It's been sooooo long but I wanted to react to something I have seen a lot in the news and on Social Media recently, especially as the world faces a new wave of "extremist" activity, sometimes on a small scale. There are also often stories about the conflict between human laws and people's beliefs or faith whether it relates to homosexuality, gender or abortion perhaps being the 3 most common friction points.
Among this 'noise' are so many people that ask the question "why don't we all just get along"? It surprises me that people don't get it. The media sometimes gets it but sometimes doesn't and their politics perhaps alter the stories more than what they actually believe. Politicians might get it but they are never allowed to say because of the throne of diplomacy and 'political correctness'.
There is a simple reason why we can't all get along and that is because we do not agree on the ground rules. Most of us would say that murder is wrong but for some people, it is not always murder if you kill people for some ideal, whether religious or not. Most of us like the idea of live and let live but there are plenty of people who would say that society is bigger than the individual and sometimes dictates where the boundaries are. You might think it is fun to get drunk and violent but society doesn't agree and might prosecute you for such behaviour. It gets even more complicated across borders. Borders are useful because they allow people to have marked differences in opinions and live accordingly. The Israelis and the Palestinians have a big difference on political and religious levels but by having a border, they can execute those differences, if people prefer one way to the other, they can probably immigrate and live accordingly. What happens though when people start crossing borders?
It is the cry of many a humanist that borders are man-made and are divisive to the human population and in an ideal sense, that is true. However, because of the differences that exist, they are also a protection mechanism but some people don't believe that borders can keep them in. It has happened many times in history with the Babylonians, Persians, Mongols, Greeks, Romans and more recently the "Islamic State". These people had a belief that borders didn't apply to them, they were crossed, people were killed or subjugated to the 'greater good' and life continued.
It doesn't matter how much you think people should just get on, if we have different world views, if our perspective on borders and boundaries is different, if some people think it is their business to stop you doing things they consider immoral, even though you think you see right and wrong in your head, the others think it just as clearly - there is no solution to this.....
Unless, there is a way to provide a common basis, a way of defining what is and isn't correct. What is and isn't punishable. The place of authority and obedience to those authorities. There is only one way for this to happen and that is with God. Only someone higher than humans can decide what is ultimately right and wrong. If you haven't realised, you better realise quickly that humans do not agree on things and it is not because of the patronising view that people like IS are "stupid", "pure evil", "terrorists" or "extremists", because most of them wouldn't see themselves that way, they are labels that betray a difference of world view and a position of judgment. 'I wouldn't do that so therefore those people are evil/supid/etc.'
Bringing God into it will sound to some of you like throwing petrol onto a fire, after all, aren't the causes of these problems religion in the first place? As a Christian, I would say, "No". My world view, if you would entertain me, is that it is sin that causes people to exert power, control and death over other people. People commit sin in the name of religion but then people also commit sin in the name of a number of other non-religious or political frameworks - they are convenient excuses for sin because they help us justify what we are doing. People can also be deluded and think that what they are doing is right due to some kind of indoctrination. Of course, this can and does happen in the Christian church too but a few rotten eggs doesn't ruin the whole batch and just because there are people who get it wrong, doesn't mean that God isn't right.
Politicians can try and provide solutions using the very much tried and very badly failed idea of "why don't we just sit down and talk". Those politicians quickly learn that there is a difference of opinion and although we all basically want to live life in peace and to proper, for some people that doesn't come at the cost of live-and-let live. To some people, other people groups are not permitted to exist, sin is not allowed to go unpunished.
If you are not religious, I would ask you to have humility with the way some of you quickly criticize religion as if you have never done anything wrong. That you would be careful with the assumption that everyone who disagrees with your world view is wrong. That religious people are the cause of the world's trouble. I ask that you would be very careful from your very protected, very peaceful countries that are largely like they are because of the input of Christians or other faith groups over several hundred years, that you don't conclude that because you are a humanist or atheist or whatever other label is fair and that your life is OK, that clearly it is the model to live by and everyone should just get on.
If you are a Christian, please stop criticising government plans to deal with IS, refugees and anything else. You should believe that Jesus is the only answer to sin and the government aren't going to be preaching Jesus any time soon. Their plans are always flawed because they are based on a lower level of understanding about the world, even if some of them are Christians. They are based on human mechanisms like punishment, politics and procrastination. If you care, and I'm sure you do, ask God what YOU can do to help the situation.
Don't curse the darkness, light a candle!
