Monday, January 30, 2012

Honor Killings

We've all heard about the tragic deaths of four women in Canada. We periodically hear about these "honor killings" in the news. They probably happen more often than reported. Usually the killers are thinking that they are acting as God’s agents in various sordid affairs; whether to punish a wayward family member, or a suicide bomber against the infidels, or the blowing up of an abortion clinic. I’m sure that in a court of law the perpetrators have at some time brought up the point that the sectarian state has no jurisdiction over them in the matter because they are doing God’s bidding.

But, in the Bible, God declares “Vengeance is Mine.” That means He wants to take care of it. And God has certainly had lots of practice. He’s been killing off people (the good, the bad and the ugly) since time immemorial. But we foolishly think that God is inept, that He can’t handle it or that He’s too busy with other things and that maybe He’ll forget. So we think, “I have to take care of it -why bother God? And I’ll get brownie points and it will look good on my resume when I get to heaven. I’ll have bragging rights.” This mind set only shows that one has very little faith. God is very capable of dispatching sinners and miscreants (if that's what they are) in His own way and in His own time.

Anyway, in this age, if God were to kill the sinners, I'd guess He’d have to kill us all. But God has wisely developed an alternative plan which is explained in many sacred traditions:

"Whoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved." Christian

“In the age of quarrel chant the Holy Name, chant the Holy Name, chant the Holy Name. There is no other way. There is no other way. There is no other way.” Hindu

"Remember the Name of the Lord and devote yourself with complete devotion." Islam

"Whoever will call upon the Name will come me after death." Buddhism

"By hearing God's Name the mortal becomes a perfect person, religious guide, spiritual hero and a great yogi." Sikh

God appears in the form of His Holy Name which are numerous in religious traditions all over the world. The weapon of the Name is very subtle. Like an expert physician removing a cancerous tumor, the Name can destroy the miscreant mentality without killing the physical body. So yes, God wants assistants; not, however, to kill, but to spread love and mercy through the Holy Name. Like the Beatles sang: “take a sad song (the plight of us living entities) and make it better.”

So to any would-be avengers for God reading this: don’t worry your pretty little head. God is on top of it. No one is going to get away with anything.