First things first the above tweet by John Carter is likely bait to make a point, no doubt he’s not a Christian because he does not believe that Jesus Christ is his lord and savior and that he died upon the Cross for our sins, only to be reborn and conquer death. For me that is why I am not a Christian, I have never felt that to be the truth emotionally or rationally. Almost every Christian I know understands that because it’s a direct engagement with the nature of their faith. It isn’t an insult but just a statement of my position.
That being said I strongly sympathize with the point John is getting at - it is the revulsion at destruction of religious objects. Many people instinctively feel a kind of reverence or at least respect towards any kind of religious object. Secular Europeans often still lower their voices in Churches, or remove hats. A holy place or object extends an aura in my opinion that even if I don’t believe in their faith means I should show a form of respect and courtesy. It is why I will partake in saying grace at Orthodox friends houses.
The quoted tweet here, the idiot salivating at destruction, is really what I want to talk about, not from a necessarily religious angle either. Yes this person is clearly motivated by a set of Christian dogma to salivate at destruction - a crude will to power to dominate and destroy. We see this impulse throughout history but some religions and sects and cultures embrace it more than others. In most recent times the cult of ISIS and Islam is the standard bearer for this kind of destruction. They took great pleasure in destroying the same statues that early Christians also destroyed. This crude pleasure in destruction is of course no longer confined to the Islamic zealots of the Middle East the same energy is driving the left in America to destroy and melt down many public monuments and statutes.
At a very basic level we should acknowledge this destructive urge to eradicate is common across the extremes of these separate belief systems. The Christian, the Islamist, the Leftist. All salivate at destruction and it empowers them on a fundamental level that most people can’t relate to. The urge to destroy is always there and it exists as part of the urge to create but for these people the desire to create is suppressed such that destruction is their only creative outlet.
My original thought was along the lines of such fevered outbreaks of destruction necessarily create space for new creation and beauty. I’m not entirely convinced of this but there is some evidence to show that the creation of space by the destruction is filled. The crucial point though is that the ‘Jenkins’ of the world are never the creators. They may be the midwits who tear down statues joyfully but they will never the ones to resurrect or create something to replace them. They are often completely apathetic - especially within the Christian theological set of disputes the iconoclastic Christians are so austere that nothing ever replaces the images they destroy or shun. They are modernists minimalists with blank walls and minds - in opposition to the Orthodox or Catholics who still value iconography and statues as part of the divine mystery.
The destruction that these people cause however does create space. What steps into that space is what prevails. Christianity’s own evolution saw an orgy of destruction against these statues of Roman or Greek gods but of course the art/skill itself of stonemasonry and carving was preserved. It shifted and new Christians did produce new statutes and art that reflected their faith, it took some time though it was not an immediate loop. Some of the most iconic art we associate with Christianity is far far removed in time from the beauty of the pagan statues. Funnily enough now as well the Vatican actually preserves a great number of pagan statues - a pleasant surprise for me on my visit there.
In the here and now though we are gripped with a new form of millennialism. The orgy of destruction and removal of historic American figures - not just from the Confederate states, it has extended quite broadly. Cities like Denver have permanently removed statues of Kit Carson - one of the greatest heroes of the West - as well as a statue of Columbus. Giving in to these people who embody the same energy as our Christian above results in a destruction of the past that you cherish today. What comes next? That remains to be seen of course but we have some examples. The thug George Floyd has got statues and memorials and it appears likely other thugs will be rehabilitated from the past. Their creative urges center around the dark and ugly and produce odd monuments - just take the MLK monument Boston put up:
Of course once we win these statues won’t be staying up will they. Gladly there will be a level of destruction that takes place. We should remind ourselves of that. Beliefs are what shape us and give us emotional connections to our actions. Christians might genuinely be gleeful about the destruction of something you or I hold a reverence for, that creates tension to say the least. The best we can do right now though is try to preserve what monuments and statues of the past we care about, or better yet if truly motivated begin a journey to become skillful to erect our own monuments and statues and even religious icons that we wish to see in the world.