著者

野口 誠

出版者

茨城キリスト教大学

雑誌

茨城キリスト教大学紀要. I, 人文科学 (ISSN:13426362)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.35, pp.47-59, 2001

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How to cope with terrorism is said to be one of the greatest problems in this century. Through many experiences in the past we cannot help admitting that even the strongest military power cannot be relied upon for the prevention or eradication of terrorist acts. So this problem is a hot issue discussed from different angles through mass media every day. This essay aims to give some views on the same subject on the basis of what the Bible says. The Bible tells us two ways to prevent and to solve the problem of terrorism. As for the prevention: if we find that someone has something against us, first of all we should go and be reconciled with him with every humility and meekness (Cf. Matt. 5:23-25). As for the solution we should not retaliate for what our enemy has done against us (Rom. 12:19). Not to retaliate is an excellent virtue. But the Bible exhorts us to do more than that. This "more than that" means the characteristic of love which the Bible teaches. There are two very famous sayings in the world. One is Jesus' teaching: "Do to others as you would be done by", which is called "The Golden Rule"(Matt. 7:12). The other is Confucius' teaching: "Do not do to others as you would not be done by", which is called "The Golden Mean". At first sight these two sayings seem quite similar, but on reflection we find that the two are quite different. The former is positive, while the latter is negative. Jesus says, "And if any one forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles."(Matt. 5:41). If any one forces us to go one mile, to go with him one mile is the golden mean or the principle of nonresistance. This is not what Jesus wants us to do. What Jesus exhorts us to do is to love the other as much as to make one mile become two miles. The Apostle Paul exhorts us to overcome evil with good (Rom. 12:21). During the Second World War two American missionaries, man and wife, were murdered on the groundless suspicion as spies by the Japanese army deep in the mountain on one of the Philippine Islands. The missionary couple asked for thirty minutes before the execution. They read the Bible and prayed and submitted to the sword. In time their young daughter in the States got the news and was greatly depressed at first. But when she thought of her parents' prayer before they were killed, she forgave the Japanese army who had murdered her parents. She decided to tell the gospel of the forgiveness of sins through the crucifiction of Jesus Christ to the Japanese armies. So she served devotedly the Japanese soldiers in the concentration camp in America. She gave her forgiveness to the Japanese unit who had murdered her parents. In addition her love in Christ made her do to their fellow soldiers more than merely forgive. This true story led Mitsuo Fujita, the supreme commander of the Japanese unit which made a terroristic surprise airraid on the Pearl Harbor (Dec. 8, 1941), to Christ Jesus. He did a very good job as a preacher not only in Japan but in the States also. After all if the anti-terrorism policy is not based upon the spirit of Jesus's teaching "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."(Matt. 5:44), all is vain.