United We Stand
The population of Norway may only number little more than 5 million people, but more than 150,000 of them gathered in Oslo last Monday to take part in a memorial 'rose march' to remember those who lost their lives so tragically last Friday at the hands of Anders Behring Breivik. Oslo became a sea of flowers. Mourning marchers carried red roses, the symbol of the governing Labour party that was responsible for the island youth camp where Breivik ran amuck.
After such horror, such loss, it's only natural to try to discern the motives behind such actions; only human that we grasp after explanations to answer the question, 'Why?'
Doubtless, Breivik's referencing of the Templar Knights and The Crusades contributed to his initial identification as a fundamentalist Christian. Subsequently, however, it's become increasingly transparent that his warped thinking had little to do with faith. His darkly nationalistic leanings led him in a personal vendetta against Muslims and against the Marxist political leaders whose liberal approaches have, to his mind, led to increased immigration.
Although it seems Breivik acted alone, such an atrocity understandably causes us to be alert to the potential of similar threats: Is the far-Right on the rise in Europe? Does Britain need to be more vigilant in regard to the possible resurgence of groups characterised by the rhetoric and rallying of racism? Certainly, we will want to keep our eyes open - the events of last Friday are a chilling reminder that there is a long history in Europe of racial atrocities being carried out in the name of a supposed greater good.
More than this, however, the church needs to lead the way with 'prophetic imagination' - fostering attitudes and practices that build bridges across communities. Rather than marshaling our resources to pray against the building of Mosques in our localities, shouldn't we seek to be salt and light to those Muslims who, having moved into our neighbourhoods, need a place in which to worship? And, perhaps, as scores of churches are already doing, we could seek to support immigrant communities by offering English language lessons, accommodation assistance, legal help and the like.
Such a despicable act of hatred as perpetrated by Breivik should spur us on to reach out across social divides at every level. As we seek to do so, let us continue to pray for Norway, that a nation united in grief might find solace in God, the Lord and Father of all.
Jason Gardner
Comments
This seems typical of the type of christianity that seems to be taking over these days. Why do we have to put ourselves in the same pot as somebody who goes around shooting people because we might want to pray against the opening of a mosque? We are trying to be too nice and too politically correct, neither of which God calls us to be. I would lile to point out that being a muslim has nothing to do with the colour of your skin, so praying against the opening of a mosque is not in anyway racist. Nor is it full of religious hatred either. In fact the very opposite is true. I love muslims enough to pray against the building of a mosque so that they can carry on deceiving themselves and worshipping a false god. What's more I have had many a normal calm and perfectly reasonable conversation with muslims and challenged them in their faith. Non have ever complained that I was racist or full of religious hatred. It seems to me that we are buying into the worlds politically correct view of things and allowing their culture to dictate what chrisitan culture is. What God calls us to do is to live in our communities as real salt and light and make our culture, one where we love the One True God, and others as ourselves, the norm. That does not mean we have to compromise on our values or vision or worship of our Lord, who certainly did not allow the prevailing culture of his day to stop Him from speaking His mind. Let's get some backbone and stand up for what we believe in, which contrary to this article is not racist or full of hatred, but real genuine love, not the wishy washy kind we see here that is a deceptive imitation.
Why do we always talk about the 'far-right' in such cases? Why don't we simply say 'racist' or 'anti-immigration'?
Jason... Thank you for your wise words... one of the best Christian comments on this that I've seen.. My own thoughts are at http://www.facebook.com/notes/greg-smith/tragedy-in-norway/225084434193997 And in case you can't access it below. I've been thinking and praying (with many others) about the tragedy in Norway For me the main points would be... 1. sympathy, condolence.. shared tears 2. distancing us... all Christians from any religious hatred motive the killer may have had... 3. calling Christians to continue working for peaceable (postive Shalom based) community relationships with others who share our multi-faith global community 4... (and this is the difficult one) sober reflection and maybe repentance among Christiatians around using language about Islam and Muslims that may (unintentionally) feed into hostility and hatred where it exists... allowing groups like the EDL and worse to use "Christian" discourse to stir up anger... Islamaphobia etc.. Talk about fears that Muslims may be taking over UK or Europe based on slender evidence is the kind of thing I often hear among evangelicals...and which we need to be so careful about.
I'm reticent to comment and question the good taste of discussing these events quite so soon.
Date:
2011-07-30 10:17:17
Author:
Julian Legat