Suffering! Suffering! Cross! Cross!
by Greg M. Johnson, September 30, 2001
"The law is not made for the righteous ... but for the slavetraders..." I Timothy 1:8-10
"I have sent [your slave] back to [you the master]... but without your consent I did not want to do anything,
so that your goodness would not be, in effect, by compulsion but of your own free will." Philemon v. 12-14.
Outrages in Israel
Popular opinion is that the motivations behind the WTC bombing are indirectly linked to the Palestinian/ Israeli conflict. While it is unlikely that Palestinians were responsible for the attack, the tension between Israel and Arabs is certainly a reason for hostility of some fringe Muslim sects at America. That crisis is fueled by twin outrages.Innocent Palestinian civilians suffer grave human rights abuses by the Israeli authorities. In July 2001, Amnesty International said that the Israeli forces had kiled 480 Palestinians since September, "most of them unlawfully." In August 2001, A.I. said "Israel shows reckless disregard for human life." When Israeli forces entered Palestinian villages in response to terrorist attacks, AI says, "In the vast majority of encampments, not a single person was accused of the murder and arrested. Yet the Israeli Defence Force bulldozed the tents and stone shelters, blew up the caves where many groups live, and even filled wells with rubble."
Innocent Israeli civilians suffer terrorist attacks by Palestinian groups. Each outrage is deemed a justification for the next. Some 140 Israeli civilians have been killed in terrorist bombings. The American Jewish Congress rightly complained on August 9, 2001 that "It is utterly disheartening to again have to express our revulsion over the wanton, arbitrary and cold-blooded taking of lives of unsuspecting Israeli residents, including infants."
Insights from a German peasant revolt
Martin Luther faced a similar situation in the revolt by German peasants who were upset about the injustices they suffered at the hands of the German nobles. He wrote an "Admonition to Peace," a letter that I hold has timeless truths for today's crises. In it, Luther tells the princes and lords of Germany that they are solely to blame for the insurrection: "we have no one to thank but you." Of the nobles' religious and economic abuses of the poor, he says, "The poor common people cannot bear it any longer." He also hints to the dissatisfied peasants that if the peasants were to execute their cause justly, "You have the comforting advantage that God will be with you." The fact that many of the peasant's grievances were ridiculous was no excuse for the nobles. Luther tells the nobles they deserve the "sword already at your throats," and urges them to repent of their unjust treatment of the peasants. He says, "unless our repentance moves God to prevent it, this must result in the ruin, destruction, and desolations of Germany by cruel murder and bloodshed."
Luther addressed similar scorn at the peasants. Luther urged them to
set aside the name "Christian" from their revolution. The reason is that
"the Christian law tells us not to strive against injustice, not to grasp the sword, not to protect ourselves, not to avenge ourselves, but to give up life and property, and let whoever takes it have it." He insists that they obey what have been called the harsh sayings of the Sermon on the Mount: turn the other cheek, give to them that take from you. He repeatedly admonished them to seek the consolation of prayer and to trust in earnest that the Lord will avenge their wrongs. He tells them that refusal to endure suffering makes them unworthy Christians. "Suffering! suffering! cross! cross! This and nothing else is the Christian law!" He will offer no blessing on their revolt. Indeed in Luther's subsequent writings, ["Against the Robbing and Murdering Peasants,"] he insists that the state has a duty to kill rebels.
For more information on the German peasant revolt, look here.
Paul on slavery
Similarly, our Christian scriptures, viewed in totality, offer twin
condemnations of oppressors and rebels on the issue of slavery. No
slave revolts would occur if slaves were to obey the repeated commandment of "slaves obey your masters." No institution of slavery would last long if slavetraders grasped the horrible and eternal consequences of that "slavetraders" are listed among the worst of sinners. Indeed, when the apostle Paul befriended a runaway slave, he sent the slave back to Philemon, and encouraged him to do the right thing of his own free will. The latter is the Christian way of doing things.
Luther on "Thou Shalt Not Steal"
If you are a confessional Lutheran, consider Luther's writings in his
Large Catechism, part of the Book of Concord. At the same time, Luther says the Lord
promises that God will not let prosper either those who exploit the poor nor
lowly workers who steal from their masters. Luther suggests that the servant
who does not manage his or her master's estate in their interest deserves
the gallows. To those who would "scrape to the bone" or "distress" the
poor in the marketplace, even those who uncompassionately "drive a hard bargain,"
Luther warns them to fear that the poor might cry to the Lord for help. "For such groaning and calling will be no jest, but will have a weight that will prove too heavy for you and all the world."
Other twin condemnations
"The injustice of certain situations cries out for God's attention. Lacking the bare necessities of life, whole nations are under the thumb of others; they cannot act on their own initiative; they cannot exercise personal responsibility; they cannot work toward a higher degree of cultural refinement or a greater participation in social and public life. They are sorely tempted to redress these insults to their human nature by violent means. . ."
Paul VI continues
"Everyone knows, however, that revolutionary uprisings�except where there is manifest, longstanding tyranny which would do great damage to fundamental personal rights and dangerous harm to the common good of the country�engender new injustices, introduce new inequities and bring new disasters. The evil situation that exists, and it surely is evil, may not be dealt with in such a way that an even worse situation results.
Indeed the pope quotes both the biblical warning "If anyone is unwilling to work, do not let him eat." in this encyclical; his Day of Peace Message for 1972 introduced his famous maxim, "If you want peace, work for justice."
A Call to repentance
Oh, that the Lord has raised up so few prophets willing to offer these
twin condemnations!
I submit that these two philosphies are both quite contrary to biblical
Christianity and the historical teachings of the church, I submit that
these two philosophies are where I shall lay responsibility for the WTC
attack. One will ignore all injustices till they boil over and the other will
help them get boiling prematurely and illegitimately. And there seem always to be children walking by when the pot boils over.
Are you saying the dead at the WTC and Pentagon deserved their deaths?
In Luke Chapter 3 the crowd asks Jesus,
"Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them--do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem?"
Jesus answers,
"I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."
A brilliant sermon by C.H. Spurgeon from 1861 on this passage can be found here
What then can we do?
Love your enemies
Comfort the afflicted
Christianize the East
Christianize the West
Support our Troops
Support Israel
The country of Israel ought not fear the loss of support from America in its time of crisis. While support from a Christian perspective does not require silent unconditional approval of a country's actions, it does require some sense of assurance. Pray for ways to do this. Father John Neuhaus reported that after the crash he heard people whether our support of Israel were worth this. I say Amen! that it is and double amen that those concerned about the long-term security of Israel must challenge it to change its ways and uphold the basic human dignity of the Palestinian people.
Hear the cry of the poor
