An American Boogeyman

When the first plane collided into the World Trade Center, I was at my parents’ house getting ready to leave for my Koine Greek class at Houston Baptist University. I couldn’t believe what was happening, and rage began to flood my heart. The anger only intensified when I learned my professor hadn’t cancelled class.

We were soon told that Islamic terrorists were to blame and I can remember telling my dad, “We need to blow those Middle Eastern folks off the face of the earth.” That’s not the kind of talk that should come out of a Christianity major’s mouth, but in that moment, I wasn’t thinking like a Christian. I was thinking like an American. 

America loves war. It’s been documented that as long as the USA has existed, there have only been a total of 21 years when we haven’t been fighting with someone somewhere.

Because America loves war, America needs a boogeyman. A boogeyman is anything or anyone we are told is a threat to our God-given right to experiencing the American dream. America not only needs boogeymen, but loves them because they give us a reason to actualize the violence we fantasize about. They give us a reason to come together. Boogeymen give us a reason to believe in the cause of America again and make sacrifices for the State, whom we view as our practical provider and protector.

Various boogeymen throughout America’s history have included the Native Americans, the British, African Americans, Fascists, Communists, drug dealers, Democrats and Republicans. Over the last decade-and-a-half, the main boogeyman that has supposedly been threatening the freedoms of America has been radical Islam.

Newly elected President Donald Trump reignited Americans’ fear and hatred of radical Muslims in his inaugural address. 

"We will seek friendship and goodwill with the nations of the world -- but we do so with the understanding that it is the right of all nations to put their own interests first. We do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone, but rather to let it shine as an example for everyone to follow. We will reinforce old alliances and form new ones -- and unite the civilized world against Radical Islamic Terrorism, which we will eradicate completely from the face of the Earth."

President Trump is clearly seeking to annihilate the people who believe in radical Islam. When you try to destroy an ideology by destroying the people who adhere to that ideology, history proves that these endeavors generally fail. Attempting to destroy a philosophy or an ideal through violence releases the seeds of martyrdom, which only causes that movement to spread.

Don’t get me wrong, though. Like all belief systems that set themselves up against the gospel of the kingdom of God, I do not think that Islam is a good or even neutral thing. It needs to be confronted. However, according to the Scriptures, the way Christians fight against evil is diametrically opposed to the methods of worldly warfare. It is also exceedingly more effective.

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. – 2 Corinthians 10:3-4

Before you neuter these divinely inspired words or think Paul to be naïve, take a moment to read this account of the way Christians powerfully fought against terrorism in the third century.

The adversary had leapt forth to disturb the camp of Christ with violent terror; but, with the same impetuosity with which he had come, he was beaten back and conquered. … But when beaten back … he perceived that the soldiers of Christ are now watching, and stand sober and armed for the battle; that they cannot be conquered, but that they can die; and that by this very fact they are invincible, that they do not fear death; that they do not in turn assail their assailants, since it is not lawful for the innocent even to kill the guilty; but that they readily deliver up both their lives and their blood. … Let us be urgent, with constant groanings and frequent prayers. For these are our heavenly arms, which make us to stand fast and bravely to persevere. These are the spiritual defenses and divine weapons which defend us. – Cyprian 250CE, Volume 5, p. 622-623 [CD-ROM]

I don’t think it’s fair to call the Christians of the first three centuries pacifists. They were fearless and passionate warriors. However, because they belonged to a kingdom that is not of this world, the method of their warfare was otherworldly. Instead of firing arrows at their assailants, they called upon the name of the Lord. Instead of attacking and killing their enemies, they blessed and loved them into friends. Instead of mirroring evil with evil, they overcame evil with good and destroyed the works of the devil.

The early Christians were not naïve. They knew exactly what they were doing. And by the end of the third century, despite Christianity being an illegal religion, 1/10^th of the people in the Roman Empire followed the kingdom way of Jesus Christ. They radically changed the religious landscape of the world by loving their enemies without any qualifications, just like their Lord did on the cross.

So please, fellow Christian, do not be deceived. Radical Islam is not the boogeyman. President Trump is not the boogeyman. Neither Democrats nor Republicans are the boogeyman.

When we pause to think like Christians, we remember that Satan is the real boogeyman; he is our adversary. Satan is the ruler of all the kingdoms of this world, the father of lies who deceives the whole world, and he delights in the destruction of the image of God. But those who follow Jesus will overcome him by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony, for they will not love their lives even when faced with death.