At the same time I do feel the need to write now and to write quickly. Why? Here is the reason. Among the first reports about the man thought be responsible for both the bomb and the shooting are these words from deputy police chief Roger Andresen, "We have no more information than... what has been found on [his] own websites, which is that it goes towards the right and that it is, so to speak, Christian fundamentalist." The BBC has set up a page that gives a sketchy profile of Anders Behring Breivik stating that, “On the Facebook page attributed to him, he describes himself as a Christian and a conservative. The Facebook page is no longer available but it also listed interests such as body-building and freemasonry.”
There is a wider issue of bias in BBC reporting which I am not going to begin talking about now. However the immediate concern is that this man identified himself as a Christian, and is being identified by others as a “Christian fundamentalist.” As a Christian I would want to define a Christian fundamentalist as a someone who strongly believes and holds on to the fundamentals of the Christian faith; fundamentals such as the Bible being the infallible word of God; God existing in trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit; the Lord Jesus dying as a substitutionary atonement for our sin; and so on. The reality however is that the world increasing defines a Christian fundamentalist as someone who holds on to their views in a bigoted fashion; that we hold to beliefs unreasonably in a way that leads to judgemental and hateful words and actions towards those who disagree with us. So in their minds a Christian fundamentalist is likely to commit the type of evil act that Breivik has committed. Increasingly when they come across a Christian who holds firmly to their faith and argues for certain unpopular moral positions because of their faith, they think that person is on a slippery slope towards some kind of violent act.
First of all then we must deliberately and clearly condemn the kind of atrocity that Breivik and any associates have committed as evil, utterly evil, and the complete opposite of a life that is fundamentally devoted to Christ. The Lord Jesus did not come to use his life to take the lives of those who stood in his way, or disagreed with him, or led his country in a way he didn’t like. He came specifically “to give his life as a ransom for many”; that is to pay the price of death in our place to give us life full and complete. A life that is devoted to a Saviour like this will not take the lives of those they dislike. Rather they will do as their Saviour did and commanded, “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” On the cross Jesus prayed for those who had put him there, “Father forgive them for the do not know what they are doing.” A month later Peter preached to a huge crowd of them who had ignorantly cried “Crucify him,” and about 3000 of them realised both their mistake and the full reality of God’s mercy and gave themselves to this now resurrected Saviour.
Nothing of Breivik’s actions or words that I’ve seen chimes with this kind of Christianity at it’s most basic (or fundamental); the giving of your life for the rescue of others, the Lord Jesus being our ultimate example, and in that example being our actual salvation. No, Breivik’s actions are entirely evil and nothing to do with true, historic, Biblical, fundamental Christian faith.
The second issue that this raises and is more painful for us to address is how could Breivik think that his views were at all Christian and how can the world even begin to link this kind of atrocity with the word Christian in a way that makes sense to them? How can people begin to think that a Christian fundamentalist is on a slippery slope to extreme judgementalism and even this kind of violence? This is a bigger question than I really feel equipped to answer. But there are a few things that seem clear to me. Jesus’ words to his disciples were these, “As the Father sent me, so I am sending you.” That is go to the world with the good news of salvation and be ready to die as you serve them. The famous words of John 3v16 tell us, “For God so loved the world that he sent his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” The less famous words of John 3v15 tell us that this sending meant he would have to be “lifted up,” crucified, for that gift of eternal life to be given freely.
The problem, from where I sit, is that the church for too long has been a place that has spent so much time pointing out other people’s sin and condemning and being judgemental and getting angry about other people’s sin that we have not spent enough time showing people this wonderful offer of eternal life. Our lives have not been characterised by self sacrifice to the glory of God and salvation of our neighbours. Our words have not been “full of grace, seasoned with salt,” but full of judgement and seasoned with a condemning tone of voice. Therefore when someone like Beivik sees some vague similarity between what he thinks is right and what he hears the church saying; when he hears condemnation from the church of things he hates he begins to think that he holds Christian views. When he sees anger from the church it chimes with his anger. And in the twists and turns of his heart he begins perhaps to think that he can be an instrument of God’s justice, when all he is is a doer of evil, and no doubt a self righteous, determined he is right to do it, doer of evil. Too easily the church has done him and the people he has so savagely attacked a huge disservice.
The only way for this perception of the church, and the confusion of people like Breivik and the deputy police chief to be undone is (and I am mainly talking about Christians in the West) for Christians themselves to stop playing at trusting Christ and do it really. It is vital that Christian people live the eternal life they have been given and value the things God values. “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.” There is no easy believism with Christ, no emotional response without life transformation. “Let us not love with words, but with actions and in truth,” says the apostle John. Life is found here; full, vibrant, spiritual life. Life that hurts, life that is let down by other people, life that sticks out its neck and often has that neck hacked at. But it is true spiritual eternal life. Life that is full of the Spirit, that produces the fruit of the Spirit, that is lived in praise of God because of his mercy to us in the Lord Jesus Christ, and life that is the aroma of life to those who are being saved. We should be so radically self giving as followers of Christ that there is no way that anyone could confuse a solid, Bible believing, historic evangelical, dare I even say fundamentalist Christian with anything other than a servant.
