The Jews have a watertight non-violent alibi for most of the last two thousand years. From 70 AD up to the founding of the state of Israel in 1948, Jews had no opportunity to be violent –- they were cowering at the receiving end of monotheist violence although in the recent state of Israel, they certainly cannot claim non violence. Their faith certainly does not establish non violence as their creed. In the New Testament stories were and are also declared metaphors in order to condone various Christian leaders’ thirst for power. For example, the story of Jesus throwing the peddlers out of the Temple was used as a metaphor for "cleansing the faith of heretics" and thus used as a divine excuse for merciless persecution of dissidents, especially Muslims. Do you really think Jesus would condone this interpretation?
CHRIST THE KING SUNDAY.....see below for images.
J. Harold Ellens writes in the book, “The Destructive Power of Religion. "At first there was enormous violence to cleanse the world of pagans, then it was to cleanse the world of Christians who had a different idea than those in power, then it was cleansing the world of Jews. In every case the cleansing tended to be on a scale that approached genocide."
The Old Testament contains repeated prescriptions for merciless violence –- those who do not believe in One God, or who somehow interfere with God's Chosen People, the wish of God is that those people should be annihilated, men, women, and children alike. The Old Testament is full of extremely violent metaphors and they have carried over into Christianity as well as into Islam. One of the most vicious metaphors is the battle between the Powers of absolute Evil and absolute Good. This same battle can be found in the Persian Zoroastrianism.
Using the history of the God in the Old Testament, such as ordering stoning and death for what is now considered relatively minor sins, many Christians invoke the Jewish wars of the Old Testament against the heathen as a justification for the actions of modern day war.
Unfortunately, we can trace this thirst for power into the political arenas .
- Christians are some of the greatest supporters of the military. Many Christians have exchanged biblical Christianity for imperial Christianity. Some Christians still view the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as a modern-day crusade against Muslims.
Well, I’ve got some really bad news for them: Jesus never sanctioned any crusade of Christians against any religion….in the past, in the present, or in any future attempt to use God’s name to condone warfare. Jesus never called, commanded, or encouraged any Christian to kill, make apologies for the killing of, or excuse the killing of any adherent to a false religion. And that includes extremist Muslims! Please view:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJRAe26MIrU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiv532uW-ZI
Today, religion, politics and war are indivisible in the minds of the extremists who populate the front-line shock troops of terrorist organizations. Be it the Irish Republican Army (ira), the Tamil Tigers, Hamas or Al-Qaeda, all use terror in the name of religion to pursue national or international political power.
- Take al-Qaeda for instance. “All the perpetrators [of the September 11 attacks] believed themselves to be pious Muslims fighting in a holy war and headed directly to Paradise; they were given support in this belief by some Muslim clerics; a significant section of Islamic opinion has applauded what they did …”
Make no mistake about it: Ethnic and religious roots run deep—very deep. This is particularly the case when it comes to conflict between Muslims, Christians and Jews. “No divisions among men … are as unbridgeable as the chasm between the faithful and those they call infidels, between Jew and gentile, or Christian and pagan."
Communal identities in Bosnia had not been very strong, historically. Muslims, Croats and Serbs lived together in peace, and inter-faith marriages were quite common. But then, through the influence of political groups seeking power, Muslims, Croats and Serbs began to identify with their own cultural and ethnic community, defining themselves in religious terms. Bosnia was transformed, by the conjoining of religion, race and politics, from being the Switzerland of the Balkans to becoming the Iran of the Balkans. Iraq? Osama bin Laden said, “This war is primarily a religious war.” Appealing to Muslims worldwide, he said, “Rise in support of your religion. Islam is calling you”.
And how has the U.S. handled it’s position as the most powerful country in the world? I frankly believe there is a false morality pervading the whole of American society which is embodied in the U.S. president’s statement, George W. Bush, “I’m amazed that people would hate us …. I am like most Americans—I just can’t believe it, because I know how good we are.”
- Is American society really “good”? Is the American judiciary wholly just, or is it downright corrupt, open to the influence of financial incentives for our politicians, despite the facts, despite the truth? Is not America the largest illegal drug-using culture in the world? Are not the huge numbers of its divorce, teenage pregnancy, homicide, rape, theft, arson, embezzlement and general crime statistics a great blot on its national character? Where is this goodness in this Christian dominated, powerful nation?
And what about you, Australia, Canada, China, the Phillipines, England………….all of you? Pastors, we can’t teach what is right until we open ourselves to the facts of our wrong doings. Isn’t that our job? Isn't that what churches should be about? Think About It.
We need to preach about Jesus view of power………
We need to teach…….
We need to help our churches learn for what Jesus taught.
