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- Patrick Mitchel on War Is Never Holy: On Credible Faith in a Time of War
- Pauline Gray on Come Lord Jesus… but what about Armageddon?
- Alan Cardwell on Come Lord Jesus… but what about Armageddon?
- Samuel Mawhinney on Come Lord Jesus… but what about Armageddon?
- John Faris on Come Lord Jesus… but what about Armageddon?
Young people spoke honestly about fear; fear of racism, intimidation,
of being targeted, of being unsafe, of not being taken seriously. To
belong, they often felt they needed to stay quiet, hide parts of who they
are, or avoid certain places or groups.
This exactly what older people think and feel too. We have agreement across the generations on this point.
Some people said the biggest barriers to reconciliation are inside faith
communities themselves; including the pressure to stay silent to keep
the peace, to hold onto their members, and fear of controversy or
disagreement
We preach a sanitised gospel devoid of the transformative power of what it truly means to love our neighbour as ourselves. Loving our enemies is not included in our narrative because we don’t know how to love people who historically and currently want to drive our identity from the border into the North Channel.
Ironically we created a two state solution here in Ireland. A Catholic state for Catholic people south of the border and a Protestant state for Protestant people north of it. The problem has been the Catholic community never bought into it and always worked to tear it down so there was fear superstition and active hostility and discrimination towards Catholic people. Not very Christian you might say.
30 years of being bombed and shot at by that Catholic/Nationalist community has left the Unionist community somewhat punch drunk and unwilling to engage. Legacy issues are seen as one sided as the British State is a soft target for Nationalists but the Unionist community hasn’t been able to take the southern government to court or find a legal route for recompense against the IRA.
The silent majority suffered in silence during the troubles and have continued in similar vein to the present day.
The media have consistently sided with the Nationalist narrative in making the Unionists feel guilty for being here.
The issue of racism being condemned by Nationalists is incredibly ironic as they still view the Ulster Scot as an illegal immigrant, “coming over here taking our jobs.”
The racism of today is therefore deeply rooted in the native Irish being unable to welcome or integrate visitors from overseas!
It could also be said however that the Ulster Scot failed to integrate into Irish society due to a difference in religious belief. So at least some common ground to begin a proper debate towards healing. Irony might help iron out long standing differences.
The Good Friday Agreement in 1998 has seen a lot of change however in some respects.
Nationalists are senior managers in many areas of business and of course the First Minister is Sinn Fein. If anything the Protestant working class are now the ones excluded due to manufacturing jobs moving overseas and being replaced by higher educational requirements in the available job market. Overseas workers fill many of the traditional working class roles.
The basic divide remains the same. Union with Britain or Union with the South? Both these unions are different now than they once were as Britain is no longer the upholder of the same moral standards it once was. The South has reached out to connect with Europe so it had sold its soul elsewhere. The need to connect with something larger than yourself is essential for economic survival In both cases. The problem with immigration in the south should not be understated.
However the fundamental root of the country tearing itself in two is this ideological belief in either one Governmental system over the other. If this is as some believe a spiritual root then it needs spiritual tools to deal with it. Discuss