Not much of a team player....

21 Coptic Christians were apparently beheaded by ISIS.

This is horrific.

Please, make no mistake, I am offended and disgusted and devastated by these deaths and I am seething with anger at ISIS.   A great number of people that I know on Facebook and elsewhere have posted their outrage and anger.  Many of them have appealed to me directly because these are Coptic Christians who have been killed, as if I should be particularly offended because they are Christians.

Please, dear friends, do not take offence:  I don’t care that they are Christians.  I care that they are human beings who have been slaughtered.

For me, being a Christian isn't about being in a club or on a team.  It is the way that I have found God through Jesus Christ and recognized the sacredness of life and my responsibility to all of creation.  The Kingdom of God is NOT an option.

For me, recognizing Jesus as the Son of God, is not my way of saying that my God is better than yours or saying that my conduit to God is WAY more important than yours because he is the “SON” of God.   By calling Jesus the son of God, I recognize that God is immanent in the human experience, not distant; by calling Jesus the son of God, I attest to the fact that I don’t NEED any other revelation, it is complete for me.  By calling Jesus the Christ, I acknowledge that he is the one anointed to reveal God, to bring salvation to (at least) me.   I don’t need to deny your access or reference to God. 

So, I am outraged that 21 Coptic Christians have died at the hands if ISIS terrorists.  I am also outraged that Islamist Extremists have also target Hindus and Baha’i and Buddhists and Jews and Atheists.  I am outraged that Islamist Terrorists have killed MORE Muslims than any other single group... strangely many of us seem to be able to ignore the slaughter of those with whom we do NOT share a creed or tradition.   

Killing is people is wrong.  We all know that.  As a Christian, I know that and I’m given guidance and support as I try to honour that sacredness in others.  But please… don’t tell me that I should care more about certain people because we often share a creed… let me be outraged, angered, grieved and distraught because human beings have been senselessly murdered…. And let me be inspired and directed by my faith to make the world, not more “Christian”, but more compassionate and humane for everyone. 

End of my rant...  God bless those who have died and their families and communities.