Christianity and the pull toward violence

By the grace of God, I am a Christian. Further, I am a particular kind of Christian. I am a born-again evangelical Christian in the tradition of American Baptists. This description makes me a part of a tiny minority among the more than 2 billion Christians in the world.

I am so different that I am seen as peculiar even by my fellow American Baptists. No one who knows me could possibly suggest that I am not a person with deep convictions and beliefs. Further, I am very religious. I never miss Sunday worship and my time use and the manner in which I use my resources are witnesses to my religiosity.

One of my most profound struggles is the pull to condemn those who disagree with me. I consider social justice to be an essential element in my Christian faith. Because of my commitment to social justice, I have had my share of public debates and encounters. I find it difficult to be entirely gracious to those with whom I have had conflicts. After all, if I am right, do not others who have differing views have to be wrong?

Formal logic insists on that conclusion. To add to the conflict, parts of the Bible send a very clear message that evil must be confronted and defeated. With a cross held high and words from the Bible imprinted on mind and heart, Christians have been brilliant killers of enemies. Usually, Christians killed one another to prove that a particular brand of Christianity was correct. In possibly the bloodiest of all religious wars, Christians battled Muslims for the control of Jerusalem. Multiple crusades stretched over centuries. A lot of people were slaughtered.

Most Christians look back on the Crusades of the early second millennium CE and admit that those wars were not the way to settle theological disputes. Christian communities have always produced protesters against any form of violence. Mennonites and Quakers have spoken to our consciences over and over again. However, the vast majority of Christians make excuses for violence with such things as Just War Theory and pronouncements about the magnitude of the evils that confront us. We may give lip service to acceptance of diversity, but we are all too eager to grab our weapons when our particular religious understandings are threatened.

Is it possible to be devout in Christian faith and at the same time fully accept the religious diversity that now characterizes our world? In the first half of the 20th century, comparative religion studies were in vogue. Many accepted the idea that there are many common denominators found when the great religions are examined. Differences were minimized. Harmony was the goal. The harmonizing never happened. For me, comparative religious studies and harmonizing the world’s religions was dead on arrival. My own conclusions were that there are fundamental differences among the great religions of the world. To attempt to harmonize leaves a watered-down mishmash that is non-functional to a person who wants to be devout.

As I observe the development of our world, I am beginning to believe that pluralism is a part of the nature of life and must be accepted as a fact with which we must live.

Oneness may well be the false God who is betraying us all. I observe the cultures of China, India, Russia, Central Africa, the Middle East, Korea, Argentina, Germany and Mexico and I see no possibility of a world melting pot. I look at Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam and see no possibility of harmony.

Is it possible for me to have a vital, uncompromised, devout Christian faith and at the same give full respect and acceptance of others with differing faiths? My answer is a profound “yes.” For too long we have chased the God of unity. In the process, we have fostered unhelpful tensions in our communities and have fought senseless wars on life’s big screens. Christians have a terrible record of fighting wars and abusing humanity. We need to embrace all the possibilities of diversity and pluralism.

Where would all this lead? I would eventually claim heaven for all, but for the present, pluralism offers an exciting life adventure. Some scientists are claiming there is evidence that the universe is not as orderly as earlier thought. Apparently, there is an element of chaos that is intrinsic to our universe. The result is a universe that is dependable, but not predictable. I try to imagine what life would be like if I accepted the full diversity of life knowing that the future is not predictable. Might that be what heaven is all about?

Please forgive if this has been a bit too esoteric. We need to get rid of the senseless killing and the destructive wars.

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister, who lives in Palmer. His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.

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