When Terror strikes

The pictures cause you to jolt.  The shock etched on the faces of those led to safety from a Parisian supermarket shocks us.  

Add to that what happened a day earlier in the offices of a newspaper and on the streets of Paris.  Questions arise.  Many probably begin with the word Why; others with the word What.

Why, on 8 January 2015, did Said and Cherif Kouachi shoot dead 12 cartoonists, journalists, police officers and visitors?  And why, the next day, did Coulibaly, a former Coca-Cola bottling plant worker, shoot his way into a supermarket frequented by Jews and 4 of his hostages end up dead?

We cannot ask the criminals.  All three are dead.  They probably thought that, if their shootings sprees ended with their own deaths, they should be seen as martyrs.  There is evidence to say that is how they saw themselves.

What were these men?  Can their deeds ever be justified?  If not, why not?

A former French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, gave this response.  He said “War has been declared on France … by barbarians who deny the very idea of civilisation.”

Who is right?  Is it the religious zealot or the politician?  And what lessons are there to be gleaned from this horrific series of events?

France has for a long time held dear three principles.  They are expressed in its national motto: Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité (Freedom, Equality and  Fraternity).  It seems that all three gunmen questioned all three principles.

At least two of them questioned the liberty of cartoonists to include some religious themes in their cartoons.  That also took exception to the editor and publisher of a magazine to print and distribute such cartoons.

It can be argued that the gunmen questioned whether all people should be accorded an equal opportunity to go about their business free from danger or harm.  It also follows that the evidence points to them seeing themselves as being different from and even above others.

It may be that other nations do not have a motto like that of France.  However most nations of the West usually articulate ideas that are quite similar to those which the French cherish.  For example, in the UK, since 2011 the Government has made mention of British Values.  It did so at first as a way of trying to tackle extremism.  The subject came to the fore again in 2014 after an investigation to a claim that some were seeking to use schools for their own ends.

We now live at a time when all schools – independent as well as maintained – have a duty to “actively promote” the fundamental values of:

(1) democracy,

(2) the rule of law,

(3) individual liberty, and

(4) mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.

On the surface these ideas sound reasonable.  But thought is required.  It is always wise to ask searching questions.  And questions should be asked about value.

Thus what happens if the majority want something that is morally wrong?  That questions begs another one.  Who decides what is right and what is wrong?  Is it ever just a matter of it being a majority decision?  That is where the notion of democracy can lead.  But, the Greek philosopher, Aristotle warned millennia ago that democracy could so easily lead to the tyranny of the majority.

Let us take an example.  What would happen if we lived in a country where 51% of the population wanted to impose a law that requires those who commit adultery to be either flogged or executed or both?  Or a country in which 51% said that a particular dress code has to be followed?  Should such laws be imposed just because a majority want them?

And if they were, where would a person who holds as precious value number three (individual liberty) stand?  He or she would be one of the 49% who voted against what the majority chose to impose.  Would the majority just tell him or her that their reasonable alternative choice was now outlawed because value 2 (the rule of law) must also be honoured?

In that scenario values 1 and 2 (democracy and the rule of law) would trump values 3 and 4 (liberty and tolerance of those who have different beliefs).

So where does this lead us?

Surely it leads us to a realisation that something else is needed.  If so, what?

That is a question that many in France now ask.  But not only in France.  All across Europe those charged with looking after the defence and well-being of the peoples of their country will be not just looking at security questions.  They will also be asking what needs to be done to protect the nation from being a place in which those who do not accept the current prevailing values flourish and operate?

What can be done?

At this point we can argue that Christians have a vital role.  They are called to love all people.  That is the second great command given by God.  God is love.  And God calls his people to love as he loves; to care as he cares; to be merciful as he is merciful.  To act in such a way demonstrates love for God.  It is only those who know God’s love poured into their hearts by his Spirit who really understand what true love is all about.

It is not loving to take up arms, demand access to a meeting of journalists, single people out and then shoot them dead.  Nor is it loving to disrupt a shopping visit, randomly take people hostage and then shoot them.  Nor is it loving to shoot dead at point blank range an injured defenceless policemen who needed treatment.

Such behaviour speaks of the absence of a proper moral compass.  It speaks of an ideology that has no place for compassion.  It also speaks of a way of thinking that is rooted in an idea of right and wrong that is morally questionable.

News is gradually getting through to people in the West that many, who have witnessed terrible oppression and violence in nations like Iraq and Syria, are now turing to Jesus Christ.  They have had cause to consider what he taught and did.  And they have also thought about who he was.

They have discovered that he was born of a virgin.  That he healed the sick and raised the dead.  That he taught the truth of God.  That he was crucified.  And that he shall come again to judge us all.  And having discovered these facts they have also heard his promise.  Those who trust in him will find forgiveness for all the wrongs things they have said, thought and done.  They will be also given receive his Spirit.  It is he who enables us to love God and love others.

They may disagree with the political, philosophical and religious ideas of others, but they will not shoot dead those who offend them.  Instead they pray for their enemies.  And they do what they can to help others see that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

What they have discovered the West can rediscover.  Only in God and Jesus Christ can we find right beliefs and morals.          © EPC  11 January 2015