by Guest columnist Jason Torpy, President of the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers
Christians have a responsibility to immediately condemn Christian terrorism with the same fervor as they condemn Islamic Terrorism.
Details are coming to light regarding the anti-Muslim rhetoric and subsequent rampage of Anders Breivik, aka Andrew Berwick. Nearly 80 people are dead due to a bombing attack and running gunfight. It is a great European tragedy. As the world comforts the Norwegian people, we should also step back to ask what happened and how it can be prevented in the future. Media speculation initially pointed to Muslim terrorism. The confessed terrorist turns out to be an anti-Muslim Christian. Media reports quickly framed the issue as "political" rather than "religious" terrorism to avoid disparaging Christianity. Members of the secular community are quick to point out that this is one more instance of religious conflict in the world. No group, religious or secular, needs to take responsibility for this violent terrorist. However, all groups should at least stop to see what parts of their ideology may have corrupted Breivik.
Out of a curiosity and a desire to shed some light on a tragedy, I studied the entire 2083 Manifesto, 1500+ pages of writings by Breivik and writings selected by Breivik. First, we should say that he is a homicidal terrorist, but it would be too easy to just write him off as crazy. The 2083 Manifesto is well-cited, well-researched, and coherently (albeit not logically) written. The Manifesto covers the oppression of Christians by Muslims, reasons why Christians are justified in oppression of Muslims, how to carry out a European revolution, and the organization (PCCTS - Knights Templar) and laws in a new Europe run by his ideal Christian regime. The Manifesto ends with a diary and personal discussion with Breivik.
Breivik leaves little doubt as to his chosen religion of Christianity: "At the age of 15 I chose to be baptized and confirmed in the Norwegian State Church. I consider myself to be 100% Christian." The small doubt is that he does not claim a direct communication with his god: "Regarding my personal relationship with God, I guess I'm not an excessively religious man" (pg 1403). The Manifesto includes over 2000 references to Christ/Christianity to promote a Christian insurgency to develop a Christian Europe to wage a Christian crusade to establish or re-establish Christian nations inside and outside Europe. His Knights would be required to take an oath to the Christian religion and Muslims wishing to live in Europe would have to convert and be baptized as Christians. A faith well-fueled by honest doubt and violent piety about his religion makes for a consistent and strong assertion throughout.
World Net Daily (WND) asserted, "not religious, has doubts about God's existence, (and) does not pray." WND is known as a Christian tabloid. For example, the headline at time of this writing, "Comet races toward Earth at peak of God's holy days" and "will there be some type of magnetic pull?" is reported by NASA (aka scientists) as "my subcompact automobile exerts a greater influence on the ocean's tides." Continuing a record of fine journalism, WND sets out to impugn Breivik's integrity as a Christian.
Any Christian who met him prior to the attacks would say that his self-identification as "100% Christian," baptism, church affiliation, church attendance, dedication to the church and yes, his prayers, all constitute a very personal relationship. WND says he does not pray, but he talks about his own prayers leading up to the attack (1459) and talks at length about his intention to pray during the attack (1344). His "doubts" about God's existence fit badly with his – and I don't use this term lightly – militant dedication to Christianity.
WND continues to say that Breivik "hails" Charles Darwin. There are exactly 6 instances of "Darwin" in the Manifesto, 2 of which are not Breivik's words, and one is a citation. The other three refer to social Darwinism, not the theory of evolution. We humanists can affirm that social Darwinism is a dangerous mis-application of a biological process in a sociological context, i.e., bad science.
WND quotes Breivik as saying "it is essential that science takes an undisputed precedence over biblical teachings." Breivik actually credits Christianity for the advance of science, saying, "Science is about uncovering truth, and if you come from a culture which holds that truth is irrelevant, you have a huge handicap. That is why the Scientific Revolution happened in Christian Europe" (707). Breivik is actually only concerned with "procreation/birth/fertility," the death penalty, or foreign aid (1137) to ensure the church doesn't put a pacifist restriction on his new regime.
Breivik refers to humanism only with the prefix "suicidal humanism" and refers to atheism only to say that atheists are only ok if they act in accordance with Christian beliefs and practices. He uses the "no atheists in foxholes" line three times to make his point about the importance of his Christian beliefs and to disparage atheist beliefs. In talking about science and atheist ideals, he is at best confused and in general only tolerant to the extent science and atheism conform to his crusader Christianity.
WND does identify a key theme, that Breivik sees a pacifist bent to the current Catholic and Protestant church leaders. They are correct in that anyone would seem pacifist compared to him. But Breivik turns specifically to the Bible to justify what he sees as "self-defense." Pages 1327-1334 provide a long Bible-based justification for violence.
The no-true-Scotsman fallacy is a poor response as Breivik does not simply claim to be Christian but uses Christian philosophy and practice to justify his terrorist acts. "No true Scotsman" is a logical fallacy that seeks unjustified exemption (Breivik isn't truly Christian) from a specific counterexample (Breivik is a Christian terrorist) to a universal claim (no Christians are terrorists). Breivik built his terrorist agenda and world order on Christianity, and Christians should stand up to refute the philosophical claims not just the identity claims. The Christian community would be much better served in providing Biblical counterexamples to Breivik's Biblical justifications for his actions. Where is the Christian assertion that Breivik is being unfair in his attacks on Islam, or that he goes too far in calling for a "Reconquista" of all lands that have ever been populated by Christians, or a strong statement that the Crusades were a brutal and deplorable time in Christianity and should never be praised or repeated? Breivik's Manifesto is no rambling train of thought; there are arguments to respond to. Christians should denounce the Manifesto at the least, and offer substantive logical and Biblical rebuttal if possible.
In a detailed review of the Manifesto, we humanists find scarce references and no humanist ideology to refute. Breivik rejects the naturalistic/atheistic worldview. He rejects pacifist or even non-violent ideologies. He rejects multiculturalism and toleranceamong ethnic groups. He promotes social Darwinism, which we abhor. The Christians will have a difficult time distancing themselves from a substantively Christian and Bible-based terrorist manifesto. It is insufficient to offer up a "no-true-Scotsman" attempt to declare Breivik not be a Christian. His baptism, church membership, personal prayer, self-identification, and 1500-page Manifesto show him to be more devout than almost any Christian.
But the real concern is that other Christians might read and adopt this philosophy if church leaders don't take the time from a Christian perspective to refute the substance of the arguments.
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Jason Torpy is a former United States Army Captain, MBA and prior management consultant who is currently serving as President of the Military Association of Atheists & Freethinkers and on the boards of the American Humanist Association and Secular Coalition for America. He is a West Point graduate and veteran of the Iraq war.
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Al Stefanelli is the Georgia State Director for American Atheists, Inc., and the author of "A Voice Of Reason In An Unreasonable World - The Rise Of Atheism On Planet Earth." He lives in suburban Atlanta.
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