A couple of years ago I wrote a blog post about why I claim to be a “Progressive Christian.” I wrote a sentence that confused some people:
“Progressive” is not the same as “liberal.” Progressive is neither liberal nor conservative, and both at the same time.
A progressive theology and faith is one that views scriptures as a starting point, not an end. As my Christian siblings in the United Church of Christ are fond of saying, “God is still speaking,” (the comma at the end is a creative marker that there is still more to come).
All of this is to say that I am not a liberal, and I believe that some thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors are not only wrong, they are dangerous, and when done under the banner of Christian faith, are harmful to our collective faith.
Some Christians—a small but dangerously volatile minority—have taken it upon themselves to try to “cleanse” the world of those who do not believe in Jesus as the Son of God. This is not only wrong, it’s evil—yes, a manifestation of darkness in the world that is opposed to God. Others, sadly, are victims of a society that has not learned how to properly address mental illness, are influenced by some of the more volatile natures in the world, and act out in ways that are truly horrid.
This is not a gun control issue, as no gun was used, though I believe the arguments for gun control are related to the circumstances of this tragedy. It would be easy to dismiss it all as one mentally ill person acting out. But this is yet one more in a series in recent years of attacks on Jewish communities and other minority populations. This is part of an epidemic and cultural affirmation of violence. It is part of our society’s neglect of those with mental illness (thank you President Ronald Reagan for withdrawing federal funding for mental institutions, rather than seeking to reform how they functioned so they might better serve our communities!).
It has been widely reported that hate crimes have been on the rise since 2016 when President Trump took office, and rose before that since President Obama took office. According to the Department of Justice, there was a slight dip in 2018 (only 55 fewer cases than the 7,175 reported in 2017), but a dramatic increase in the number of personal assaults versus against property (61% of hate crimes in 2018 were personal assaults). And those are just the ones reported to the FBI or on which the FBI was able to collect information. This is becoming much more personal. But, isn’t it always personal, regardless of whether property is destroyed or a person is injured?
Regardless of the reason, whether religious or political or personal, this behavior is wrong and every Christian should be raising their voice against them. Silence, as it has been said before, is the same thing as consent. Any belief that condemns others to some kind of punishment for being who they are, so long as they are not causing harm to others, is wrong. It certainly violates the teachings of love and compassion throughout the Hebrew and Christian scriptures.
Yes, we can cherry pick some scripture verses that talk about condemning a person or a people to death for various behaviors. But those are 1) few and far between, and overwhelmed by calls for compassion, and 2) in the context of a communal response to unacceptable behavior, not one person choosing to take matters into their own hands. Keep in mind, I do not believe that killing as a form of capital punishment is moral, ethical, or effective. Yes, it’s in the Bible, but that negates the possibility (and likelihood) that some things in our scriptures might offer negative object lessons from which we can learn and progress in our faith and lives. Further, crime statistics in the U.S. have proven that the death penalty is ineffective as a deterrent. Rehabilitative efforts, on the other hand, have been very effective in reducing recidivism—not 100%, but certainly more effective than the retributive justice system we have now that often makes people that may have made a horrible mistake in judgment into hardened criminals for the rest of their lives.
There is no one issue that will address the increase in violence we have witnessed. I include the violence committed verbally against people on social media, spewed from the cowardice comfort of keyboards. Yes, it is about mental illness. Yes, it is about common sense gun control. Yes, it is about our cultural obsession with war and violence (read any history of the United States and one will quickly discover that our history is shared in terms of war and violence). Yes, it is about the dangerous liberties of social media that go far beyond what a reasonable society should consider “free speech.” Yes, it is about intolerance and fear. Yes, it is about red versus blue versus increasingly purple states, the increasing chasm between those on the left and those on the right, and the vast majority who seem to be falling into the abyss of despondency. It is about the myth of “American superiority.” It is about a lack of understanding that we are as much dependant on others as they are dependant on us (nationally, geographically, locally, and personally).
As Christians, we are called to bring people together (think of the Eucharistic meal, aka the Lord’s Supper or Communion—it’s even in the title!), not tearing them apart. Yes, Jesus said that brother will be against father, and mother against daughter, but that was also in the context that some families will struggle to accept when someone chooses the path of nonviolence and compassionate justice, over and against the system beliefs of punishment many families and cultures have developed.
Those of us who may be on the more progressive side of the Christian faith need to speak out, risking ridicule and the ridiculously circling arguments of those who choose lifestyles of hate. We need to follow the lead of our UCC siblings in Christ and believe that God is, indeed, still speaking, that our scriptures are just a beginning and not an end. We need to condemn attacks on any population. We need to advocate stronger for dramatic reforms of our criminal and immigration systems so that we might learn that kindness and compassion will get us a lot safer and less stressed than hate or violence. As the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was famous for saying: Hate begets hate; violence begets violence … We must meet the forces of hate with the power of love.”