31 July 2011

On Christian fundamentalism

.... But never over recent centuries has ‘Christian fundamentalism’ been used to justify mass murder. We are not talking about bombing Dresden or sinking the Belgrano or any appalling loss of life within a context of war: we are talking about a professing Christian who decides to take the law into his own hands and act unilaterally.

Anders Behring Breivik shows a remarkable ignorance of the teachings of Jesus, who exhorted Peter to put away his sword. To be a fundamentalist follower of Jesus would be to dedicate one’s life to celibate pacifism.

And not only that, it would be to give away all that one has to the poor and live in a commune where everyone shares everything and all possessions. [Archbishop Cranmer] Read more