Jesus or Barabbas?
This question came into my mind last week, and although it bears little resemblance to the recent election result, the thought that came to my mind is "crowd/majority mentality". We as humans continue to use reason and logic based on personal thinking and many historical events that took place because of it.
In Jesus' day, the crowd got into a frenzy of wanting Jesus crucified, and they chose Barabbas. For what reason? Recent events (relatively), showed acts of violence against individuals in the presence and participation by a crowd. I think that each one of us looked at these and wondered how can one human being do heinous things to another human being. And yet, truthfully, we probably have done something like that, perhaps not in a grander or worse action. I would venture that we'd never do such thing, if we are alone, under the same circumstances. Peer pressure? Somehow our moral compass get sidelined under certain conditions.
Food for thoughts:
- the dragging of a black man by a group of boys a while back, I think it was in Lousiana
- the beating of a man by a group of policemen in California
- the beating of a downed helo pilot in by a crowd in Africa (BlackHawk Down)
- and many more like it
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1 comment:
Yes, and of course the classic example of the Holocaust. The key to keep from succumbing to 'group think' is to keep a focus on the inherent humanity of the other person. It's much harder to hate someone, beat someone, or kill someone if we see clearly his or her humanity. Or in the case of Jesus, his deity.
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