This
post is from USA Today.
Despite
centuries of persecution, violence rarely has the last word.
Refugees from persecution
often find a home in new countries where their beliefs can flourish, as Catholics
and Jews
did in 19th century America, and Protestants
did before that. The more profound truth is that violence rarely has the final
word, even in the country from which a religious minority has been excluded.
The Roman Empire sought to snuff
out Christianity on several occasions, most famously during the reign of
Nero.
Even when they were not
actively persecuted, Christians often were forbidden
from owning property and subjected to social stigma. Yet Christianity
survived and eventually thrived. Ironically, Christianity's own commitment to
human rights — such as the dignity
of women — was a key feature of its success.
According to sociologist
Rodney Stark, Roman Emperor Valentinian was so worried about Christianity's
attractiveness to women that he issued an order in A.D. 370 forbidding
Christian missionaries from making visits to the houses of pagan women.
In the modern era, China
clamped down on Christians during the infamous Cultural Revolution. The
Chinese leadership was ruthlessly efficient, and for years few known Christians
could be found in China. Yet as soon as cracks opened in the oppression,
Christianity began to spread. Two
of the 21 best known leaders of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests are now
ordained priests, and the number of Chinese Christians is now thought to be roughly
60 million.
Beliefs that no longer seem
to make sense of the world may fade. This is why we don't worship Baal,
as the ancient Phoenicians did, or offer libation to Greek gods and
goddesses. But any religion or system of thought that speaks to our deepest
needs cannot be kept at bay forever, no matter how virulent the oppression. It
will always spring back as soon as it is given an opening.
Christians are not perfect.
Christians have sometimes been responsible for repression themselves, as in the Crusades
and the Inquisition
in the Middle Ages. But so long as Christianity continues to enable men and
women to navigate the complexity of their lives, it will withstand even the most
awful oppression.
The resilience of Christian
beliefs obviously should not be an excuse for complacency as ISIL continues its
rampage. Millions of Iraqis and Syrians live in constant fear. ISIL's disdain
for human rights cries out for a response. The U.S. and other countries need to
do whatever they can to help restore order in this time of chaos.
But we can take comfort
knowing that repression in Mosul and elsewhere will not be the end of the story.
Although something precious is lost if an ancient tradition is severed, even
temporarily, Christianity will one day return to Iraq. It always does.
David Skeel, a law
professor at the University of Pennsylvania, is author of True
Paradox: How Christianity Makes Sense of Our Complex World.
For
more:
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