A discussion blossomed on another thread regarding the evils and bigotry perpetrated by the “Christian” church on Judaism – first by misrepresenting their faith – then by forced conversion and pogroms – and in the modern era, by turning a blind eye to the holocaust. Actually, the thread was largely restricted to the inaccuracies in the Greek texts regarding Jewish beliefs. However, the discussion opened up for me the broader subject of stigmatizing and bigotry. Thank you designs, for speaking up.
Christians who pretend to understand Judaism exclusively through the Christian scriptures continue to do them a great disservice. Understanding must first come by listening.
I think also trying to act out in a world of politics through the lenses of “faith” is bound for disaster. I wonder if one of my old distant relatives, a windy poet called Hibbert Newton, did not start something with his epic poem, “The Triumph of Israel” (1894, 366 pages). I swear his romantic, protestant notions echo through to this day, in America’s favoring of Israel’s call to nationhood sometimes over common sense (that is, the exclusion of the native populations). The harm comes from oversimplification, reading and responding to events through these lenses, and clumsily and ignorantly interfering with the affairs of these countries.
Forgive the length of these thoughts, an interweaving of old history and new, oppression and colonialism, culled from my reading this year. These ideas come chiefly from:
“The Battle for God, a History of Fundamentalism” by Karen Armstrong and
“When Victims Become Killers” by Mahmood Mamdani
My interest in Rwanda is personal. My daughter married a man from Rwanda, who lost nearly all his family; a dozen brothers and sisters, his mothers and father, in the genocide in 1994. Only he and his two sisters survived. How could a nation of people be incited to kill their neighbours? Priests and preachers participated in the genocide! What is their justification? A meek confession that they got caught up in the fury. In other words, for a time they were no better than man at his basest.
What do these examples teach me? That patrons do great harm by presuming to know their conquered when they bludgeon through their doctrine/culture/beliefs.
This false “knowing”, I think, comes from an oversimplification of belief. For example, alien=sorcery=evil (for example the much maligned Harry Potter by the religious right). Or, alien=inferior=must be dominated.
This oversimplification of belief is described eloquently in Karen Armstrong’s book, “The Battle for God, a History of Fundamentalism” (page 366) Fundamentalists have turned the mythos of their religion in to logos…by transforming their complex mythology in to a streamlined ideology … have also distorted their tradition, narrowing it down to a single point by ruthless selection. As a result, all have neglected the more tolerant, inclusive, and compassionate teachings and have cultivated theologies of rage, resentment, and revenge. …Even the vast majority of fundamentalist, who are opposed to such acts of terror, tend to be exclusive and condemnatory of those who do not share their views.
Fear comes next. For the conqueror, I think, this comes from the underlying knowledge that the oppressed will break free one day, and wreak their revenge. In Rwanda, the fear was that one class of people would again suppress the other. The conqueror’s usual response is to be unrelenting in their domination. Or, if “freedom” if finally offered, flee the ensuing chaos. This was seen over and over again as the nations of Africa were, one by one, offered back their nations. The colonialists cannot presume that they were the civilizing influence and the chaos that followed a reversion to primitivism. The policies and practices the colonialists put in place set in motion the events that followed.
Since about 1992, Pope John Paul II and now his successor Pope Benedict have been offering apologies on behalf of the Catholic Church for past sins (Memory and Reconciliation – the Church and the Faults of the Past, December 1999). John Paul II offered over 200 apologies. Reading the apologies is odd. They feel like dispensations of a sort, a gift. Humble but…that overshadowing arrogance of Right.
I wonder too how helpful these apologies are in the light of the Jewish concept of repentance and forgiveness. In the Jewish model, which I am now fond of, there is also the element of restitution.
Do I, as a regular Christian, attempting to live out my faith as best I can, carry the weight of these sins? I think I do, if I dare to call myself one. It is an error to brush off these failures as individual lapses. The incidents are too many and too broad.
How do I respond if someone from an oppressed (or formerly oppressed) group, challenges me on the past failures of the church? I must listen, listen first. Ask to hear their story. Agree that it was an injustice. If my words offend, or suggest exclusivity or superiority, beg forgiveness. Reach for understanding. Find our common humanity and intelligence. Learn from our common experience.
Kudos to Ghandi and the Luther King, who relentlessly sought freedom, calmly. That we would all live larger than ourselves; avoid the temptation of simplification, lead humbly, listen deeply, and press for right without revenge.