1 Peter 2:15 KJV
For so is the will of God, that with well doing
ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:
Contemporary philosopher, Samuel Harris, has it out for religion, all
religion. Catholic, Muslim, Hindu. (The possible exception he grants is to
Buddhism). He argues from the utilitarian perspective that religion has done
people more harm than good. He sees religion as oppressing personal freedom and
suppressing the growth of humanity.[1]
Most Christians would argue that this is only true of eastern religions
and especially of Islam; we characterize it as a religion of violence. When
pressed we will agree that Catholicism also has a history of violence but we
will then deny that Catholicism is pure Christianity. Trouble is that
Protestantism, though having a much shorter history than Catholicism, has been
no less violent.
There is a kind Christianity that does not have a violent history.
- Instead of being oppressors, they were the
oppressed
- Instead of forcing their views upon people,
they won their converts through preaching and teaching the truth of the
gospel
- Instead of persecuting those who disagreed
with their doctrines, they prayed for them
The testimony of the ancient Anabaptists is remarkable to say the
least.
So why doesn't Harris make an exception of the Anabaptists? I think it
is because there is little in the Christian world that is representative of
ancient Anabaptist faith. Those who have a claim to their lineage have too
closely adopted the practices of Protestantism. Many would cheerfully identify
with certain elements of Protestantism. Baptists, the rightful heirs of the
Anabaptist heritage, have become much too focused on
- Politics
- Movements and
- Self promotion
We have trouble putting to silence the ignorance of foolish men because
we are much too busy building our own self interests at the expense of
others. Harris can easily argue that Baptists today are not utilitarian;
do not seek to do the most good for the most people but, on the surface anyway,
only seek to grow their own interests.
The old Anabaptists were interested in nothing more than the spreading
of the good news of
Jesus Christ. They were as generous with their lives as they were with
the gospel. Their purpose was to advance the doctrines of Jesus Christ and not
their own names, churches or possessions.
It is the will of God that we silence the enemies of Christ:
- Not by debate
- Not by intellectualism
- Not by political legislation
- Not by overwhelming numbers
but by consistently, unwaveringly, selflessly doing the right thing.
