Letters: What happened to the Prince of Peace?

Posted 1/20/21

One puzzling aspect of the attack on the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6 is that many of the rioters claim to be Christians.

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Letters: What happened to the Prince of Peace?

Posted

One puzzling aspect of the attack on the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6 is that many of the rioters claim to be Christians. They marched with Christian flags and crosses. They carried the Holy Bible. Some were seen praying as the Capitol was being stormed.

I could not help but recall a portion of scripture in John, chapter 18. The disciple, Peter, pulled out a sword and attacked someone who came to arrest Jesus in the garden. Jesus told him to put up his sword and immediately healed the man’s bleeding ear.

What happened to the belief in the Beatitudes? To loving your neighbor as yourself? To turning the other cheek? To believing that “vengeance is mine, saith the Lord?” To praising the Prince of Peace? To singing about The Good Shepherd who cares for his sheep?

Where have true believers gone? What has become of them? I was raised in a very conservative, non-denominational Christian church. We were basically taught that our dogma was right and everyone else's was wrong. We were basically taught not to associate with the “unsaved” people of the world. We were to be separate from “the world.” We were to be Better. We were to be Holier. We were, after all, The Chosen.

But never in my Christian upbringing was I encouraged to be physically violent for any reason. Even the hymn “Onward Christian Soldiers” was seen as a call to a spiritual battle against Satan and his demons, not a call to actual physical warfare.

I cry for our country. I pray for our country. I envision a time when “one nation under God” really means something. I envision a time when we turn our energy into fighting for peace and  justice. As the scripture also says, “What does God require of thee but to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your God.” The folks I saw marching on the Capitol were not walking humbly with the God they claim to serve.

Delores Paulk
Germantown