Blog on the Lillypad
Saturday, June 19, 2004
 | Paul Johnson, Sunday Morning, and Safety for American Moslems
The only thing worse than one atrocity is two atrocities. Since the barbaric murder of Paul Johnson, I have been praying that God will keep the minds and hearts of those who profess Christ fixed on the truth and not on their emotions. Right now the well-being of innocent American Moslems is on my mind, and I am praying that the American public will remember that the men who killed Johnson are fanatical extremists. I am concerned for the safety of those who may be unjustly attacked in revenge, and I am also concerned about the reputation of our Saviour. Nobody does the Lord any favors by lynching people in His Name. The name of Jesus Christ is given for salvation and mercy, not street justice. |
When the news went out yesterday about Paul Johnson's death, I received it with a sinking heart, as many Americans did. I had been praying for him throughout the morning, but to no avail. But my thoughts immediately went to the next most likely people to suffer, and that is American Moslems, who may receive the brunt of public disfavor. Tomorrow, Sunday morning, when Christian preachers get into their pulpits to allegedly deliver sermons on the Word of God, how will they behave? Will they preach the genuine Word of God, or will Fundamentalist congregations be subjected to that familiar mixture of Republican politics, Americana nostalgia (for an America that never actually existed), and Fundamentalist legalism?
The outlook at this moment is not good, to judge from the FFF. One of the regulars, a preacher, I believe, writes:
"These murders have no soul. They are devils. I wish the wrath of God and America upon them. I cant help it. God forgive me for these feelings."By the way, when Fundamentalists say "God forgive me," that really means, "My feelings are strong enough to excuse me from exercising faith in the Word of God." Many fundies assume that powerful feelings are more valid than Scripture.
The Fundamentalist relationship to the Word of God is often a contradictory thing: they say it is the sole authority by which we must live. Yet many, many, fundy preachers are dreadfully ignorant of what the Bible says. Just check the index for details on how ignorant they can be. And many of them really do assume that powerful emotions negate the Scripture or lessen our responsibility to be crucified with Christ.
Anyway, I did assume that the outpouring of emotion over Johnson's death would kick in the bypass circuits and have many fundamentalist preachers calling for Moslem blood. We've had more than one person on the FFF talk about the wives and children of the terrorists as well (as though Al-Qaedda women haven't suffered enough!)
So I don't think that Scriptural forgiveness, prayer for God to change the hearts of our enemies, and serious consideration of God's Word is going to be all that prominent in IFB pulpits come morning. No doubt the preachers can paste in swatches from Scripture of God smiting our enemies hip and thigh to make hatred sound biblical. But if they at least make it clear that justice and revenge belong to God and not man, I guess that will have to be good enough.
And if they don't stick to the theological truth, remember that every life belongs to God. And God has ordained the lawful institutions of government to try crimes and take life if necessary. Nobody honors the name of Christ by breaking the law to harm people or humiliate them.
