Christian Terrorism Returns

We have heard much these past 8 years about Islamic terrorism. Osama bin Laden is the poster child of such terrorists, and many Americans assume that all Muslims are like bin Laden. A more sensible view is to see bin Laden as an anti-modern extremist proffering a version of Islam that most Muslims around the world reject. But it's a version that has attraction to some who feel that Islam is under attack, and that this attack must be resisted by all means necessary.

But terrorism isn't just a Muslim aberration -- the possibilities of terrorism are present in almost all religious traditions, and also among the non-religious. Remember that Mao was non-religious, as was Stalin and Lenin. Mark Juergensmeyer, a professor of sociology and global studies at UC Santa Barbara, as well as author of the important book Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence, 3rd Edition (Comparative Studies in Religion and Society, Vol. 13), has addressed the issue of Christian terrorism after the recent murders of George Tiller by an anti-abortion extremist and a security guard at the Holocaust Museum by an elderly white supremacist. Both of these murders are rooted in extremist forms of Christianity. They no more represent me than bin Laden represents the majority of Muslims. His essay is published online at Religion Dispatches.

I know Mark -- not well, but I've met him several times and heard him speak to these issues on several occasions. He's a practicing Christian, not a secularist. He doesn't believe that religion necessarily produces terrorism, but he does believe that they have the possibility of producing extremists.

The focus of his essay is on a man named Mark Bray, a Lutheran pastor, who has been at the forefront of anti-abortion violence -- justifying the killing of doctors who perform them and has bombed clinics. He was a friend and supporter of Paul Hill, the Presbyterian pastor that murdered an abortion provider and his escort, and he's the author of a book entitled A Time to Kill, and justifies his actions by pointing to Dietrich Bonhoeffer's decision to participate in the assassination of Hitler. Now, I believe that Bonhoeffer would be horrified to see his actions used to justify such actions. Bonhoeffer was opposed to abortion, but never justified such actions. He believed killing Hitler was one of those rare occasions when one is required to act contrary to one's own beliefs. He was himself a pacifist, and never justified his actions on religious grounds.

What is a bit scary here is that we're seeing an uptick of religiously motivated violence at the same time that we have a new African American Democratic president. The last time we had such violence -- including the Oklahoma City bombing -- was during the presidency of Bill Clinton. Juergensmeyer writes:

Once again Christian theological arguments are being advanced to support the most lethal acts of terrorism. In the imaginations of Scott Roeder, James W. von Brunn, and Michael Bray, they are soldiers in an awesome war, a grand struggle between the forces of good and the reign of evil—now incarnate in the Obama era of liberal society. Their positions might be taken as poignant reminders of the past if they were not so vividly in the present, and so gruesomely destructive.

Could we be seeing a new wave of religious violence that would strike at the heart of American life -- and it's not Muslim, it's extremist Christians. Is this simply an aberration, or are we seeing a surge of violence that could be directed at any number of targets? I'm not one prone to fear, nor am I a fear-monger, but I think we need to pay attention to what is happening.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Anonymous said…
I was riding along with you on this trip until we had the correlation with Obama and violence. In all honesty, yes, I believe there is white male resentment among many to see an african american president. Its more about their side losing than the person. If Hillary won, it would be anger against women, and when it was Clinton, it was anger against red necks. (j/k)

Seriously, think the influx of violence is more closely correlated with the downturn of the economy. Look at the European elections. The far right actually won.. and I mean WAY right. Beyond what even a conservative like myself would associate with. Its chilling to see the same people come to power as they did during the depression. Remember, Hitler didn't come to power on charm and looks.. he was a powerful leader in a time of economic collapse that pointed blame at a class of people.

I do worry that people who call themselves Christian will take to violence out of economic despair. They will look to blame and punish someone else for their woes. I will jump up and down and say b/c someone calls themselves a Christian does not mean they are Christ followers. I have a hard time believing many of these people we hear about are true Christians, or followers of the Way. They are Christian by their own title and that is all.

Chuck
Robert Cornwall said…
Chuck, thanks for the response.

I think economics has something to do with this, but in the 90s, when Timothy McVeigh did his thing, we were in pretty good economic times.

When Obama was elected the number of guns being purchased spiked. I think that there is something here that needs to be at least kept in mind.

The two recent incidents aren't necessarily related. Ant-abortion extremists tend not to be White Supremacists. But that there is an uptick in violence is a point of concern.

Hitler did capitalize on two things -- humiliation after the war and economic downturn. What is interesting is that fascist movements, which tend to be both nationalist and ethno-centric sprung up during the 20s and 30s, even here in the US.

Oh, and I don't want to equate conservativism with vilence, there is violence on the far left as well. But these are interesting times here!
Anonymous said…
Be brave, be very brave.

Expletive deleted.

David Mc

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