When Religion Becomes Evil: Professor Looks at Muslim Religion

Religion is the most powerful and pervasive force in human society, but it can also become evil by being used to motivate and justify harmful human behavior, as exemplified by the September 11 tragedy. Dr. Charles Kimball, chair of the Department of Religion at Wake Forest University and former director of the Middle East Office at the National Council of Churches, examined the dual nature of religion, especially the Muslim faith, in the second annual lecture sponsored by Campbell University’s Department of Religion.
Kimball, who is also professor of World Religions at the Wake Forest Divinity School, has made over 35 visits to the Middle East and worked closely with the Congress, The White House, and the State Department on Middle East issues. His book, “When Religion Becomes Evil,” was recently named one of the top 10 books on religion for 2002 by “Publishers Weekly” and the Association of Parish Clergy. He argues that Muslims are not the only believers who have used religion for evil purposes. Commending President George Bush’s Road Map for Peace as a vehicle to help resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Kimball said he has noticed that a number of people on the evangelical fundamentalist right adamantly oppose the Road Map even though they support Bush.
“…People who say that if you work for peace you could be working for the Anti-Christ even though it would bring peace to the beleaguered people in the Middle East,” he said. “These good Christians are not being guided by true Christian principles. As I read the New Testament, ours is a ministry of reconciliation in a broken and hurting world. Our responsibility as followers of Christ is to respond to human need.”
Kimball identified five warning signs that point to the misuse of religion-claims of absolute truth, blind obedience, establishing the ideal time when what is wrong will be made right, the end justifies the means, and declaring “holy war.”
“It is not only a grievous but a very dangerous path to go down when people become so caught up in their theological understanding and schemes that they begin to oppose the very things that are at the heart of the New Testament-to love God and thy neighbor as thy self,” Kimball said. “Imagine how the actions of a person like Osama bin Laden would change if he applied the Golden Rule to his daily schedule and said, ‘would I want someone doing this to me?’”
A graduate of Oklahoma State University, Kimball holds a Master of Divinity from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Theology from Harvard University with a specialization in Islamic studies. He is also an ordained Baptist minister. Prior to joining the Wake Forest faculty, he taught at Furman University, where he also served as the director for International Education. From 1983-1990, he was director of the Middle East Office at the National Council of Churches, based in New York. His articles have appeared in a number of publications, including “The Christian Century,” “The Christian Science Monitor,” and “The Los Angeles Times.” Other books authored by Kimball are “Striving Together: A Way Forward in Christian-Muslim Relations (Orbis Books); “Religion, Politics and Oil: The Volatile Mix in the Middle East” (Abingdon Press); and “Angel of Vision: Christians and the Middle East” (Friendship Press). “When Religion Becomes Evil” is published by Harper San Francisco.

Bulletin 0040-2/22/05