We are especially conscious, in recent days, of people who kill others because they live from the view that the God they claim to serve is telling them to do that. They are even prepared to die in a form of martyrdom themselves to please this God. And let us not delude ourselves, as far back as history goes, there have been people like that.
Remember the Crusaders killing off all those who were not Christian. Think of the Puritans who landed on the coast of what is now the United States of America. They met the Native Americans and said to them, “Believe in Jesus Christ and you will be saved”. The Indigenous people told them that they had their own faith, so the Christians said, “Oh well, you will be going to hell, so we may as well kill you”. So they did and they even formed avenues of heads on stakes as they took the land.
Think of the European Empire countries who invaded all of Africa, took it over and stole its resources as well as turning many of its people into slaves. Often they did this in the name of their God. We could go on – there are many more tragic and horrible stories in history about people who destroyed others in the name of their God. More often than not, they did this for their own advantage and claimed that this was the gift of their God in response to their obedience.
Always, there is the underlying question of what sort of God we are serving when we do things like that. Are we worshipping a God who kills little children and other innocent people just because they don’t bow to that God? What sort of God would do that? Would we worship and support a human being who led people in that way? I think most of us would regard a leader like that as an evil dictator.
None of this means that we can’t live from a faith in God or from an atheistic position, but precisely because we are ordinary human beings, we should surely do that from a humble position which is open to listen to the way others understand reality. What might attract us in that direction is that, when we look at the lives of those from other faiths or none, we see people who are just and compassionate, who care for the creation and who live respectfully alongside those who differ from them.
When we do that, we so often find that people of other religions and none have insights about life and faith to offer to us. Even the questions they raise for us in what they believe often can enrich our understandings and deepen our lives and relationships.
Can we laugh at each other and critique each other’s views? Surely this happens within loving families and, even though it sometimes offends us, we can engage in genuine dialogue and move into respectful relationships again.
Undoubtedly, we are now living in a time when these issues are critically important. The words of a young boy, Ibrahim Sakar, in the talk he gave at a recent Together for Humanity dinner (published in this issue of our paper), can lift our hearts towards the dream of a new world. I believe that the God who created us, and who accompanies us on our life journeys, longs for this new world where respect and love open our lives to grand new possibilities for living together.
May this New Year bring forth this hope for us all.
