We may not like it, but Christians are not God’s ‘favourites’; and we may like even less the fact that God loves terrorists as much as he loves well-behaved little me. This is not to suggest turning a glib, blind eye to evil or injustice, far from it; but it is to suggest that any Christianity worth preserving, defending or celebrating is (if at times with gritted teeth or a broken heart) to strive to forgive to the last breath.
“The last will be first and the first will be last”, said Christ. A strident demand for Christianity to be pushed to the front of the queue in our present age may well turn out to be counterproductive. In the West Christendom had over a thousand years to make its point, its mouth close to the only microphone in town. In our global, post-Christian times a gentler, kinder voice will need to be used, and we may even thereby find a way of changing Terror itself into hope and reconciliation.
[blockquote] The only criterion for salvation appears to be the practice of charity towards our neighbours– feeding the hungry, visiting prisoners etc. But wait a minute! As the card-carrying Christian begins with satisfaction to tick the boxes to assure his or her salvation the theological thunderbolt strikes: those who do these virtuous acts are not even aware they are doing them for God or religion’s sake. They are unselfconsciously responding to need with a reflex of compassion. [/blockquote]
Eesh. So why bother with Jesus at all?
[blockquote] The feelings of solidarity and outrage a Christian feels towards those tragically killed in Peshawar should be because human beings have been senselessly murdered. The fact that they were Christians is (strangely, radically, life-givingly) beside the point. [/blockquote]
Those people were killed because they were Christian and they should be remembered. Otherwise what’s the point to remembering martyrs?
What a dreadful article. Further comment would be a waste of time.
Interesting example of saying a bunch of true things that add up to a lie.