By Monte Sahlin – Memories of what happened ten years ago bring me back to the haunting question of the time. It still remains largely a mystery. Why do some people have such hate for those who believe differently that they think God has authorized them to kill?
This is not a Muslim problem, despite the slander believed by some. Christian fundamentalists bombed the Federal courthouse in Oklahoma City before Muslim fundamentalists flew planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. In fact, it seems most religions have a very small percentage of people who are insanely, violently zealous. There are Christians willing to kill people they disagree with over abortion despite the fact that Jesus clearly taught us to “turn the other cheek” and not resist evil with evil.
Ultimately this kind of hate does not come from God. It is not about piety or devotion in any religion. It is rooted in evil. It is a marker of all the God is against. There is a word for this in all religions; sin. Anyone who thinks they can rid the world of sin by resorting to violence or injustice is overcome by the very thing they are supposedly fighting against. It is like the old folk tale of the tar baby. The more you hit it, the more you are stuck in it.
The only thing that is victorious over sin is divine love. God chooses to struggle against sin by extending mercy, forgiveness and grace because He is wise enough to know there is no other way to actually overcome sin. Hate and terrorism ends when I decide to quit hating those with whom I disagree on the most profound topics, the most cherished truths.
Why do they hate us? Because we hate them. The only thing that disconnects this vicious cycle is when we choose to join God’s side and love the hater. That takes far more courage, a far more fearless moral stand than anything else. The Son of God gave His life to demonstrate this reality.
Monte Sahlin originally posted this on his “Faith in Context” blog at http://www.montesahlin.com/ He is the author of 20 books, 56 research monographs and hundreds of magazine articles. His most recent book is entitled “Mission in Metropolis.”
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Monte Sahlin has worked to understand contemporary trends in our society and to help congregations and faith-based organizations make innovations since he organized ACT while in college at La Sierra University, Riverside, California, in the 1960s. ACT was a student volunteer organization that served in inner city neighborhoods and with suburban teenagers.
He is currently chairman of the board for the Center for Creative Ministry, a research organization and resource center helping pastors, congregations and other organizations understand new generations and how to engage with them. He is also chairman of the executive committee of the Center for Metropolitan Ministry, a "think tank" and training organization based on the campus of Columbia Union College in Washington, DC, as well as an adjunct faculty member at the Campolo School for Social Change at Eastern University in Philadelphia and in the DMin program at Andrews University. In addition, he serves on the steering committee of the Cooperative Congregational Studies Partnership, a coalition of researchers from more than 40 denominations and faiths who produce the Faith Community Today (FACT) research.
Sahlin is an ordained pastor in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, currently serving as a vice president in the mid-Atlantic region of the denomination. He served for 12 years at the denomination's North American headquarters with responsibilites for church ministries, media projects, social needs and issues, and research and development. He has pastored small and large congregations in major metropolitan areas and Appalachia.
He is the author of several books, scores of research studies and hundreds of magazine articles. Currently available are "Ministries of Compassion," "One Minute Witness," "Understanding Your Community," "Trends, Attitudes and Opinions" and "Adventist Congregations Today." In 2005, he coauthored with Harold Lee, "Brad: Visionary, Spiritual Leadership," a history and evaluation of the career of Charles Bradford, the first African American to serve as president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America.
Sahlin has worked as director, board chairman or strategic consultant with more than 100 innovative, community-based ministries, church plants and nonprofit organizations over the last four decades. In 1994 he was awarded an Outstanding Public Service Award by the United States government and in 1996 he participated in the Presidents' Summit on Volunteerism as well as the preparatory gathering of 50 representatives of the nonprofit sector at the White House.
