Grow Mercy

Whither Humanity?

October 11th, 2006

Wondering how I was coping with today’s stories in this world of ours–from N. Korea to the Amish tragedy–a friend asked, "What has happened to humanity that we can go as far as we do to destroy the image of God in each other?"

It’s the right question. But how do you answer it? Is it possible?

It’s a religious question: If there wasn’t something "divine" about us, I suppose there would be no use asking, well, no ability to ask in the first place.

It’s also a question that sees human culture moving toward disintegration and asks about its moment of truth.

The question also recognizes that our "god-image" is mutually destroyed in each other in the reciprocity of violence.

We read the "stories" or have the anchor read them to us, and what?

Where is our Philip to help us interpret what we see and hear. Will we remain as thick as the eunuch before the interpretation or will we be able to apply a hermeneutic of the cross? Because, if the central feature of the gospel sheds no light on 9/11, Iraq, Kim Jong Il, and Charles Carl Roberts IV, then what use is Christianity? No, let me restate that, what use is the gospel? I restate because, thankfully, Christianity does not own the Gospel. A good thing.

Technorati Tags: Kim Jong II, Charles Carl Roberts, Amish tragedy, N. Korea, Violence

Entry Filed under: Atonement, Christianity, Peace, Religion, Violence