thesoulpurposedotorg

This world is so confusing. I try to understand why cartoons in one country cause people in another to react with violence. I wonder if it really has anything to do with genuine faith or if it is primarily a political act of aggression. I have read and researched, talked and listened, been respectful and inquiring of the Islamic faiths (there are many forms of it just as there are of every religion). I have grown in my respect for many of these forms but also am dismayed and fearful of others. This is very disturbing to me.
At the same time, there is the news about prison riots here in the USA. The riots are racially based. Interviews with inmates reveal that if they don’t act with hatred and violence toward those of another race, they will be punished by those of their own race. Seems to me like a microcosm of the world-wide violence. Perhaps the same sort of pressures apply to those of Muslim faith who are currently rioting.
One of the most helpful courses I studied in college concerned large social movements. 35 years later, I still remember the central point of the course: human beings are so malleable that in large groups individuals will do horrific acts in total contrast to their stated beliefs. I haven’t been put in that position as far as I know. I pray I would be more like Deitrich Bonhoeffer or Mahatma Ghandi but I fear I might be more like Peter during the trial of Jesus and try to just blend into the background or run away.
I wonder if this is why I tend to be suspicious of any large group event. I watched the Super Bowl to see the commercials but I can’t imagine getting all excited about any sports team. Perhaps I’m just ornery and don’t want to be one of the crowd. I’m suspicious of mega-churches for the same reasons. They remind me of rock concerts and hero worship. Basically, if everyone is doing something, I think there must be something wrong with it. Makes living in this world a little challenging. But then, it seems that’s largely the point of Christ’s teaching – we are made in God’s image and all of life is a struggle to fulfill that promise. The crowds won’t show us the way.