Slaughter of the Innocents
On December 28 the Western Church celebrates the feast of the holy innocents (December 29 in the Eastern Church). It is a day to remember the children who were killed by Israel’s King Herod after learning of the birth of a rival king. Herod was so threatened by this news that he ordered the execution of all boys in Bethlehem who were under the age of two.
You would be hard pressed to find Christians or Jews who would endorse that form of State sanctioned violence. Although the geo-politics of the ancient near east was different than our nation-states today, Israel was a State (albeit a vassal state of the Roman Empire), and Herod was head of that State. The slaughter of the innocents was an act of violence instigated by the first century State of Israel against civilians in the West Bank town of Bethlehem.
Today I am disturbed by the uncritical support of some of my Christian brothers and sisters for the military attacks and displacement of civilian populations by the State of Israel.
I understand that there is evidence of Hamas using civilian infrastructure from which to launch their attacks, but the Geneva Convention specifically prohibits such attacks upon civilian populations and puts limits on the barbarity of war (this goes for Hamas as well). Enemies in hospitals does not justify bombing hospitals. I also understand some Christians believe the promises of God extend to the modern-day political State of Israel, though that seems an incredible stretch given Paul’s convictions about Gentile inclusion into these promises, thus redefining “Israel” as everyone who has been grafted into God’s family. In fact, a percentage of those living in Palestinian territories today are Christians. These are the OG Christians who trace their lineage back to the disciples Paul was writing to.
Holy Violence?
How can any who follow the Prince of Peace endorse the use of violence upon civilian populations, as though violence is a holy tool to accomplish God’s purposes? Violence will always beget violence. That is essentially what Jesus told Peter when he attempted to use violence to defend Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. If you want to argue that the use of violence against aggression is permissible, then consider this post by Sri Lankan theologian Vinoth Ramachandra or listen to one of the interviews of Jewish professor Avi Slaim. Both put the current Israel-Gaza war as part of a history of Palestinian resistance to invasion by outside powers. Is not Ukraine simply defending itself against a power that believes it has an historic right to their land?
The Church’s embrace of American Exceptionalism supported the invasion and extermination of our own native population under the illusion that God blessed the political State of America and gave it moral license to use violence to expand its rule. I remember my dad’s outrage at American Cardinal, Spellman, sprinkling holy water on bombers headed to Ho Chi Mihn City in the Vietnam war, or dad decrying Pope Pius XI and his support of Musssolini’s regime. Both Catholic and Protestant support of Israeli violence against Palestinians, or the pogroms of Jews in Europe and history of antisemitism by Christians mystified dad. These things did not seem to align with what he knew about Jesus and ended up fueling his rejection of Christianity as morally bankrupt.
Standing with the Prince of Peace
Rather than turning the other cheek to violence we’ve have chosen to turn a blind eye to its use upon civilians. The machinery of war unleashed on non-combatants is immoral, whether you believe God has blessed Israel or America as political bodies or not. Instead of trumpeting “we stand with Israel,” or “we stand with America,” it is time for Christians to announce, “we stand with the Prince of Peace.”