Christian Extremists

Wikipedia has an article on Christian terrorism. This last February Politico magazine had an article about "violent Christian extremism." In 2016 Barna reported that "nearly half of non-religious adults perceive Christianity to be extremist." In the January riot in the D.C., signs were carried proclaiming messages about Christ amidst the violence, suggesting the insurrection was God's idea. After the shooting of massage parlor workers in Atlanta, a prominent theologian posted a picture of the shooter's church, stating the shooter "was radicalized here." While I understand that awful and violent things can be done in the name of religion and I understand that awful and violent things have been done with reference to religious source material (for instance, the Qur'an has many passages requiring violence against infidels.), I'm deeply concerned about this trend regarding Christianity and "terrorist," "violence," and "extremist."

As in so very many cases, our world accepts as reality the statements made publicly and loudly as fact. They don't actually need evidence; the statement alone is sufficient. When loud voices like the media (which now extends to the radical world of Facebook and Twitter and the like) get to say what they want without being actually challenged and they want to say that Christianity is extreme and evil, the anticipation is that the public will accept this at face value and run with it. And, as we all know, if the public outcry is loud enough, "innocent until proven guilty" has no part of our society. In cases like this, you should not expect a plain examination of the facts or the evidence.

You see, here's the problem. Terrorism, violence, murder, insurrection, all that stuff has nothing at all in connection to Christian. Better, all of that has nothing at all to do with Christ. The bottom-line Christian ethic is "Love God" and "Love your neighbor." "Burn 'em to the ground" doesn't fit. "Let's overthrow the government in the name of Jesus" is a non sequitur. It just doesn't make sense.

In a new job back in the '90's I met a coworker who, when he found out I was a Christian (because that was his first question), told me how much he hated Christians. Why? "Because they cause so much violence." I told him that made no sense and I offered him an allegory. "Are you married?" "Yes." "Are you happily married?" "Yes." "Good. So let's say I show up to work next week with a pistol. I walk up to you, point it at you, and inform you, 'I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to kill you.' You say, 'Hey, wait! Why?' I tell you, 'Your wife told me to.' And you reasonably reply, 'That can't be. My wife would never do that.' So why is it that you can deny the motive I offered for shooting you on the basis of what you know about your wife, but you gladly embrace the motive some people offer as 'Christian' even though you know it's in direct contradiction to anything 'Christian'? If you know Jesus never would do what they are saying He told them to do, why don't you refute them on the same grounds?"

Lots of people have come to the defense of Moslems when it appears that Islam can be violent even though Muhammad was violent and their book calls for it. Lots of people come to the defense of other extreme reactions to current conditions (think LGBT, sexism, racism, etc.) even though extreme reactions like that are consistent with their philosophies. But when a belief system includes basic commands like "love" and "turn the other cheek" and "pray for your enemies," that religion is branded publicly as "extremist." It doesn't seem reasonable. It appears as if, professing to be wise, they've become fools.

Is Christianity extreme? Yes. No doubt. But absolutely not in the way the word is used today. Extremely self-sacrificing, loving, humble, patient, tolerant (in the actual definition of the word), and so much more. And I would suggest that those who call themselves Christians while carrying out actions and attitudes in direct contradiction to biblical commands need to check themselves, because it's not Christ telling them to do that, so it cannot be "Christian." As one singer put it, "Perhaps it was the devil who whispered in your ear." When you find the Christian who is loving, caring, humble, generous, gracious, kind, selfless, and more, you've found a genuine reflection of "Christian" against which to compare claims of "Christianity." And there is no doubt that that is extreme in this world.