As we near the anniversary of the birth of Christ, Matthew Murray’s dual love and loathing of the Christian institution and the more radical elements of its followers is worth exploring.
As I’ve previously discussed, I grew up just 200 yards from the site of the first shooting at the Youth With A Mission (YWAM) commune on the campus of Faith Bible Chapel in Arvada. I attended Faith Bible Chapel and its Boy Scout Troop 999. At the time I lived there, I knew the ministers involved with both YWAM and Faith Bible Chapel. And while I have many happy memories, I have many more unhappy ones…and also a healthy skepticism of religious ideology.
As with any organization, there was the good, the bad and the ugly. These folks were on fire for the lord with a passion usually reserved for Islamic suicide bombers. Their measure of worth was determined by how long you prayed (and how much money you gave). I distinctly recall giving a quick prayer before the Boy Scout meeting that was only about 2 minutes. Man, I caught hell for that. A “quick prayer” is 20 minutes, but you’re expected to pray for hours a day. I also didn’t fit in because I didn’t bring new recruits (we were expected to bring friends, but were explicitly told to NOT tell our friend’s parents about YWAM and church events…definite cultish behavior).
So here is Matthew Murray. By all accounts he grew up in a Christian home…an almost suffocating Christian home. He was denied a mainstream life and forced into an ultra-Pentecostal homeschooling program – a program so strict that it is rejected by nearly all homeschooling experts. In short, his parents denied him a normal, happy childhood.
Yet Murray tries to embrace this radical Christian lifestyle and tries to join up with Youth With A Mission (YWAM). He’s rejected by the group for not being radical enough (and listening to normal mainstream music). The group notices his anti-social behavior (the result of neglect in his homelife and the suffocating strict fundamentalist values his parents placed on him). Did he have behavior problems? I don’t know. I never met him. However, during my brief period of time in the clutches of this exact radical Christian fundamentalist organization that he was involved with and that he ultimately targeted, I met many like him. Young men and woman, wanting to be good Christians, but who were rejected for not being radical enough. Rejected for not wanting to speak in tongues. Rejected for not giving enough money to their mega churches like Faith Bible Chapel or New Life Christian Church. Rejected for not trying to recruit others. Rejected for not being “devout enough.”
Christianity, at its root, is a good and loving religion. It is a peaceful religion. And most of the Christians are good, decent people. Yet the institutions that Matthew Murray interacted with were not warm and welcoming institutions. These groups were elitist, devisive and judgmental.
Matthew Murray’s crimes (and they are crimes) are heinous and despicable. But they are also the product of the environment that he grew up in. Just as Harris and Klebold are the product of wealthy, white suburbia elitism dining on a gluttony of violence-laden video games, Matthew Murray is the product of Radical Christianity. And the ministers of these institutions, while condemning his actions and expressing compassion for his victims, should also look inward on the cult of Radical Christianity that has taken hold in Colorado and understand how their actions have given rise to such a person. Matthew Murray is was conceived by them, their ideology and how they have interpreted the scriptures.
Radical Christianity has a deep, dark side to it. While we hear “Christian,” we think good things. Murray’s life was anything but. Like many growing up under the thumb of radical Christianity, he was suffocated, isolated, marginalized, minimalized and loathed. And he lashed back at both the institution itself and the individuals he encountered.
As I’ve previously discussed, I grew up just 200 yards from the site of the first shooting at the Youth With A Mission (YWAM) commune on the campus of Faith Bible Chapel in Arvada. I attended Faith Bible Chapel and its Boy Scout Troop 999. At the time I lived there, I knew the ministers involved with both YWAM and Faith Bible Chapel. And while I have many happy memories, I have many more unhappy ones…and also a healthy skepticism of religious ideology.
As with any organization, there was the good, the bad and the ugly. These folks were on fire for the lord with a passion usually reserved for Islamic suicide bombers. Their measure of worth was determined by how long you prayed (and how much money you gave). I distinctly recall giving a quick prayer before the Boy Scout meeting that was only about 2 minutes. Man, I caught hell for that. A “quick prayer” is 20 minutes, but you’re expected to pray for hours a day. I also didn’t fit in because I didn’t bring new recruits (we were expected to bring friends, but were explicitly told to NOT tell our friend’s parents about YWAM and church events…definite cultish behavior).
So here is Matthew Murray. By all accounts he grew up in a Christian home…an almost suffocating Christian home. He was denied a mainstream life and forced into an ultra-Pentecostal homeschooling program – a program so strict that it is rejected by nearly all homeschooling experts. In short, his parents denied him a normal, happy childhood.
Yet Murray tries to embrace this radical Christian lifestyle and tries to join up with Youth With A Mission (YWAM). He’s rejected by the group for not being radical enough (and listening to normal mainstream music). The group notices his anti-social behavior (the result of neglect in his homelife and the suffocating strict fundamentalist values his parents placed on him). Did he have behavior problems? I don’t know. I never met him. However, during my brief period of time in the clutches of this exact radical Christian fundamentalist organization that he was involved with and that he ultimately targeted, I met many like him. Young men and woman, wanting to be good Christians, but who were rejected for not being radical enough. Rejected for not wanting to speak in tongues. Rejected for not giving enough money to their mega churches like Faith Bible Chapel or New Life Christian Church. Rejected for not trying to recruit others. Rejected for not being “devout enough.”
Christianity, at its root, is a good and loving religion. It is a peaceful religion. And most of the Christians are good, decent people. Yet the institutions that Matthew Murray interacted with were not warm and welcoming institutions. These groups were elitist, devisive and judgmental.
Matthew Murray’s crimes (and they are crimes) are heinous and despicable. But they are also the product of the environment that he grew up in. Just as Harris and Klebold are the product of wealthy, white suburbia elitism dining on a gluttony of violence-laden video games, Matthew Murray is the product of Radical Christianity. And the ministers of these institutions, while condemning his actions and expressing compassion for his victims, should also look inward on the cult of Radical Christianity that has taken hold in Colorado and understand how their actions have given rise to such a person. Matthew Murray is was conceived by them, their ideology and how they have interpreted the scriptures.
Radical Christianity has a deep, dark side to it. While we hear “Christian,” we think good things. Murray’s life was anything but. Like many growing up under the thumb of radical Christianity, he was suffocated, isolated, marginalized, minimalized and loathed. And he lashed back at both the institution itself and the individuals he encountered.
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