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that the Irish were at odds with each
other over the question of a llegiance
to Britain long before King Henry
VIrl split with the pope in Rome.
Sorne lrish had fought against assim–
ilat ion by England; others- the Ul–
stcr " unionists" or "loyalists," in fa–
vor of union with England- cooper–
a ted willingly with London .
In the wa ke of the establishment of
the Protestan! Church of England in
1534, thc two opposing l rish factions
became split religiously as well as
politically, and the factional strife as–
sumed " Protestan!" and "Catholic"
la beis as well. T he subsequent confis–
cation of Catholic land in the north
and the "planting" of Protesta nt
Scots a nd English there added to the
re ligious pola rization.
Over the centuries since then it has
become hard to tell where the politi–
cal label leaves off and the rel igious
one begins. Religion and politics have
become inextricably intertwined.
There is an almost total identifica–
tion between religion and political
party.
No one in the Northern l reland
conflict, of course, is disputing the–
ological doctrine. In that sense the
strife is not religious in nature. But
the people of Northern Ireland de–
fine themselves in terms of religion.
They think of themselves first a nd
foremost as
Protestan/
or
Catholic.
For a ll intents and purposes, then,
the lrish Problem can be properly
viewed as essentially sectarian m
nature.
But one important fact must be
borne in mind. Religious labels are
often used as a cloke for the political
activities of those who seldom engage
in any form of religious activity.
Many of the hard-core militants re–
sponsible for the bloodshed in Ulster
have not darkened a church door in
yea r s. Sorne are even avowed
atheists.
Needed: A Change of Heart
What is the solution to the l rish
Problem? ls it possible for both com–
munities to live together in harmo–
ny?
The efforts of politicians have ac–
complished little. The peace rallies
and the work of the scores of peace
groups trying to bring the two fac-
January
1980
tions together have had only minimal
success. A final, peaceful solution to
the problem seems as far away as
ever.
The solution to the lrish Prob–
lem- the only
rea l
so lution- is
found in the very Bible which lies in
the homes of Irish Protestants and
Catholics alike.
" From whence come wars and
fightings among you?" asks the apos–
tle James. "Come they not hence,
even of your
lusts
that war in your
members? Ye lust, and have not: ye
kili, and desi re to have, and cannot
obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have
not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and
receive not, because ye ask amiss..."
(J ames 4: 1-3) .
Each side in the conflict has large–
ly insisted upon having its own way,
on getting what it wants no matter
what. Yet
neither
side has gotten
what it wants, and the conflict con–
tinues unabated, with no end in sight.
The reason, as the apostle James ex–
plains, is that they have not properly
sought the assistance of
God
in their
quest for a solution.
It
has often been said that in Ire–
Jand there is "too much religion but
not enough Christianity." This is the
heart of the matter. God will not hear
the empty prayers of those who pro–
fess His name yet profane His
Word-the Bible.
Christianity is a
way of life-not
just a once-a-week congregational
ritual. Yet many lrish a re involved in
a way of life which includes preju–
dice, hatred, discrimination, resent–
ment and in sorne cases outright
killing and murder .
This is obviously not the Christian–
ity of the Bible, the Christianity
which says:
"Love
your enemies,
bless them that curse you, do good to
them that hate you, and pray for
them which despitefully use you, and
persecute you" (Matthew 5:44).
Until the vast majority of Irish be–
gin to really
/ive
the religion they
profess, there simply will be no
peace. And to make it work,
both
sides must change.
God declares:
"lf
my people,
which are called by my name, shall
humble themselves, and pray, and
seek my face, a nd
turn f rom their
wicked ways;
then will
1
hear from
heaven, and will forgive their sin, and
will
hea/ their land"
(II Chronicles
7:14).
To sorne, this may appear to be a
"simplist it" solution. But the l rish,
who pride themselves on being hard–
headed realists, should of all people
see that this is the only
workable
solution, for it is the only one which
deal s with the root
cause
of the prob–
lem, not just with the
e.lfects.
An imposed solution will never
work. Peace can only be brought
about by mutual agreement , not by
force . Ulstermen must work out their
own affairs by accommodation be–
tween the two communities, in a true
spirit of Christianity.
This, of course, will not be accom–
plished overnight. But a start must be
made sometime, and the sooner it is,
the better for the people of l reland.
Specifically, prejudice and hatred
must begin to be rooted out of homes,
schools, social activities and business.
l rish of both religious persuasions
must abandon their deep-seated an–
tagonisms. They must break free
from the shackles of the past and stop
refighting their ancient battles. Par–
ents, community and religious lead–
ers on both sides must join hands to
tear down the walls of hatred and
bigotry. Only then will God begin to
hear their prayers and heal their
st rife-torn land.
Ulstermen of both creeds must
also clearly demonstrate their oppo–
sition to and complete rejection of
those individua ls who persist in
pursuing violence as a means to
their ends.
lt
has been observed that
if the right 500 men could be put in
jail, the violence and terrorism on
both sides could be stopped virtually
overnight.
lt
is actually only a tiny
minority which triggers the vio–
lence- the extremists of both fac–
tions who hold a fanatical and im–
penetrable conviction about the jus–
tice of their cause and the legitima–
cy of their actions.
These militant zealots can a nd
must be defied! A great public repu–
diation of violence and gangsterism
and a refusal to give support and
sympathy to the terrorists would go
far toward solving the problem. The
overwhelming majority of people in
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