Nascent Radical Extremism?

I had a disturbing conversation with an old friend last night.

Carl and I sat at McMennamin’s brewpub sipping ruby ale, reconnecting after little recent contact. He had a sort of glow about him, and looked healthier (and happier) than I remembered.

“My life is so good right now,” he said. “I have everything I could ever want, I only work four to six hours a day, I don’t own a car or have any expenses. I’m free, and I'm blessed!”

I genuinely envied the satisfied simplicity he was describing.

He continued, “But I’m almost thirty, you know? And I’ve already lived a more blessed life than most of the people in this world. And I’ve been thinking a lot about God lately…” Carl had never been overtly religious.

“… and I realize I have to do something that matters with my life. I can’t just get old and fat, enjoying what I’ve been given…”

He then proceeded to lament the world’s evils – particularly “evil men,” and the violence they commit against women and children in the world. He said he was going to do something about it. That he was ready to die if he had to, “to do something that matters.” He would personally give his life to “stop evil men.”

It occurred to me that he’d been hinting at something that had snuck up without my initial notice. I asked, “Bro, you’re not saying you’re willing to kill, are you?”

Without hesitating he smiled and nodded, then, “Here’s my plan: in the next couple of years I’m going to save up enough money to go somewhere – like South America or Africa, Darfur, you know – and just look for people who need protection. Maybe I’ll go to a well and watch as women come for water. And if anyone messes with them or tries to hurt them, I’ll stop it. And people will see, and they’ll tell other people, and they’ll come after me…” it was like listening to a Hollywood movie synopsis. He wanted to be a vigilante. No – he kept talking about dying. Carl wanted to be a martyr.

“All right. I understand the desire to fight for good. But tell me, what makes your plans different from those of an Islamic Terrorist?” I asked.

“They kill civilians. And they have an agenda. I just want to stop evil people, and hopefully protect good people.”

I pressed, “But how can you judge who is evil and who deserves to die?”

“Well,” he answered, “I’ll watch and wait till they attempt an evil act. Then I’ll stop them. And you know, if you’ve got God on your side, you’re going to be covered. Because God is good, and if you're doing good, you're with God. You know, righteousness.” Again, his newfound spirituality was surprising, and disconcerting in this context.

We went back and forth: me pressing him for justification and context, Carl self-assuredly responding with talk of holiness, justice and clear-cut language about good and evil men.

I never overtly condemned his plans. There was no point. He would have turned off the dialogue. I only hoped to dent his worldview and raise enough questions to erode some of his "moral" foundations.

Is this what a militant Christian zealot looks like here in suburban America? Can it come from such benign surroundings and sheltered lives (I’ve known Carl since high school)?

In The Lion’s Pride, Leonard Sweet writes:
“Men and women of faith have mindlessly bought into a system in which it is morally right to threaten to do something immoral.” (pg. 27)

17th Century Theologian Jeremy Taylor wrote:
“But when a man does evil that good may come of it, or good to an evil purpose, that man does like him that rolls himself in thorns that he may sleep easily; he roasts himself in the fire…”

I don’t know if Carl is really capable of doing the things he says. He’s always been a philosophical eccentric. But he’s serious enough to say these things seriously.

We ended the evening with a hug. I told him, "I love you," and I meant it.


please read more about my thoughts on the evolution of Christianity at www.emergingchristianity.blogspot.com