The Super-Powered Gospel:
Evangelical Sabre-Rattling Doesn't Advance Global Understanding
by Will Braun
Published on Monday, October 23, 2006 by the Winnipeg Free Press (
The Grahams -- widely respected in Christian circles and beyond -- have consistently provided a visible, public symbol of the church's blessing of the
This may be good or bad, depending on your view of the
Franklin Graham, brandishing a tone not heard from his father, called Islam "a very evil and wicked religion" and, in the wake of 9-11, said the
To be clear about what Rev. Graham suggested for
Is that what the religious imagination has to offer the world?
Compare that with the Amish of Nickel Mines. When faced with senseless violence, they did not respond with righteous vengeance but reached out to the family of the man who killed their children, setting up trust funds for his kids. Confronted by unthinkable violence, they responded with unthinkable forgiveness and compassion.
For them, faith meant replacing the human impulse for fear and retaliation with something kinder and gentler.
Whether or not one believes in God, war or
Right up until his final sermon in
The point is not that religion should necessarily retreat from the public sphere. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Bishop Desmond Tutu and Gandhi all blended religion with fearless engagement in the public realm, but they did it in a way that brought people together and dissipated violence. Gandhi went so far as to say: "I am a Muslim and a Hindu and a Christian and a Jew and so are all of you."
Where are the religious leaders with the courage and breadth to make such a statement today?
Perhaps religion, at its seldom-seen best, should allow society to imagine the unimaginable -- like responding to evil with goodness and forgiving murders. Maybe the power of such actions can do more for our world than the superpower of religio-political might.
Will Braun is editor of Geez magazine and attends
© Copyright 2006
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