, there were voices of courage and faith. Dietrich Bonhoeffer spoke out of a strong Christian theology against the violence and was eventually killed for his dissident speech and actions. His writings continue to inspire many.
Whenever I hear people of faith speak about their hatred or distrust of others based on class or religion, I try to promote the reading and study of Bonhoeffer’s writings.
All of which is to say that “No, I have not been participating in the anti-Islam conference in our city this weekend.” I prefer to invest my energies in promoting my faith instead of stirring up fear and opposition against another faith. May I, like Bonhoeffer be known for what I believe, not for what I fear.
Such is not, however, my experience. I was raised in a Christian family with church as an important part of our life together. My identity was connected to the church from an early age. Among the documents that I have from a life in church are a baptismal certificate, a cradle roll certificate, Sunday School and Confirmation certificates. I followed the Christian Education process from my first days throughout my life. I attended a church-related college and pursued my graduate education at a closely-related seminary. And I have worked at the church as my primary source of employment for all of my adult life.
I’m not completely ignorant of other faiths. I have studied Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Hinduism, and other religions from an academic perspective. I know something of their practices and sacred writings. Being Christian, I have learned more of the ancient history of Judaism than of other world faiths. Because we share the same Scriptures and ancient history, it makes sense for Christians to learn both the ancient and modern practices and beliefs of Judaism.
I think I have a fairly competent understanding of the major religions of the world. But I have never been drawn to changing my religion. And, while I have never felt the need to apologize for being Christian or for my faith, I have also never been persecuted for my beliefs.
Persecution because of faith is, however, a very serious matter in this world. There is an incredible amount of violence and suffering that has come out of attempts to force conversion or to abolish certain religions. The world can never forget the horror and violence that erupted in the mid-20th Century against Jews in Europe. Now simply labeled as the Holocaust, the systematic attempt at destroying all of the Jews in Germany and neighboring countries remains a stain on the history of humanity. It was the event that produced a new concept: genocide. The world had previously seen attempts at the systematic destruction of a group of people because of their racial, ethnic, religious or national identity. The Armenian Massacre and the Nanking Massacre might well have been attempts at Genocide, and the term is now used in reference to both events, but the word was not used before 1944, when Winston Churchill called it a crime with no name. Formed from the Greek word, “Geno,” which means tribe or race, and the Latin word “Cide,” meaning killing, the term has been applied to more recent killings in Rwanda and Bosnia.
I suppose that there may be a few particularly violent and hate-filled individuals who openly call for the destruction of other people because of their beliefs or religion, but I don’t associate with those voices and haven’t much experience with such hate speech. More common, but still very alarming, are the statements I sometimes hear from people who stir up anger against others out of fear. There is a lot of fear in the unknown. And fear can be used to motivate people to donate to causes and participate in groups that may have agendas that are oppositional and destructive of human rights of other groups.
Having grown up in the shadow of the Holocaust, and having read fairly extensively about the dynamics of that horror, I am especially sensitive to all forms of discrimination. It seems to me that the horrors of genocide often grow out of a general climate of mistrust, hatred and fear and that discrimination is one of the shapes of that mistrust, hatred and fear that can accelerate into acts of violence.
One of the shapes that discrimination sometimes takes is the promotion of fear of the other. “We need to destroy “them” or “they” will destroy us. Describing the other group as the threat and promoting fear of the other can lead to a dehumanizing of an entire group or class of people and an acceptance of violence towards them.
These days there are voices within and without the Christian Church in America that sound very fearful and discriminatory when speaking of Isalm. As we have witnessed acts of terrorism that have a connection to Islamic fundamentalism, there is a real reason for concern. But that concern must not translate into the condemnation of a group of people or a religion out of ignorance. I’ve read writers who have proof texted a few verses of the Quran that appear to promote violence and forced conversion and touted them as endemic to Islam. They seem to be attempting to convince others that Islam is inherently violent and that all people of that faith should be converted away from Islam. Their rhetoric is just shy of calling for violence against others because of their faith.
Unfortunately, there are extremist forms of fundamentalism in all religions that call for the persecution of other faiths and Christianity is not without individuals who call for the elimination of other people because of their religion. We must never forget that it was Christians who promoted the Holocaust. Children of clergy were common among the ranks of the Nazi SS. Operators of death camps were regular members of Christian congregations. Clearly there is no support of such violence in the Scriptures or doctrines of the church, but our faith did not make all Christians immune from acts of unspeakable violence.
In the midst of the violence of the Nazi regime, however, there were voices of courage and faith. Dietrich Bonhoeffer spoke out of a strong Christian theology against the violence and was eventually killed for his dissident speech and actions. His writings continue to inspire many.
Whenever I hear people of faith speak about their hatred or distrust of others based on class or religion, I try to promote the reading and study of Bonhoeffer’s writings.
All of which is to say that “No, I have not been participating in the anti-Islam conference in our city this weekend.” I prefer to invest my energies in promoting my faith instead of stirring up fear and opposition against another faith. May I, like Bonhoeffer be known for what I believe, not for what I fear.