Religion of Peace

Since George Bush declared a war on terror, we Americans have been fighting among ourselves over who’s really got a religion of peace. Christians (especially those of a fundamentalist ilk,) have been making much of the Muslim terminology of jihad (Arabic for 'struggle'), while Muslims (mostly of the fundamentalist ilk) make much of the Christian language of "crusade." I'm not willing to talk about the nuances of either of these words, but I'll argue strenuously that anyone claiming Christianity is a religion of peace is not paying much attention to history.

In the 4th Century when the famous warrior emperor Constantine “got God” while butchering barbarians under a cross, the Jesus movement became the goto religion of the Roman Empire. Since then Christians have pretty much given up on their founder’s “turn the other cheek.” The Emperor wanted to link his rule to a religion with good rules, not start a slumber party for pacifists.

Faith based opposition to Imperial needs faded quickly. Helping out with slaughtering barbarians brought Imperial aid in snuffing out heretics and pagans, as well as Imperial support for church buildings and even some travel money for bishops, setting a pattern for a bright new church of the future: There would be crusades to fight, reformation wars to battle, slaves to be caught or bought, witches to burn, pogroms against Jews, scientists to imprison, physicians to murder, colonial peoples to proselytise, socialists to arrest, homosexuals to stone, etc. But for the average Joe & Mary it’s a religion of peace, right? Christianity is all about living with your neighbours sans violence, right? Well, maybe not.

What do you do if your neighbour’s a brute, or the king’s taxes are so high your kids will starve, or the local baron makes whoopee with your daughter or son, or the 1% send your job to and offers you retraining for an exciting career in fast food? Maybe it’s a small thing over and over — the dog that lets loose on your roses every morning. There’s got to be some justice, right? Are the Buddhists the only ones that can talk about bad karma?

The church has always made a lot of the idea of justice. Historically when the church speaks of justice, it's meant order. Just as Constantine wanted the Church to line up behind imperial policy, the local  warlords who emerged as kings and princes out of the ashes of the empire liked it when the church gave them backing. Soon enough those kings and princes were divinely authorised in their tyrannies. From the days of the empire through to today, dissident groups within the church found themselves suppressed by men carrying swords, divinely authorised swords. Even now the church turns its back on rabid injustices in parts of Latin America, favouring tyrants over the poor.

But if people are sometimes unhappy with justice as obedience to tyrants, the church had an answer for that: God will take care of it. If you think your tyrant is unjust, it'll all be taken care of, in purgatory, or even hell.

A  Christian Happy Dance circa 1670

At the dawn of the modern era there was a wildly popular book called Man - Microcosm. By 1670 it was entering its 3rd edition. The author offered a few verses, applied a cartoon and a sermon. This image is from a section called God’s swift punishments and the verse is from the Vulgate Bible: Luke 18, verse 7. It translates Will not God avenge his elect, who cry out to him day and night, though long he bears with them?

So what this odd picture shows is a Christian Happy Dance tapped to the tune of divine retribution. It’s not that Christians don’t believe in vengeance, it’s just that they’ve been told God will do it for them. Vengeance is mine, says the Christian God, holding the carrot of heaven and the big stick of a permanent sulphur flesh-eating hell. Oh yeah, that’s a religion of peace. You can understand how kings and robber barons want nice Christian subjects.

There are Jesus people who don’t buy into this, but they’re all too rare. God & country is just too cozy for all involved.