The world, as a community, is not far from attempting to eradicate ISIS. Trump even says we should target their families for death in order to deter the male fighters. One man has this to say: (I know most of us here tend to agree with the "Wipe 'em all off the face of the Earth POV. What are your thoughts, in light of this article?)
I must admit, my heart is broken and vexed over the continual flood of news concerning violent acts being carried out in the name of God, regardless of what that name is. This violent deity, for whose glory humans from every nation under the sun are willing to kill and wage war, does not exist.
All over the world, mothers are laying sons to rest, fathers are weeping over the lifeless bodies of their daughters, widows are facing a life they never planned on living, cities lie in ruins and lives are forever shattered, and all because human beings belonging to a barbaric, patriarchal religion are convinced that a being who is nothing more than a figment of their imagination takes pleasure in such things. This is nothing new, and has been happening, more or less, since we've been a species capable of pondering our own existence, and desiring that of another. When there exists no logical reason to kill, we simply look to our gods to justify our violent behaviors.
Honestly, some nights I sit here breathless at the thought that life has left some child's eyes today because someone has convinced themselves that it's holy, or God-approved to drop bombs and pull triggers. Out of the nothingness that is the religions in which these imagined deities are ensconced has crawled the most disgusting and vile of ideologies, and it is high time we outgrew them.
If your God is not a peace-loving, peace-making, humanity-embracing, violence-rejecting Savior, you would be far better off leaving the idea of God behind all together. There is simply no place in the world for barbaric beliefs that can't be challenged since divine authority can be claimed by their adherents. It boggles the mind that those who talk seriously about invisible men living in cloud castles who order the extermination of others have not been ridiculed into extinction, but sadly, many would gladly elect just such a one as our next President, provided that he's willing to exterminate the "right" people.
Only a sane Gospel that reveals the insanity of our unholy, human religions and philosophies, has the power to rupture the system that blinds us, and causes us to think such things are sane. Only a God who looks like Jesus, a suffering God, to quote Bonhoffer, can save us.
The Jesus who hurls down fiery judgments in response to his children's prayers is no better than the god of ISIS. The Jesus who is coming back with his followers to slaughter (yes, I know such a portrait of Jesus can be painted when one irresponsibly and unintelligently dips their uninformed brush into the pallet of apocalyptic works like the Revelation) all those who refuse to bend the knee would hardly be distinguishable from ISIS, were he to don a black hood. Such a god can do nothing but add to the problem, and the proclamation of him can only serve to inspire hatred in the hearts of those we claim a desire to "reach".
Only the suffering God of the cross can save us. The God who hides behind ornate veils, in holy temples atop magic mountains does not exist. That supposedly most holy place sits empty and unoccupied, proving that those who crucify in his name crucify in the name of a non-existent being. But the crucified one, the one thought to be Godless and abandoned, is the one in Whom God is truly revealed and dwells.
This God, this suffering God, alone can save. All others, even those who call themselves by the very name that exposes them, leads us to destruction.
I must admit, my heart is broken and vexed over the continual flood of news concerning violent acts being carried out in the name of God, regardless of what that name is. This violent deity, for whose glory humans from every nation under the sun are willing to kill and wage war, does not exist.
All over the world, mothers are laying sons to rest, fathers are weeping over the lifeless bodies of their daughters, widows are facing a life they never planned on living, cities lie in ruins and lives are forever shattered, and all because human beings belonging to a barbaric, patriarchal religion are convinced that a being who is nothing more than a figment of their imagination takes pleasure in such things. This is nothing new, and has been happening, more or less, since we've been a species capable of pondering our own existence, and desiring that of another. When there exists no logical reason to kill, we simply look to our gods to justify our violent behaviors.
Honestly, some nights I sit here breathless at the thought that life has left some child's eyes today because someone has convinced themselves that it's holy, or God-approved to drop bombs and pull triggers. Out of the nothingness that is the religions in which these imagined deities are ensconced has crawled the most disgusting and vile of ideologies, and it is high time we outgrew them.
If your God is not a peace-loving, peace-making, humanity-embracing, violence-rejecting Savior, you would be far better off leaving the idea of God behind all together. There is simply no place in the world for barbaric beliefs that can't be challenged since divine authority can be claimed by their adherents. It boggles the mind that those who talk seriously about invisible men living in cloud castles who order the extermination of others have not been ridiculed into extinction, but sadly, many would gladly elect just such a one as our next President, provided that he's willing to exterminate the "right" people.
Only a sane Gospel that reveals the insanity of our unholy, human religions and philosophies, has the power to rupture the system that blinds us, and causes us to think such things are sane. Only a God who looks like Jesus, a suffering God, to quote Bonhoffer, can save us.
The Jesus who hurls down fiery judgments in response to his children's prayers is no better than the god of ISIS. The Jesus who is coming back with his followers to slaughter (yes, I know such a portrait of Jesus can be painted when one irresponsibly and unintelligently dips their uninformed brush into the pallet of apocalyptic works like the Revelation) all those who refuse to bend the knee would hardly be distinguishable from ISIS, were he to don a black hood. Such a god can do nothing but add to the problem, and the proclamation of him can only serve to inspire hatred in the hearts of those we claim a desire to "reach".
Only the suffering God of the cross can save us. The God who hides behind ornate veils, in holy temples atop magic mountains does not exist. That supposedly most holy place sits empty and unoccupied, proving that those who crucify in his name crucify in the name of a non-existent being. But the crucified one, the one thought to be Godless and abandoned, is the one in Whom God is truly revealed and dwells.
This God, this suffering God, alone can save. All others, even those who call themselves by the very name that exposes them, leads us to destruction.
