Confusing Revenge With Justice
by Robert Crux | 7 January 2025 |
Throughout history people of faith have been conflicted by their moral imperative to be the church militant, while at the same time abiding by a moral imperative not to impose Christianity on people by force. Christianity in the United States has long been rooted in voluntary evangelism and discipleship.
But you might have trouble recognizing that in recent decades. A growing number of evangelicals and people of other religious faiths have linked themselves with Christian nationalism and its support for political violence, if necessary, to take back America as a “Christian nation.” Looking back through history we see that thousands of pagans and Jews were brought into the Christian fold by forcible means. Could Project 25’s authoritarian agenda lead to this kind of coercion in 21st century America?
Jesus never demonized or ruined the life of anyone, but the same cannot be said for the religious right political movement that claims to follow Him. We send a confusing message when we act as though winning in the public square is the most important thing we do.
A theology of revenge
When Christians mix their faith with politics, they often cease to promote justice. The incoming presidential administration in the United States has plans to elevate religion as part of its plan for cultural change. Project 2025 opposes diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the federal government.
Maura Casey, writing for the Charles F. Kettering Foundation, says:
“Should a conservative president put the tenets of Project 2025 into practice, America would no longer be a shining city on a hill, or even a democracy where every person matters. Instead, it would be refashioned as a religious autocracy that is intolerant, patriarchal, and discriminatory.”
Many Christians have bought into a “theology of revenge.” They are transforming their deep personal faith into a culture war. Right-wing evangelicals are resentful toward their uncooperative, unbelieving neighbors, when they are supposed to be loving and serving. They believe that the need of the hour is for the church to jump into the political fray.
But a Christian campaign is as dangerous for the church as an honest non-Christian campaign. Tim Alberta, in his piece, “The Only Thing More Dangerous Than Authoritarianism” writes:
“Modern-day pharisees from Jerry Falwell Sr. to Paula White have spent 50 years weaponizing the Gospel to win elections and dominate the country, exploiting the cultural insecurities of their unwitting brethren for political, professional, and financial gain, all while reducing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a caricature in the eyes of unbelievers.”
The culture war model means treating people on the other side of cultural divides as pariahs. Churches that have previously engaged in a participatory democracy appear to now be picking sides—joining one coalition of glorious-but-fallen people in their efforts to overpower, marginalize, and demonize another group of glorious-but-fallen people.
When the words of Jesus elicit a political, as opposed to a spiritual, response we know that our faith has become more about power and retribution than compassion.
Hope Bolinger, writing for crosswalk.com, says:
“We’ve fallen prey to our culture’s lies. Culture tells us that forgiveness and kindness are weaknesses. And that if we turn the other cheek, we let the enemy win. Culture tells us to be assertive, assert our dominance, and make sure that no one steps on us.… While the Bible doesn’t call us to be doormats, it does ask us to act contrary to what our culture asks.”
Using religion as a political tool has damaged Christianity and politics. The culture war paradigm has set Christians up to tolerate sin in themselves—if it is a sin that is common to other people of faith who share their political commitments. It turns out that your personal political alignment can cover a multitude of sins.
Fear
Right now, the United States is showing signs of being a fear-based society. Fear has long been used by some to keep people in line, to drive capitalism, and to empower a small few, sometimes disempowering the majority. It is now clear that fear is also a shrewd tactic to win elections: fear is powerful enough to move voters to vote against their own interests without understanding the risks involved.
Fear, it appears, is now defining us as American citizens. Conspiracy theories have turned the country into a place where people do not often see, hear, or want to understand each other. Those who live in fear do not know how to advance or retreat in their everyday interactions. They become emotionally numb to the needs of others. Fear of the “other” has brought out our worst. It has made us into enemies, overexaggerating conflicts and portraying ourselves as victims deserving revenge in the name of justice.
White evangelical Americans admit that they fear being replaced with Black and brown immigrants from around the world. Those people, they think, are taking advantage of them if they choose to love and forgive them. They think that if they live out the values Jesus taught, they might be looked at as fools.
Restorative justice fails in the face of fear. It widens the divide, and deepens alienation.
Revenge and fundamentalism
The basic yearning for revenge to be meted out to our perceived enemies is a formidable impulse in the human experience: among many Christians the “blood for blood” approach of the Old Testament is equated with justice.
Fundamentalism is a sickness that can infect any religious group, including Christians. Fundamentalists feel absolutely certain they are right. They are outraged when they see the world around them disregarding their values. When words fail to convince, their recourse is sometimes bullets and bombs.
Fundamentalist groups attract people—but they fail in religious terms because they exist in symbiotic relationship with aggressive and revengeful behavior. Not uncommonly such groups are conspiracy-oriented, paranoid about the dangers their movements face. They see enemies where there are none.
Confusing revenge with justice has led to a vindictive, misguided faith for countless Christians living in America. In her book The Battle for God, Karen Armstrong argues that fundamentalists “have no time for democracy, pluralism, religious tolerance, peacekeeping, free speech, or separation of church and state.”
Perhaps this is why millions of Christians in the recent United States election seemed undisturbed by a candidate who promised a revenge tour. It helps to explain why some who participated in the January 6 Capitol riot were convinced that they were in a literal battle between supernatural forces of good and evil.
Revenge is killing us all
Revenge is dangerous. It wants to do the other side “one better” instead of seeking about equity—or even properly punishing wrongdoing in the courts of the land. Revenge masquerades as justice, but it ends up perverting it.
Rev. Dr. Michael Woolf, writing for The Christian Citizen, says:
“In today’s world, revenge is killing us. It is killing some much more quickly than others. It kills us, thousands of miles away from a conflict spiritually, making us unwilling collaborators in a genocidal scheme that robs children of their parents, their lives, and a future.”
The Bible calls us to do justice (Micah 6:8), but it doesn’t call us to do revenge. There have been times when people of faith have sincerely desired justice, but in fact it was merely revenge that resulted in the death of thousands of innocent lives. For example, American Evangelicals supporting Israelis in the ongoing Gaza War continue to view the loss of lives as collateral damage in achieving God’s prophetic plan for the region.
Will this kind of overreach on the rights and freedoms of vulnerable people continue in the name of justice? Will Christians around the world continue to look the other way at the inhumanity of Israel’s assault on Gaza, believing revenge legitimizes the death of thousands of innocent people?
Carrie Brooks, writing for the Connection Church in her piece entitled “Are You Seeking Justice or Revenge?” says: “There’s a fine line, but a world of difference, between them:
“Revenge might feel good in the moment but leaves you feeling empty; Justice brings lasting peace.
“Revenge insights bring harm toward the one who hurt you; Justice brings people into right relationship.
“Revenge is motivated by anger, fear, frustration & pain; Justice is motivated by the heart of God.
“Revenge leads to more pain; Justice makes things right.”
Some Christians believe that formal systems of justice are inadequate or biased, so when they perceive that justice has not been served they may take matters into their own hands. They justify revenge as a form of personal justice.
Biblical Justice
From a biblical perspective, justice and revenge are not synonymous.
Revenge is not justice—not even retributive justice—but an attempt at the justification of the self. In the Bible, “justice” translates Hebrew and Greek words that mean “setting things right” and “restoring social equilibrium.” That means order and reconciliation, not increased hatred.
We are not the Great Avenger. God alone is. He proved this at Calvary. Therefore, by patiently enduring injustices, we follow our Lord’s example, who “when He suffered, He did not threaten but continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly” (1 Pet. 3:23).
The pursuit for revenge is bringing out our darkest impulses. It’s time to rise above them. Christians have a responsibility to remind human governments that they are responsible to do justice—which means also warning that revenge perpetuates more violence.
The church’s mission, even in the midst of the violence, is to work for reconciliation and forgiveness, which are the components of genuine justice.
Robert D. Crux, Ed.S, worked as a teacher, principal, and superintendent of schools over a period of 35 years in Adventist education before retiring in 2016 to Lawton, Michigan, where he enjoys writing, reading, biking, model railroading, and, most of all, his grandchildren.
