1 Peter 2:15 KJV
For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:
Contemporary philosopher, Samuel Harris, has it out for religion, all religion. Catholic, Muslim, Hindu. (The possible exception he grants is to Buddhism). He argues from the utilitarian perspective that religion has done people more harm than good. He sees religion as oppressing personal freedom and suppressing the growth of humanity.[1]
Most Christians would argue that this is only true of eastern religions and especially of Islam; we characterize it as a religion of violence. When pressed we will agree that Catholicism also has a history of violence but we will then deny that Catholicism is pure Christianity. Trouble is that Protestantism, though having a much shorter history than Catholicism, has been no less violent.
There is a kind Christianity that does not have a violent history.
- Instead of being oppressors, they were the oppressed
- Instead of forcing their views upon people, they won their converts through preaching and teaching the truth of the gospel
- Instead of persecuting those who disagreed with their doctrines, they prayed for them
The testimony of the ancient Anabaptists is remarkable to say the least.
So why doesn't Harris make an exception of the Anabaptists? I think it is because there is little in the Christian world that is representative of ancient Anabaptist faith. Those who have a claim to their lineage have too closely adopted the practices of Protestantism. Many would cheerfully identify with certain elements of Protestantism. Baptists, the rightful heirs of the Anabaptist heritage, have become much too focused on
- Politics
- Movements and
- Self promotion
We have trouble putting to silence the ignorance of foolish men because we are much too busy building our own self interests at the expense of others. Harris can easily argue that Baptists today are not utilitarian; do not seek to do the most good for the most people but, on the surface anyway, only seek to grow their own interests.
The old Anabaptists were interested in nothing more than the spreading of the good news of
Jesus Christ. They were as generous with their lives as they were with the gospel. Their purpose was to advance the doctrines of Jesus Christ and not their own names, churches or possessions.
It is the will of God that we silence the enemies of Christ:
- Not by debate
- Not by intellectualism
- Not by political legislation
- Not by overwhelming numbers
but by consistently, unwaveringly, selflessly doing the right thing.
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