The bombing at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester,
England has brought out the usual vitriol from all sides.
One group says it’s clearly an attack because of Islamic
terrorism: it is.
One group says it’s clearly an attack because of a desire to
hold women down: it is.
The first group attacks the second group for not saying
“it’s Islamic terrorism.” The second
group attacks the first group for not acknowledging the context: a concert by a
young woman whose fans are mostly other young women attacked by a man.
They’re both right.
This guy was an Islamic terrorist who probably had a view of women that
says they have a particular place in society that doesn’t involve them wiggling
on stages in skimpy costumes or gathering at such a concert to watch one of
their “kind” wiggle on stage in a skimpy costume.
Now let me say something outrageous that could get me in big
trouble with all sides: this guy did what he believed to be right. I don’t agree it was right. I don’t condone his actions. Had he lived, I would have been the first to
suggest the death penalty for him (yes, I’m okay with the death penalty). What he did was despicable, deplorable and
demonic.
But he acted based on what he believed was right.
So claiming it’s Islamic terrorism, while true, offers no
real solution. Saying it was sexism,
misogyny or whatever the current, in vogue term is for someone who thinks women
should be barely seen and certainly not heard, while true, offers no real
solution.
You cannot stop anyone who thinks they are doing what is
right. End.
Wringing our hands, spilling out platitudes, arguing about
who is properly defining the problem are all a waste of time. Why?
Because none of these things get to the real bottom line here. These guys are so convinced they’re right to
believe what they believe, they’ll strap a bomb on their own body and DIE for what they believe. To take a line from the Godfather (Part Two)
when Michael Corleone was asked by Hyman Roth what he thought about people in
Cuba who were willing to die for their cause, Michael says something like “it
means they can win.”
They can win.
These sexist Islamic terrorists have a long view of history
and are perfectly willing to be a part of the larger reality they accept as
true. And they are convinced not only of
their righteousness, but of their ability to ultimately win the day. They believe with absolute surety. They believe with their entire being they
will win out.
And they’re winning.
Western culture has pretty much capitulated to the idea that this is the
way it is. As long as the bombings are
small enough to pass through our consciences quickly, so we can get back to
whatever pleasure or inanity is otherwise occupying our time, the terrorists
win. They are smart – they know this.
So what are our options?
Katy Perry says (I’m paraphrasing) “can’t we all get along?” Katy, please stop talking about things you
don’t understand – just because you’re famous doesn’t mean what you say is
meaningful. Well, no, we can’t get along
because these guys aren’t interested in getting along, at least not on Katy
Perry terms. If Katy wants to wear a
burka and shut up and stop singing for a living and spit out babies, then I’m
sure she’ll get along just fine with her Islamic overlord. Somehow I’m thinking that ain’t where Katy
wants to be.
So the Katy option is out.
We can take the Rod Dreher option: kill them all (meaning
the Islamic terrorists). Read Rod’s
column here: Manchester
Islamic Terror. This one implies an
actual solution but is as fanciful as
Perry’s. There are two problems with
Rod’s suggestion. First,
indiscriminately killing everyone who believes as this man believed won’t wipe out that belief. Rod is an Eastern Orthodox Christian – Rod, let’s
go back and see what the Romans tried to do to the early church. As I recall they tried to wipe it out, but, as
many theologians have argued over the centuries, the church was fertilized with
the blood of martyrs. Yes, killing as
many of these guys as possible would certainly get rid of those believers. Problem is,
it’s fertilizer for the soil in which new believers are grown. True believers will always continue to arise.
Secondly, however, Rod’s suggestion will mean many innocents
will die as collateral damage in efforts to wipe out these guys. Isn’t that precisely what we hate about
decisions to blow up concert venues? If
these Islamic terrorists attacked military installations and fought military
troops, we wouldn’t have the same feelings.
But we feel righteously self-justified in saying “kill them all” because
this bombing killed women and children – non-combatants. Yet, would not our efforts to kill them, no
matter how well-intentioned and no matter how well executed, end up killing
people we don’t intend to kill?
Wouldn’t that start making us look like . . . them . . . ?
So the Dreher option is out. (In Rod’s defense, plenty of
others have suggested this option, too).
The only option that will really work is to get these
fanatics to believe something else. These guys are religious. They believe in the supernatural. They believe in one God. The believe that Abraham is in their
lineage. There are points of connection with
Christianity that must be exploited. I’m
not particularly versed in the best way to evangelize Muslims, but it must be
done. These guys want to believe in
something bigger than themselves, beyond themselves, besides themselves. We have to seek to get them to believe . . .
in Christ.
I know this wouldn’t be the way the culture would have us
go. Somehow our politicians think if we
speak loudly and don’t carry a stick that somehow the terrorists will . . . do what? Hide?
Quit? Threats mean nothing to
these guys because they believe in something greater and grander. They aren’t the least bit concerned about
what happens to them in this life – and they seek heaven through the only
method they understand, which is to follow the Koran and get rid of
infidels. You aren’t going to dissuade
them by killing their fellow Islamic foot soldiers. You aren’t going to dissuade them through
empty threats. You aren’t going to
dissuade them by playing nice, like they’re stray dogs you’re trying to get to
come with you so you can take them to the pound.
You have to give them something they can believe that is
supernatural, compelling, larger than them, that provides meaning in life
beyond this one.
There’s only one alternative available: Christianity.
For the atheists and so-called “freethinkers” and others who
reflexively argue “The Crusades” please go away. When’s the last time a Christian strapped a
bomb on himself and blew up a large number of innocent people? Timothy McVeigh was NOT a Christian, so
please don’t start with him, either.
Christians, for all their faults, simply don’t go around
killing people willy nilly. It’s not
what we do because (a) it violates the sixth commandment and (b) because Jesus
told us not to do it and he told us to love our neighbor as ourselves. While in practice in this evil and corrupt
world, Christians don’t always succeed as would be ideal, they try mighty hard
to make loving neighbor a reality. That’s why Christians have routinely sponsored
blood drives, chartered hospitals, (Baptist Healthcare in Louisville, where I
live was started by . . . you guessed
it, Baptists), started homeless shelters, drug rehab centers, food banks and
clothing places. Christians believe in
something bigger than themselves, beyond themselves, besides themselves. And it starts with a willingness to accept
the supernatural. There is an
intersection with Islam that the secular world simply cannot penetrate because
it is unable. The gospel message of Jesus being born of a virgin, living a sinless life, dying an atoning death on the cross, being buried and being bodily resurrected is the only real chance we have to reach Muslims.
Suppose all 1+ billion Muslims in this world converted to
Christianity tomorrow and really believed it?
It would hardly bring down Western culture. It might rent the current fabric a bit,
especially if such believers became a cohort of socially conservative
types. But that’s a far cry from killing
people in order to gain heaven. The
world would be much safer – isn’t that what everyone claims they want?
