A Christian Does Not Commit Mass Murder?

There was an article on Huffington Post that caught my eye this morning.  It was about the Norway killer and Bill O’Reily’s lambasting of the mainstream press for repeatedly referring to him as a Christian fundamentalist.  A few snippets from the HuffPo article….

O'Reilly singled out the New York Times, which called Breivik a "Christian extremist" in an article. Breivik also referred to himself as a Christian, as did the Norwegian police, and his 1,500 page manifesto has been described as coming from a Christian perspective. In the manifesto, he writes that he does not have a "personal," religious relationship with Christ, believes in Christianity "as a cultural, social, identity and moral platform," which he says "makes [me] Christian."

But Bill O’Reily says, no way jose’…..he was not a Christian.  And didn’t I say the same thing here…in my last post when I quoted the kooky 1389 blog guy?

Whoever shot up the youth camp wasn't a Christian despite what he (or others) might claim.  That isn't something that a Christian would do.

And now, I’m in the uncomfortable position of disagreeing with MYSELF.  Sort of. That’s how it is when you see things from too many different angles.  And agreeing with Bill O’Reily. Sort of. 

Okay…so even though nobody…none of us….. can really know what is in another’s heart, it kind of stands to reason that if we claim to be Christian, we follow the teachings of the namesake of our faith….Jesus.  And if the Bible says that “by their fruits you shall know them” then clearly, this guy Breivik did not display the fruits of true Christianity.  And neither did many of those who have claimed the religious banner of Christianity down through the ages.  Hitler, Mussolini (as O’Reily used as an example), the witch hunters, crusaders, inquisitioners, ethnic cleansers, executioners, bomb droppers.

So it all gets very messy and unclear and hard to figure out.  To me (and O’Reily) this guy was clearly NOT a Christian if you define being a Christian as a follower of Jesus. Right wing…fundamentalist….working to restore Europe to a Christian state….yes….but a follower of the one who said, love your enemies, do good to them who persecute you….doubtful.  And I think that one of the clearest directives, a true north statement, for what it means to follow Jesus and how that translates into real life situations comes from the musical pen of one of my favorite singer songwriters….John Prine. 

Jesus don’t like killing, no mater what the reason for…..

This post needs spiffed up and polished but it’s hitting the web “as is”…..

Links to two articles that discuss this…from the  Sorry, O’Reilly: Anders Breivik Is A Christian perspective…..and ……..

Huffington article