Atonement Theology: The Ideological Root of Christian Terrorism
I read a blog titled, Two Friars and a Fool, a couple of times a week and came across this post from discussing the root of “Christian” terrorism. Many have revisited this topic after the bomb and shooting in Norway. It is a worthy conversation and exploration of how there are segments of Christianity as “radical and violent” as there are Muslim, Jewish, and other religious “freedom fighters.” And like the mainstream of Muslims, most Christian celebrity TV preachers, radio hosts, or mainline denominational leaders say nothing to refute the violence in the name of God. A few paragraphs and a link for you to read more.
Atonement Theology: The Ideological Root of Christian Terrorism
Posted on August 2, 2011 by AricClark | Two Friars and a FoolThe Norwegian Anders Behring Breivik, who borrowed Timothy McVeigh’s strategy to blow up a public building, outdid him by gunning down dozens of young people at a camp after the explosion. Both were young Caucasian men who wanted to provoke a cosmic war to save Christendom and rescue society from multicultural religious pluralism. Both were Christian terrorists, “crusaders” in ancient terms.
Atonement theology says, “Jesus died so we might live.” It suggests that the torture and murder of crucifixion is “good.” This proscribing and prescribing life from a model of trauma after violence is a dreary way to live. It tends to squeeze all the beauty, joy, and inebriating juice out of life for the sake of a perpetually unrequited promise of post-mortem salvation.