The Term "Christian Extremist" is an Oxymoron

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I remembered back then when I was asked, "Which is better between an honest Buddhist and a rapist Christian?" My reply was, "Neither. One's going to Hell and so is the other! A rapist Christian is an oxymoron. Christian yes but in name only. But Christian in the Biblical sense? No way!" Then there's the new term of "Christian" extremist. I remembered when I was newly converted to Christianity from Roman Catholicism - I still had issues of hate to get rid of. I was soon insulted for my stance, I was called a religious extremist, I was even compared to the late Osama bin Ladin, I was jeered at for my beliefs that I was so angry. I really wanted to be a pastor as a teenager and create my own Baptist extremist organization. I considered bombing Roman Catholic parishes, mosques, gay parades, pagan temples, and the like as payback for a few people jeering at me. But I was repeatedly chastised by my family in Christ that there's no way that it would be approved.

I tried to cite that God ordered the Canaanites and later the Amalekites to be destroyed. I was told that God authorized the Israelites to do so but it was only because their judgment time has already been appointed. I failed to remember that Rahab was a target for destruction yet God spared her when she repented. Moab was a cursed race yet Ruth became part of the Davidic dynasty. God didn't order the Christians to be murderers. Jesus even rebuked the disciples for asking Him to rain fire from Heaven (Luke 9:55). Later, we have Peter who tried to fight for Jesus physically with violence but he was rebuked (John 18:10-11). I still wanted to start a massacre of my former churchmates only because I was insulted - never mind Jesus was insulted but He responded with offering them chances to repent. If Jesus didn't fight back when he was mocked then why should I? Also, only God can authorize the end of a civilization - not man!

The idea of a Baptist extremist also goes against the very idea of what Jesus taught. Jesus taught in Matthew 5:44 and Luke 6:27-35. I was told that if I'm mocked then don't fight back at all. I was told that if the person is disrespectful that I'm still to treat that person with respect. If I'm mocked then why should I fight back? Jesus said to bless those who curse you. I was soon tired of praying for my enemies then I was chastised with words like, "Look, you're tired but God isn't. God has been long patient with you so be patient with them." It feels stupid to fight back or hurt the person for hurting you - it just gives justification for revenge. Instead, treating your enemy nicely in return is like putting out fire with water. You can't fight fire with fire. The principle of an eye for an eye is not about personal vendetta but about setting justice according to offense or that God will avenge. God never authorized revenge - it was the Pharisees who did. Rather, the advice has been to leave it to God (Deuteronomy 32:35, Romans 12:19) and the advice is to help your enemy in times of distress. Instead, it's all about never returning evil for evil but returning evil with good.

Let me give a demonstration of how it never works to have revenge. I do have temptations of revenge then the Holy Spirit makes me think of the consequences. You can think of how historical battles go on and on because people are too arrogant to forgive. Various ancient empires tried every brutal method they could in hopes that people would never rebel. However, captured territories would rebel eventually even if there was a brutal execution waiting. The Assyrians skinned people alive, the Persians first introduced crucifixion and the Romans later perfected it, the Roman Catholic institution had the Inquisition ready to make people submit to their power, Muslim empires used various torture methods, and the list can go on. The results weren't really good for their side either. The use of revenge methods backfired because their cruelty gave justification to also seek revenge. The Middle East is also a testimony of that. How long has it been since unsaved Jews and Arabs have been murdering each other because they never followed Jesus' command to forgive? In real life, you hit somebody for hitting you - you just gave the perpetrator reason to have revenge on you. It never ends because that's where revenge hits. It's a never-ending cycle of stupidity. I remembered threatening to murder someone for making me angry but thank God I didn't kill that person. Just think if I did murder him then I'd be stuck in that vicious cycle of hate. If I insult people back for insulting me then it never ends. By turning the other cheek - the person would have way more time to reflect on his wrong than if I ended up like him.

On the other hand, what has returning evil with good do for the better? It resulted in one fall after the other. Jan Hus not seeking revenge and accepting martyrdom only gave Christians the courage to further expose the Roman Catholic system as a false church. The Counter-Reformation couldn't truly counter the Reformation because love and forgiveness won many people over. The Roman Empire couldn't extinguish Christianity because their love and forgiveness only attracted more heathen to Christianity. Nero's vindictive circus only revealed Christians had something worth dying for. Nero's arrogance only ended up in the Senate declaring his death sentence - which led to his suicide and an eternity in Hell. Diocletian only ended up losing his wife and daughter to Christianity. The Roman Catholic empire only ended up becoming revealed as a monster than the Church Jesus founded in 33 A.D. when Christian martyrs refused to take revenge. Today, such information is hushed up because it's bad publicity for a worldly church to have their dirty laundry exposed. Christian groups that have continued showing love and forgiveness to sodomites ended up winning some of them to the Lord. It's been hard for me to apply unless I first ask God to give me that grace to do so.

Besides, there's always payday someday for people who would never repent of their sins and get saved. I can think of how often I've observed it that I was told even by unbelievers, "See, don't seek revenge because God will do it for you." I've witnessed how often some of my worst attackers ended up getting their just desserts and I don't feel good about it. It was sad to see how a bully I had to face ended up into drugs or another ended up financially bankrupt as a result of his moral bankruptcy. The terrorist Bin Ladin himself would later die a violent death a result of his violent life. Joseph Stalin died angry with God in his deathbed. Pol Pot would later die without Christ after his terrible crimes against humanity. The Vatican today can't rest easy either because it's been marked for judgment by our Lord Jesus. Politically correct people day by day are slowly but surely getting exposed. Yet, God is patient and He lets wrath slowly build up so these reprobates can repent.

The call of the Christian life has never been a battle for flesh and blood. Rather, Ephesians 6:10-24 says that the battle is spiritual and not fleshly. The struggle is not against flesh and blood. Killing people who refuse to repent is putting the law into one's own hands. Killing unsaved people will not kill the demons that possess them. Bombing a mosque or a Roman Catholic parish because of a Muslim or Roman Catholic terrorist attack will not bring Muslims to Christ. Besides, many Muslims and Roman Catholics may not even be involved at all in the attack but they are in danger of Hell. Rather, these demons would just look for new hosts. They will just continue to look for new victims. The call to preach the Word of God is there. Only God knows who's been Elect and whose not. The Christian's only job is to preach the Gospel to the lost. If they don't listen then preach to others. The real enemy is Satan and his demons and not those who are lost in their sin. People lost in their sin are their own worst enemy. That's why they need the Gospel of Jesus Christ and not acts of violence done against them.

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