Amidst
the wave of deadly Islamic terror attacks in Europe, the Church is
divided over whether it should practice pacifism or take up arms.
The recent murder of a Normandy priest at the hands ISIS jihadists
sent shock waves throughout Europe. Many see the bloody attack as yet
another piece of an increasingly bloody picture of France. The country
is still reeling from an earlier attack in Nice, when an terrorist mowed
down a a crowd with a car, killing 84 people and injuring hundreds
more.
French church leaders are left wondering if Christians have a moral
duty to distance themselves from Muslims out of safety or embrace them
with love.
Rev. Sally Smith, a vicar at St. Mark's Church in Stoke-on-Trent,
England, believes churches should open their doors wide in the face of
terrorism.
Smith writes in The Guardian
that Christians should not respond to senseless murder with hatred
because their own faith centers on "a barbaric act of murderous cruelty,
against a man who, by anyone's standards, didn't deserve it...Jesus."
Smith argues the same power that resurrected Christ is "available" to
Christians so that they can respond with love when the rest of the
world reacts with hatred.
"We must resist the temptation to fear. We must remind ourselves that
we are people of hospitality, particularly to the stranger and
especially to the people who look different from us and those who may
worship in a very different way than we do," she writes.
Smith is joined by many others who believe that instead of closing
the doors of the church, the church needs to open its arms more now than
ever.
But she is careful to speak against naivety.
"Of course we should exercise sensible precautions each time our
church buildings are open to the public for worship and other events,"
Smith writes. "We should do all that we can to ensure that young people
and the vulnerable are safeguarded from those who wish intentional
harm."
Others, however, believe that protecting the young and vulnerable
from harm may mean using force. Father Georfe Rutler, pastor of St.
Michael's church in New York says pacifism is immoral.
"To shrink from the moral duty to protect peace by not using force... is not innocence - it is naiveté," he writes for LifeZet.com.
"The defense of the common good requires that an unjust aggressor be
rendered unable to cause harm. For this reason, those who legitimately
hold authority also have the right to use arms to repel aggressors
against the civil community entrusted to their responsibility," he adds.
Although many Christians are not certain how to resond, Smith and
Rutler know one thing for certain -- there will be more attacks to come.
They suggest Christians should react with love for the terrorist and
love for the vulnerable.
Source: CBN News