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 PrintableVersion The CommentaryLiving with terrorismThere appeared to be fewer in the audience for our annual trip to the Proms, and many more police, their luminous yellow jackets over their uniforms, patrolling the railway stations. The tube passengers seemed more subdued. The two bomb attacks in July, one successful and the other a failure, have left their marks on London life. Terrorism is here to stay. We will have to learn to live with it. But how? One report which came into the EN office was from someone who had been in New York on 9/11 and found himself in London on 7/7. His observation was that whereas in New York people flooded into the churches, in London they flooded into the pubs. But drowning our sorrows and taking Dutch courage is a feeble response. While not wishing to minimalise the appalling nature of suicide bombings, the increased risk to our lives is actually an opportunity to be more real about our faith. Nothing special is required to cope with terrorism. Ordinary Christian disciplines can prove more than sufficient if we take them seriously. Faith. Terrorism seeks to inculcate fear. But faith is able to conquer fear. Jesus said: ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me’. The We are not afraid website quickly received over 30 million hits following July 7. But it is the London commuter who personally trusts Christ as the Sovereign Lord and feeds that trust through God’s Word who will know the confidence Jesus can impart. Hope. There is a terrible danger of a backlash against the Muslim community. As Christians we must stand clearly against such injustice. The bombers do carry out their atrocities in the name of Allah. But the majority of Muslims are peace-loving, ordinary people. We are called never to take revenge. Rather we are to hope in God’s future perfect justice. ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay’, says the Lord. Meanwhile we are reminded: ‘Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good’. Love. Sir Ian Blair, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, has reminded us wisely that, ultimately, the species of terrorism we face can only be beaten by communities sticking together and rejecting the men of violence. Christian love, which reaches across all boundaries of race and religion, is of enormous importance here in building community. The parable of the Good Samaritan is in our New Testament. Against a background of cross-cultural tensions, Jesus challenges us, ‘Go and do likewise.’ Prayer. There is nothing new in terrorism. We have seen it before from the IRA and find such barbarity throughout history. The apostles call us to pray for those in authority over us — the government and the police. How many of us are including prayers for the government in our public worship on Sundays? The terrorists work with great secrecy aided by modern technology. But there is a God in heaven who knows all secrets. Perhaps it has been because Christians have prayed, that in recent weeks the anti-terrorist squad has known such astonishing success. Repentance. Confronted by Pilate’s cruel state terrorism of the taking of innocent lives, Jesus explained that the victims were not greater sinners than others. Rather he said: ‘But unless you repent, you too will all perish’ (Luke 13.3). All tragedies in this fallen world contain an element that warns people of coming judgement and the need to repent. Gently and lovingly, that must continue to be our message. It is the decadence of much of Western life which many religious extremists would use to justify their horrific acts. We cannot agree at all with that. But we should call a decadent society to repentance. And to do that with integrity, we need to be repentant people ourselves. The way to live with terrorism is to live closer to God. John Benton© Evangelicals Now - September 2005 |
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