'If the good do nothing then evil holds sway'

Published on Sunday 21 August 2005 00:29

THE terrible events in London this summer, and the moral and political debate that followed, left a deep impression on the Church of Scotland Moderator.

The Rev David Lacy is deeply troubled by the terrorism and extremism which have been exposed among the UK's Muslim community, albeit a tiny minority.

He is convinced of the urgent need for greater understanding and more dialogue between the faiths, but he is equally certain of everyone's duty to challenge evil.

Questioned about the current emphasis on individual human rights, which has been blamed by government ministers for hindering their battle against terror, the Inverness-born cleric challenged the civil liberties lobby to focus more on individual responsibility.

Lacy said: "I deplore the statements of certain human rights activists who just interpret their activity as increasing human freedom, and it actually serves to increase human licence. It's because of original sin: if people are more free they are more free to be evil."

Lacy, the minister for Kilmarnock Henderson Parish Church, cited the example of asylum-seekers, who, he said, should be better treated, but should also do unto the UK as the UK had done unto them.

He said: "I believe that we should be far more welcoming to asylum-seekers in this country. We should accord them their full human rights. They should be looked on as brothers and sisters and welcomed into the British family.

"But I also believe that they should look to us as brothers and sisters too, and that we should all treat each other in an equal way. There should be responsibilities on all sides."

Asked how that applied to the likes of extremist Muslim radicals such as Omar Bakri Mohammed and Muhammad al-Massari, Lacy responded deliberately and with conviction.

"They have been welcomed as brothers and have treated us as enemies," he said. "It is hypocrisy, they should leave. If we are their enemies they should have nothing to do with us, but they don't.

"They speak out against us from within and get heart operations and care on our system. And we are happy to do that for them, to have rights and care. But we expect them to love us in return and accept our right to be who we are." Perhaps mindful of the impact of his words, he added: "And I don't mind being quoted on that."

Challenged on how this fitted in with the Christian doctrine of turning the other cheek, Lacy replied: "If you accept 'turn the other cheek', that means you never confront evil, you just let it happen. If the good do nothing, evil holds sway. Turning the other cheek means that if I am personally offended by one of them then I forgive them.

"But I just can't understand how they cannot see their own hypocrisy. I remember Jesus not being terribly forgiving against hypocrites, he called them 'ye vipers'. He didn't turn the other cheek against hypocrites."

Lacy added that the root of the problem was not religion but rather "religiosity" and misusing faith as a badge in tribal arguments.

He added that the Muslim extremists were not true to their own faith and compared them to "so-called Protestants" who engaged in sectarian abuse against Roman Catholics, and who did not deserve the name Protestant or Christian. Lacy said the answer to the challenge was for believers from all churches and religions to engage in dialogue and be true to their own principles.

But while terrorism and extremism leave the Moderator troubled, he remains upbeat about the state of his own Church, despite a fall in membership of two-thirds in the past 45 years.

Lacy, who took up his post in May, says all over Scotland, Kirk members are active and committed. He cited examples from Muck in the Inner Hebrides and Oban, where he said he was overwhelmed by the scale of Church members' activity and commitment.

He said: "I was getting ready to spend this year going around the Church encouraging and trying to talk them up. From what I have seen, the Church of Scotland is in a much better shape than I expected. The Church is in decline numerically, that is true. But the membership is more committed."

He added: "I remember being advised in media training never to talk to the media about God because you could guarantee it would never be mentioned in reports. But that is what we are about in the Church of Scotland, it is up to us to do our best to be faithful and then trust God."