Beshir Kamel is an Egyptian Christian whose brother was beheaded by so-called Islamic State terrorists. Beshir was interviewed on television, and he openly forgave the terrorists for their atrocity, and prayed for their own souls.
“Dear God, please open their eyes to be saved and to quit their ignorance…”[1]
What is this outpouring of forgiveness about? How is Beshir’s response possible? Isn’t hatred and bitterness more likely?
Last weekend at the Unbelievable Conference, Lorcan Price pointed out that the answer to this question is tied closely to another question. What is truth?
I often hear folks say truth is what you make of it. No wonder then that Unbelievable 2019 focussed on speaking truth to a world that is post truth, and less concerned with what is objectively verifiable and more concerned by how things make us feel.
Lorcan observed some important aspects of truth and equality today:
1 – Christianity is founded upon true statements, which correspond with reality, and have been revealed. God has come to this planet at a point in time and in person to rescue humanity. Yet we have not worked these truths out for ourselves. God has revealed these truths.
2 – Today, people are more concerned with their own truth. For example, Oprah Winfrey will often refer to the importance of “finding our own truth.”[2] Yet there’s a problem. If we focus solely on what is in ourselves, we stop being able to see clearly.
In Old Testament times, they talked about seeing God thru his revealed truth, and it being a bit like peering thru an opaque window. We can kind of make things out…but not clearly. The Apostle Paul alludes to this idea himself.[3] Yet if we stop looking for God’s objective truth, the glass changes and simply becomes a mirror reflecting our own positions and biases. We stop looking for truth, we end up just looking at ourselves.
3 – So why is everyone so concerned about human equality in the world? If Naturalism is true, and we are all just physical accidents of nature alone, then is there really any firm ground for someone to claim that we should treat human beings with equal dignity? Surely survival is key, and seeking equality for the weak, poor and disenfranchised just irrelevant?
You don’t tend to see equality in the natural world, though you do see cooperation going on. Yet humans go beyond mere cooperation. We recognize the need for equality. Why? Because even though all people are different, we are all made in God’s image, we reflect him. This is a gift, it’s not a naturally occurring thing.
4 – Usually it is the weak and small who lose the right to equality, and have their dignity overlooked in society. Think about the elderly and the unborn child. When we move away from absolute truth, and look for our own truth instead, then this has consequences on society. The weak begin to suffer.
5 – So Christians must not succumb to the search for “my truth,” and instead must stand for Christ’s objective truth. This is what Beshir Kamel is doing as he prays for his brother’s murderers. He recognises that we are all made in his image with equal dignity – them included. Whatever has been done, there is hope.
Christians will experience hard times as we take a stand for objective truth. But we stand on the shoulders of the Christian martyrs of the past of have taken a stand. And Jesus promise to us is – “I will be with you.”[4]
[1] Modern-Day Martyrs Show Love and Forgiveness, The Aquila Report, https://www.theaquilareport.com/modern-day-martyrs-show-love-forgiveness/.
[2] Oprah Winfrey, Oprah Winfrey: Your Own Truth, https://www.podcastone.com/episode/Oprah-Winfrey-Your-Own-Truth.
[3] 1 Corinthians 13:12.
[4] Matthew 28:20.
