Blaming Christians After Attacking Them

Many of you may have seen the recent statement by the mayor of Seattle where he claimed that the Christians who organized a prayer rally in a park were to blame for the violence that erupted at the event. This despite the fact that all 22 of those arrested were from the group that came to protest and hurl insults and urine filled water balloons at those who had come to pray. This is a classic example of blaming the victims. It also reminds me of the famous French philosopher Rene Girard’s theory of scapegoating. He argued that societies create scapegoats, individuals or groups, to blame for societal problems. Scapegoating serves to channel aggression away from the community and is a means to resolve tension. Of course, Jesus is the ultimate example of the scapegoat mechanism at work at a time of conflict and tension, but this dynamic has been repeated throughout history.

Another point that Girard makes is that human behavior is largely ‘mimetic’ meaning imitative. Briefly, people desire what other people desire and by extension, they value what other people value. So, last weekend, one group focused on earthly pleasures felt threatened by another group that had come to pray and encourage people to focus on the spiritual life and the life to come. The first group sees sex in all of its forms as the highest good and anything that interferes with sexual gratification as repressive. Christians see God as the highest good and all of creation as a means to union with Him, and Jesus as the way to union with the Father. I mention this because, going forward, Christians will have to come to terms with the fact that as we stand for truth and speak out on the issues of the day and proclaim the Kingdom of God, we will often be scapegoated. Jesus warned us of this 2000 years ago when He told us that no pupil is greater than his master and if they hated Him, they will hate us also.

Why does the media routinely ignore attacks on Christians? Christians have been kidnapped and murdered in the thousands in Nigeria and Sudan for years, but it doesn't seem to register. A recent report indicated that 19,000 churches and 4,000 schools have been attacked, destroyed or forcibly shut down in Nigeria. In comments to Catholic World Report, Emeka Umeagbalasi, Executive Director of Intersociety, cited the case of Sokoto Diocese, where the Local Ordinary, Mgr. Mathew Hassan Kukah had at one time complained that he had become a bishop without parishioners, because people had been forced to flee. “Most of the parishioners under his diocese were either too terrified to attend church or had been forced to flee. As a result, he now shepherds an empty diocese,” Umeagbalasi said.

The Church has been under assault from the time of its founding by Christ. Christians in the Mideast, China, Africa, and Asia are persecuted, brutally murdered and discriminated against but the western media pretends not to notice. Now, they have added insult to injury by blaming Christians for being attacked, implying that is the Christians fault for being assaulted. We look to the Good Shepherd to protect His flock and to gather the victims of violence into His Kingdom.