It’s hard for many of us to understand just how much some people love it when other people die. We speak of a “Culture of Death”, but rarely of a “Party of Death”, delineating those who believe “problems” should be solved by reducing the number of people. In a bizarre twist of words and reality, those so far from God that they hate life proclaim themselves to be “enlightened” and “progressive”.
Are those in the Death Party as different from us as we might at first believe? All but saints have sometimes wished harm to come to enemies, and some have fantasized about eliminating evil by getting rid of those who do it. To the extent that we participate in such thoughts, some will happily accuse us of being part of the same destructive process that may, if we are not careful, move us closer to being actual members of the Party of Death.
On the other hand, it was Christ Who said to His disciples, “Sell your cloak and buy a sword.”, one of which was used by St. Peter to cut off the ear of one of those involved in arresting Jesus. The Books of the Maccabees, which have been removed from Protestant Bibles that followed the first printing of their King James version, show God’s chosen people killing invaders to defend their faith and themselves. Those in the Party of Death are aware of the dangers of armed and organized believers, and do what they can to be sure that Christians are disarmed.
The Son Who told us to be armed, and the Father Who inspired the Maccabees to fight tyrants have a higher authority than those of the Party of Death, so their direction should be taken seriously.
