The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
By Mark Ramshaw - Pastor of Amisk Lake Church in Denare Beach Terrorists and suicide bombers: What makes them tick? Train bombings in Madrid kill nearly 200 people and wound many others. Two Palestinian suicide bombers kill another ten in Israel. A huge explosion rocks the Lebanon Hotel in the heart of Baghdad killing and wounding many more. Why do religious extremists do these kinds of things? First of all, being a religious extremist is not necessarily bad. The apostles of Jesus, save John, all died a martyr's death albeit in a different context, for their extreme devotion to Jesus. They did this because they felt that the cause of Christ was of greater importance than even their own lives. They spared no expense and endured every hardship to spread the gospel over the known world of their day. The fact remains, however, that they never torched a Roman garrison or walked into a crowded marketplace with daggers drawn to commit murder and mayhem in the name of Jesus, as modern-day terrorists do in the name of their god. The apostles had the commandment of Jesus to "love your enemies" ever before their eyes. The rebuke of Jesus ("ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of") when they suggested calling down fire from heaven upon a Samaritan village because the village had not received them, was still ringing in their ears. Furthermore, the apostles saw people as created in the image of God and valuable. Christians believe that murder is always wrong and that those who live by the sword will ultimately die by the sword, and come face to face with their God who commands, "Thou shalt do no murder." I conclude by saying that what makes a terrorist tick is a heart that has been persuaded that murder, mayhem, and martyrdom are his ticket to heaven. How can this be changed? There is no easy answer. I will state that the fault of much of what we see in the world today lies at the doorstep of a church that has failed to be a credible witness to the world and to the nations from which terrorism springs. Only when the church rises up and both lives and preaches the message of Jesus, will those who practice terrorism discover that the way to heaven is not paved with the blood of innocent men but with the faith, hope and love that comes from committing one's life to Christ.
