Thinking About Terror

This is a meaning-of-everything blog, so I should be able to comment on most anything. Yet I'm a bit leery about commenting on international terrorism. I mean, I could simply rant against the evil of people who carry out monstrous acts simply to fuel whatever insane cause is consuming their souls. But I'm thinking that there's a much deeper reality here.

People who believe in ultimate reality (like I do) face a serious risk unknown to those who don't know for sure if anything is real or absolute. People who believe in ultimate reality tend to get a very narrow perspective in which their belief that they've found the answer translates into a conviction that everyone else is wrong. From there, some of the more extreme believers begin viewing anyone who does not share their perspective as an enemy. Add some poverty and real or imagined oppression, and you have a recipe for believing that you are at war, with the prize being the triumph of your cause, and the deadly fear being the destruction of your reality.

The snare of religious terrorism (whether extreme Islam or a "Christian" abortion clinic bomber) is essentially a lack of faith. If God is God, he is big enough to defend himself. The terrorist, in fear or disgust at the threat of the enemy, takes it upon himself or herself literally to play God. That's the real tragedy - that when you defend the cause of God in your own strength, you do a lot of damage and end up denying the basic principles of whatever you believe in.