MidAmerica Nazerene University’s (MNU) chaplain Randy Beckum gave a morning sermon last month about the usual Christian values of peace and non-violence that would not raise any eyebrows. However, he has received an extraordinary amount of criticism for his peaceful pronouncements.
He had used American Sniper as an example that highlighted (correctly) America’s addiction to violence and questioned if such an addiction would prove a threat to a religion that was founded on non-violence.
The following is an excerpt of the sermon:
As you know, two movies came out recently. Selma, the story of one of the 20th century most influential Christian leaders, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who led a non-violent movement that changed the course of American History forever, and American Sniper, the story of the most deadly Navy SEAL sniper in American history. Selma has made 29-30 million so far. American Sniper made over 103 million in the first 4 days. Gives you an idea about who our heroes are. I don’t think it is an under-statement to say that our culture is addicted to violence, guns, war, revenge and retaliation. Unfortunately, so are a lot of Christians.
He also said that we must “be very careful about equating patriotism with Christianity,” asking that those who were listening be “controlled by love, compelled by love for everyone.”
From The Raw Story:
Shortly after Beckum’s sermon, it was announced that he would no longer be the vice president of the university’s Community Foundation. Although the university president claimed Beckum had previously expressed interest in stepping down from that position, his daughter disputes this assertion.
Many in the MNU community are wondering if Beckum was “punished” for his pro-peace sermon, and the timing of his dismissal as VP of the community foundation seems to validate those concerns. “Even the people that were frustrated with what (Beckum) had to say in chapel, or wanted to challenge it, were confused and almost offended by the demotion,” said Kristi Rose Jackson, who was elected to be student body president.
The chaplain highlights the hypocrisy of many Christians, who glorify in violence when it is disguised as justice. Sadly and ironically a true practitioner of Christianity got fired for doing his job properly.
Source: http://deadstate.org
