CREEDE HINSHAW: Faith can be displayed without sharpened axes

The Republic of Ireland had a national holiday this week. Feb. 1 is Brigid’s Day, in observance of — take your choice — St. Brigid, one of the Patron Saints of Ireland, or Brigid the ancient, pre-Christian goddess of fire, poetry and healing. The 4th century Christian Brigid, founder of monasteries and miracle healer, was likely named for the pre-Christian mythical goddess, so the Irish merger makes some sense. I suspect, however, that some of Christian Brigid’s most ardent followers hate being yoked with those attracted to goddess worship.

How does one deal with people of other faiths and culture? I remember the story of a determined, courageous, axe-wielding Anglo-Saxon bishop from the 8th century. Boniface, later to become a saint, was an aggressive, take-no-prisoner Christian leader who was determined to prove the superiority and supremacy of the Christian gospel. Encountering an unconverted Germanic tribe who worshiped the Teutonic gods, he had a showdown with them in a grove of oak trees. Boniface whipped out his axe and with one holy, mighty blow felled one particularly magnificent oak dedicated to the god Thor.

Early in my ministry, I lifted Boniface as a noble example. Shouldn’t we all be of undaunted courage? Shouldn’t we all be so rock-ribbed certain of our faith? Shouldn’t we all be willing to prove the superiority of our Jesus?

In the following years the glow of that story has faded.

I remain an unapologetic follower of Jesus, convinced that the Word made Flesh is the way to salvation. Jesus Christ is the true light of the world. I have not wavered from the early Christian confession that Jesus is Lord.

But I no longer embrace the tree-chopping, chainsaw approach of following the Way. St. Boniface may have stood on solid scriptural ground, but those were very different times. Boniface apparently put little stress on the Apostle Paul’s approach to be all things to all people so that he might win some to the Christian way.

There are still Christians who relish the Boniface method of evangelism. For these latter-day believers, Jews, Hindus, Muslims, Mormons, agnostics and atheists are candidates for aggressive conversion, let the chips fall where they may. Some of these ardent believers are equally determined to topple their brother and sister Christians who they deem to be not fervent enough.

In the United States, people of every faith and people of no faith have equal standing before the law. Agnostics, atheists, and ardent believers live in the same neighborhoods, attend the same schools, eat at the same restaurants. We can and must work together for the common good, even while affirming and embracing one another’s approach to life and faith. Sharpened axes are deadly in every sense of the word.

Boniface’s tactic might have worked in its day. But when one chops down somebody else’s sacred symbol, sooner or later the other side will find a sharper axe. Brigid’s Day indicates the Irish are finding ways to honor two disparate traditions.