July 31, 2011:

Ponderings of a Pilgrim PASTOR

“Tragedy In Norway”

The whole world is still reeling from the bombing and killings in Norway. Norway?! How could such a thing have happened in such a peaceful country — the only country in the world that honors the world’s Peacemakers and a country that sincerely tries to be inclusive of diversity?

What is clear is that this was an instance of domestic, not international (Thank God!) terrorism. Mass killers in our own country are nearly always angry, isolated young men, loners and losers. They brood over their perceived injustices until some slight drives them into murderous rage. Think of the Virginia Tech killer, the Columbine High killers, even the Arizona killer. They had no "cause" but only their own frustrated fury.

Terrorism is quite different. These bombers and killers (think Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh) really do have causes. They hope to punish a society for what they believe are its crimes and, if possible, force their country in another direction. This latter hope seems to have been the purpose of the Norwegian terrorist. He is one of a growing umber of extreme right-wring people who believe that Europe in general and their own countries in particular are being destroyed by cultural and religious diversity. It should come as no surprise that the Norwegian terrorist targeted his country’s moderate Prime Minister and those attending a summer camp for liberal young people.

Such domestic terrorists hope their violence will shock their countries into waking up to the "danger" confronting them. Like too many religious and political conservatives in our own country, they want to purge away those they believe are destroying their countries. They despise the notion of tolerant diversity and will do anything they can — legal or otherwise — to stop it.

Those of us with a tolerant and liberal outlook often dismiss these fanatics (at home and abroad) as a deluded, if dangerous, few. I am not so sure. I believe many such terrorists are being nurtured among us now. To be tolerant does not mean to be passive or blind in the face of threats to the kind of society we hold dear. We need to be sure that such people do not determine the course of the future.

Love,
Pastor Dave