By Danny Minton

“That which has been is that which will be,
And that which has been done is that which will be done.
So there is nothing new under the sun.”
Ecclesiastes 1:9 (NASB)

It was the most talked-about trial in the city and would be for years to come. The crowds gathered outside the courthouse. Most were unsure of the outcome, but many were shouting that the criminal should be put to death. As with many protesters today, there were those who were paid to stir up the crowd. The crowd grew as they waited for the outcome. The silence fell over the immense group outside the courtroom as the authorities stepped out to address the public. The crowd had grown, with many in the back unable to hear clearly, but murmurs spread that the man was innocent. Then, from the front, a voice yelled; another added, and still another, until scores were yelling at those in charge. “Give us Barrabas!” A man was condemned by the people, not because of facts, but the influence of those who hated him so much they wanted him dead. The Place: Jerusalem; The year: Approx. 27-33 A.D. 

The anger could be felt in the air as the crowd quickly grew to over 1,000 men and women outside the jailhouse. The prisoner had been sentenced to death for killing two of the town’s police officers. The prisoner, Marshall Ratliff, along with Henry Helms and Robert Hill, had robbed the local bank two years before killing the two officers in their escape. Helms had been executed, and Hill had been given life due to his age. Ratliff had tried to escape, killing another jailer before being overcome. The crowd was impatient that the execution had taken so long. On this night in November, the crowd was now tired of waiting. As the anger grew, several men broke into the jail and dragged Ratliff out into an alley with the crowd of people following and hanged him. Place: Eastland County, Texas; The Year: 1929

College demonstrations began to grow around the country. Students formed campus groups opposing the government and the way it was handling the country. A group at the University of California, Berkeley, claimed the right to have political demonstrations on campus. Antiwar demonstrations turned violent at the Democratic Convention in Chicago. People around the country were shocked as television showed pictures of students being beaten by authorities. The National Guard at Ohio State University gunned down four student protesters. The protests would last for years. The Place: United States; The Years: ’60s and ’70s. 

We read and hear about how bad things are today, but if we stop and think about it, we find ourselves agreeing with the writer of Ecclesiastes, “There is nothing new under the sun.”  I’ve mentioned just a few of the thousands of instances over the centuries in which people have protested what was happening, often ending in violence. So what we see today is nothing new. The main difference today is that the media coverage is greater than in the past. Adding social media and the ability to distort things gives a whole new picture of what we see today compared to years past. 

As Christians, what does God expect of us in a world that continues in the ways of the past? We may agree with some of the protests going on today in many ways, while others we may strongly oppose. The dilemma is how to be Christ to each person, whether we agree with them or not. How can we be Christ to the world around us without turning people away from Him?

The first step is to treat people with love and respect, no matter how they treat us or whether we agree with each other’s viewpoints or not. As James wrote, we need to learn to listen more before we speak. We should try to see where others come from before forming opinions, and realize that sometimes we may be wrong in how we approach issues. As we hold onto the teachings of Christ, we should learn to present them through our actions and words that promote bringing people together rather than tearing them apart. Jesus’ ministry was to bring people together, not to tear them apart. He saw the weakness in people and was willing to forgive them, as we see from the words uttered from the cross, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.”

We cannot stop the protests and outrage that go on. It’s always been and will be for decades to come. What we can do, through our actions and words, is promote the peace that Jesus brought to the world. 

Danny Minton, a member of Southern Hills Church of Christ, is a hospital chaplain