Norway

We were on our way home from Connemara when I heard of the full extent of the atrocity in Norway.  My father-in-law and mother-in-law met us at our pre-arranged meeting point, Bridget's Garden outside Galway.  Hilary described the killer as a 'Christian-fundamentalist.'  My heart sank.  As a conservative-evangelical I could be described as a 'Christian-fundamentalist'.  I wondered 'what spin will the press put on this?'  I think it was after the terrible events of Waco, Texas when one Sunday newspaper published a list of churches in Ireland that they felt 'could be' dodgy (including at least two that I knew to be very sound).

Presumably this guy in Norway has significant mental-health issues.  Certainly he has not read his Bible completely.  The designation 'Christian-fundamentalist' may simply mean that he is a white-fascist with a loose Christian link.  He is certainly not someone who can be accused of taking Christianity too seriously.  After all I believe that the Bible is infallible.  I believe that there is a correct way that it is to be understood.  I believe that it moves in a direction and is to be understood in light of its overall teaching.  I believe that the attitude that Christians are to have towards anyone that we might be tempted to think of as an enemy is that of love and good deeds.  I don't believe that anyone who understands what it means to be a true Christian fundamentalist would engage in any such militant terroristt actions.

I was pleased to see that the Irish Times's profile of this man did not highlight 'Christian findamentalism'.

Arriving home I turned on the Internet to read of Amy Winehouse's death.  When she first came on the scene I used to get frustrated with her because she always seemed to be in the news for reasons other than her music.  Then I started to become more compassionate towards her.  This may have been influenced by thinking of Jesus' attitude towards the troubled and those with bad reputations.  I bought one of her CD's and was blown away by her voice.  Unfortunately I found some of the lyrics in her music to be inappropriate but she had awesome talent.

As we drove home I did think 'I would love to be going back to Richhill'.  But when we arrived in Silver Brook I knew 'it is right to be here.'  I look forward to catching up with my new friends at LBC in the morning.

Postscript: Ed Stetzer has this article on Andres Behring Breivek (the Norwegian killer).  Another link shows that while this man may be a fundamentalist he is certainly not an 'evangelical' fundamentalist'.  I don't know of any of us 'evaneglical fundamentalists' who support a collective return to the Roman Catholic church or have admiration of for the Freemasons. I note his un-evangelical use of the term 'priests', his contempt of those of us who have concerns about how the Palestinians have been treated, and his distaste of low church dress and architecture.  This is no 'conservative evangelical.'