The Tragedy at Bondi Beach

The terrible events on Bondi Beach are undoubtedly an expression of pure evil, and the attack raises a number of questions. What is the nature of evil and where does it come from? What, if anything, can be done to stop it? Is it the fault of religion and specifically Islam, or are there other causes, so that Islam simply becomes a convenient scapegoat for bad people? Is this true of religion throughout the ages? Does the force of good become ultimately a cover for the bad?

It is easy to find scriptural texts that encourage violence. The God of the Old Testament is regularly smiting people for their transgressions. The departure from Egypt was preceded by the Passover, where God told Moses that he would “smite the firstborn thing in the land of Egypt, man and beast alike; so I will give sentence on all the powers of Egypt, I, the Lord”. (Exodus 12:12)

The parting of the Red Sea was similarly calamitous for the Egyptians as “Back came the water, overwhelming all the chariots and horsemen of Pharaoh’s army that had entered the sea in their pursuit; not a man escaped”. (Exodus 14:28) This was a battle for safety and escape from servitude, but it was, nonetheless, brutal.

The punishments for breaking the laws of Moses could also be severe, stoning for unmarried women who lay with a man and for adulteresses. Those who refused to surrender and forced a siege when their town was about to be taken were also to be slain. “In cities that are to be thy own, no living thing must be left. All of them must be put to the sword…” (Deuteronomy 20:16)

The New Testament is generally less violent, but the blood libel in Matthew’s Gospel (27:25), “His blood be upon us and our children” has been used to justify the most appalling anti-Semitism. Blood very often means death in biblical texts, and clearly does in this context.

Yet as we look back over the centuries, Christians come to believe that violence in the name of Christ is utterly misplaced, be it in the Crusades, or the wars of religion in the 16th and 17th centuries. The burning of heretics or the torture of recusants are now both looked back on with horror. All are considered perversions of faith, not the Truth.