The Christian response to Jihadist attacks
We Americans are facing a heinous crime not unlike the murderous attack that took place in Paris, France, a few weeks ago. The continuing murder of thousands of innocent people in the name of the Islamic religion continues to shock the world and has made we Americans realize we are not immune to attack. For most of us, we do not believe this will be the last radical Islamic attack on our country.
Since 9/11 the West has been engaged in a war against religious terrorism. We Christians can understand the frustration and anger that motivate such attacks, for the same secularizing forces have been attacking our faith as well. Yet we are particularly scandalized by the terrorism employed by the Islamists in the name of God. We attempt as best we can, and with God’s help, to respond with both humility and vigor. We are a people who believe in human rights, yet are faced with a religious ideology that has no democratic tradition and a history of forcing submission upon others.
Like the struggle against fascism and communism, we will most likely be engaged in this battle of religious ideology for a generation or two. In all truth we can not claim to know God’s will in everything, so must patiently move forward, fighting for liberty and justice.
For Christians the knowledge that our own country has spread her culture of violence, secularism, greed and immodesty throughout the world, is cause to wonder if it is not God’s judgement that we are experiencing. We have lost our own moral and spiritual compass, and are finding ourselves adrift in a world that is far from our roots in the Gospels.
In this world justice is often impossible to attain without some violence, and with a serenity that passes understanding we must abide in God’s grace as we look for the meaning in all of this. When Muslim theologian Ayatollah Baqer al-Sadr has said that, “The world as we know it today is how others shaped it. We have two choices: either to accept it with submission, which means letting Islam die, or to destroy it, so that we can construct a world as Islam requires”, we Christians must wonder what our response should be.
The headline, “God won’t fix this”, has some truth to it, not because God can’t fix it, but because the answer to these jihadist attacks around the world, as well as the ISIS threat to the Western World, begins with us. We must turn back to God as a nation, and repent as a people.
These radical Muslims see themselves as the righteous, charged by their god to purge the world of evildoers, because they do not distinguish between the paganism or the Christianity of the West, precisely because they believe the former to be part of the latter. They attack us because it is their collective desire to force the whole world to submit to their religious/political world view.
Our resistance is now feeble, in part, because we no longer know who we are, or for what we stand. We’ve jettisoned our values, and replaced them with Politically Correct platitudes. We tell ourselves these jihadist are simply a minority of extremists Muslims, insisting that the Islamic god is the same God we Christians worship. But our Christian scriptures teach us that God is a loving and compassionate God Who invites all His creation, not to submission, but to a Divine Communion. Our Christian God, worshiped in Trinity, incarnated in the flesh, and joined His Divinity to our humanity. This Incarnation invites us to incarnate the teachings of our loving Savior by healing the sick, visiting the imprisoned, defending the poor, being quick to forgive, and even loving our enemies.
We in the West must wake up to the reality that our secular substitutions for religion have led us to disaster.
Our political ideologies, racism, and nationalism, have all led to the disaster of an atheistic world view, one that is often replaced by some among us by turning to violent forms of religion. In November 2014, just to take one month, there were 664 jihadist attacks in 14 countries, killing a total of 5,042 people. And since 1984, an estimated 1.5 million Christians have been killed by Islamist militias in Sudan. For the Christian, the response can not be one of meeting violence with violence, but one of repentance, and a turning back to the deep Christian roots of our Western culture.
With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon
With the blessings of His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill of San Francisco and Western America (ROCOR), and His Eminence Metropolitan Joseph of North America (Antiochian Archdiocese), I will be speaking on Saturday, December 5th, at Saint Barnabas Orthodox Church in Costa Mesa, CA.
Friday December 4, 2015 / November 21, 2015
27th Week after Pentecost. Tone one.
Fast. Fish Allowed
The Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple.
Venerable Columbanus of Bobbio, abbot and founder of Luxeuil Abbey (Gaul) (615) (Celtic & British).
New Martyrs Priest Alexander Khotovitsky of New York (1937), and Priest Alexis Benemansky of Tver (1937).
Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “Everlasting Hope”.
Scripture Readings
Hebrews 9:1-7
The Earthly Sanctuary
9 Then indeed, even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and the earthly sanctuary. 2 For a tabernacle was prepared: the first part, in which was the lampstand, the table, and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary; 3 and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All, 4 which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; 5 and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.
Limitations of the Earthly Service
6 Now when these things had been thus prepared, the priests always went into the first part of the tabernacle, performing the services. 7 But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people’s sins committed in ignorance;
Luke 10:38-42
Mary and Martha Worship and Serve
38 Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”
41 And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
Thank you Father and I agree with all you have said.
You have spelt it all out so well.
I feel though, that along with repentance and turning back to the deep Christian roots of our Western culture that you recommend ….non violence is not going to stop the Jihad violence you have graphically detailed.
The Islam of history I have read about,(unless I’m terribly mistaken) only respects strength. An ideology of winning or losing. Unless confronted by strength and defeated, their aim to take over and spread their world view by force will only become a reality. If our Chritian response is not to meet violence with violence, then how or who IS going to defeat the spread of this unspeakable violence? This is the part I can’t quite fathom.
There is ample evidence in history where Christians had to take up arms against Islamic fighters. The ISIS threat is clearly one of these moments.
peace and blessings
The sanctuary in my mind or prayer space is were i go when i wont to think. its a safe place. you help me with that. I pray Our lord and Savior.will give us new leader ship in Washington.I know in the deepest fiber of my being God looks to us to do the right thing not just stand by and do little or nothing hope to see your thoughts on this Thanks again
This article is so correct and so well written…yes we need to remember Christ each and every day…
Father Bless: What you say is absolutely true regarding the need for the nations to turn to God and repent. However, I still think it was highly inappropriate for the NY Daily News to post such an inflammatory headline. I also disagree with the Charlie Hebdo satire magazine in France. Both of those publications seem to promote irreverance, disrespect and blasphemy. The latter in particular basically kicked at a hornets nest! Both situations remind of me Psalm 3 when King David mentions how his detractors and enemies mock his belief and say ‘there is no hope for him and his God.” That’s exactly what the atheists want. They want people to turn their back on God, and they’ll do it by mockery and shaming or by any means possible. The Muslims choose to respond to this in a way that is extreme and wrong, but we Christians need to take the higher road and yes, repent, but also let them know is NOT OK to put down God and religion! It’s like if someone makes fun of or puts down a family member or one’s signficiant other. We wouldn’t allow that, so why would we allow anyone to disrespect and mock the very Person whom we should love more than anyone else, God Himself?
Sorry for the unintelligible mistake. Should have said
Because we helped create the Frankenstein ISIS, the US bears responsibility to defeat it.
I respectfully beg to differ.
I find this reflection with respect to Islam disturbing, as it paints with a very broad brush, and fails to recognize the changes in Islam since its history of conquest over 1000 years ago. Yes, extremist Islamic fundamentalists are using Islam to justify heinous crimes. This is no different from what Christians have done for ages (think sectarian persecutions, witch-burning, slavery, genocide against Native Americans and the KKK in this country, Planned Parenthood murders and bombings, etc.) Framing our current situation as a struggle against Islam that is similar to our past struggle against fascism and communism is fear-mongering, opening old, deep scars that should be allowed to heal. This completely ignores the millions of peace-loving Muslims that are suffering, and dying, at the hands of power-mad, revenge-driven men who want to regain what they see as their rightful positions of power and control over their women, their communities, their countries, and, maybe, their world. That a few brilliant strategists have been able to co-opt their religion to justify what they are doing doesn’t mean that Islam is our enemy – even IF they want to be enemies of Christianity. We must remember that this is not really a struggle between faiths; this is the old recurring struggle for power and control and dominance that is fed and driven by fearful angry men. We must be bigger than that. Yes, we should draw strength from our Christian roots and recommit ourselves to faithful living as followers of Jesus Christ. But that means living with compassion and love, even for those who wish to do us harm, while remembering that, ultimately, good overcomes evil – always. We serve a God who is stronger than evil or death and can make a way where we cannot see one.
In Christ’s Peace
Father,
The images, and acts of violence that we have chosen as our entertainment, and games for our children, has also taught a whole generation how “effective” the outcome of violence must be.
Are we in fact reaping some of what we have sown?
Thank you, Father Abbot, for your wise and compassionate words amidst these days of darkness. In recent conversation with a German Lutheran friend, she tells of how her country–while trying to be compassionate to the influx of refugees–finds itself utterly overwhelmed with the logistical challenges. She also says that in the politically correct climate of Europe today, there is no room for any discussion or even mention of Christian values. She asks, “Where will this end?” and the only response I felt capable of giving was in Jesus’ words to Pilate: “My Kingdom is not of this world.” Our remembrance of His words is, I believe, crucial. And our remembrance must always include true repentance, and amendment of our own lives. Yet surely, as you said so clearly, there are times when the Christian response to such evil as ISIS requires action against it. It is so very difficult, isn’t it, to love our enemies and at the same time resist the evil they perpetuate? It is so hard to be in this world of darkness and yet live the Light of Christ which the darkness cannot overcome? Yet that is our calling as Christians. O Lord, in your great mercy, hold us in Your Light.
At the center of almost all, if not all, atrocities and wars going on in the world will be found a Muslim. I intend not to stand by reciting a prayer of repentance while some Muslim thinks it is holy service to his god to kill my grandchildren.
Another very well thought out, as always, blog entry.
I found the quote by Ayatollah Baqer al-Sadr quite interesting.
He says that one choice facing Islam in dealing with the West would be to “simply accept it with submission.” He immediately discounts that possibility, but doesn’t the word “Islam” itself mean “submission?”
At any rate, we all know that the Islamic jihadists are not going to go away. I sincerely hope that the Christian West does not follow the pattern of the First Crusade and wait until the 23rd century to respond. I feel strongly that the next two decades will tell the tale. Unfortunately, it is my firm belief that we lose this one. Islam will finally conquer the world. They will prove to be the true anti-Christ spoken of in scripture. Accept their mark, or . . . .
Let’s not forget what the Crusaders did. They slaughtered Jews all the way to Constantinople, then when they got there, they slaughtered Orthodox Christians. The Crusaders were no better or worse.
Also, Jesus only gives us one Christian response. To lay down our lives. Fighting back is a valid response as a nation, but not as Christians. There is no such thing as Christian war. This may be the only thing Martin Luther was actually right about.
I think we are to turn back to God and live as He intends us to live. There are certainly many times in history when God has saved his people from violent onslaughts without his people resorting to violence themselves. If he wishes it, Christianity will be victorious without violence.
But Christianity will never be victorious against the demands of Islam if Christians themselves do not honor Christ’s teachings and gift, working to become more like him with each day, week, month, year. Sadly, America’s Christians have come to think that they need not change their ways because they have been forgiven through Christ’s death on the cross. This is misguided, at best, stripping us of our humility, modesty and wisdom.
It is our great swagger and immodesty, our constant bickering, our sense of entitlement that tempt the rest of the world to take a swipe at us whenever they can. Unfortunately, these ills fill our politics, to respond to the person who wants new leadership in Washington, without regard to preferred party. Our elections into the middle distance, at least, will be as effective as those of the last twenty years simply because we neither know nor follow God’s directives. If we cannot correct our ways, in prayer and practice, we will not withstand the attacks of those who hate us, nor will God rescue us. May we all come ’round right soon.