Alma Chapter 1

Alma chapter 1 is the ongoing story of diversity and conflict in the Nephite society. A man named nehor begins to preach his own religion. The specifics are not important here. What is important is that when Gideon argues with Nehor over points of doctrine, Nehor draws a sword and kills him. As a result Nehor is condemned to die for murder. 

Religious divisions continue with some unfortunately seeing opportunities to get money and honor but even they are considered legal as long as they did not break the law.

The law created by Mosiah still stood - it was illegal to persecute another for their religious beliefs. But this becomes a most serious problem as people not only argue but actually physically attack each other.

I love this next section of chapter 1. The faithful choose to go about their daily business as always - living the gospel, helping each other and even helping those not of their faith. And then it says they prospered.

Now in the scriptures the word "prosper" is a problem word for me because the stories too often define prosper in terms of wealth.  I have learned that not everyone who lives a good life becomes rich. And I have learned that it is more important to prosper in relationships, emotional health, and in the simple pleasures of each day. 

Those essentials are always disrupted when there is contention. And I don't know about you, but I find I can only take so much of the news in politics up today's world. I then turn off the TV and like these faithful few and Alma chapter 1 I retreat to my world and the things that bring me peace and happiness.

As I was thinking about this whole chapter I just started thinking about this whole problem of religious contention in our world. I have grown up in the United States where we have had religious freedom and we have been basically free from religious persecution. But as I look at the history of the world it is absolutely disgusting and unbelievable how many wars and conflicts developed because of religious persecution.  It is estimated that 7% of all wars had religion as their main cause.

If you look at Europe in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, conflict was a constant following the Protestant Reformation. There was what was called the Knights Revolt in 1522. Protestant German knights revolted against the Roman Catholic Church; it was all out war.

Then in 1524 the German Peasants War began. It is estimated that upwards of 300,000 peasant's died in that war. It was radical religious reformers that led the revolt.

In Europe the Thirty Years War that went from 1618 to 1648 began as a war between Protestants and Catholics. That war led to the decline of Catholicism in Europe as religious liberty for Protestants finally began. Sadly 20% of the German population died during those thirty years - over eight million people.

In 1524 King Christian of Denmark converted to Lutheranism. Wars began and by 1536 (12 years later) the last of their religious wars were over and Lutheranism was established in Denmark. Catholic bishops were imprisoned and all Catholic church properties confiscated.

The same King Christian in 1537 by force established Lutheranism in Norway then on the Faroe islands in 1540 and on Iceland in 1550. Similar stories are found in England and Scotland after the Reformation.

But of course even before then there were the Crusades in the 11th century. The Iberian Peninsula had constant wars between Christians and Muslims from 711 all the way until 1492.

On the other side of the world the same was taking place. In Japan it was Buddhism vs. Shintoism in 552-2587.

In Pakistan and India from 1906 to 1947 there was a battle between Muslims and Hindus. They never did learn to live together. The war ended with a partition creating Pakistan as a separate nation from India.

In Nigeria the Igbo versus the Muslims fought from 1953 to 1966. In the same country in 1980 it was the Christians versus the Muslims and then again in 2010.

In 1936 China massacred their Muslims.

1958 was the Lebanese Civil war.  It was a conflict between three groups the Sunni Muslims, the Christian Lebanese and the Shiite Muslims.

The Croatian war from '91 to '95 and also the Bosnia war from '92 to '95 were both conflicts between the Eastern Orthodox Church the Roman Catholic church and the Muslim populations.

In Sudan there was a civil war from 1983 until 2005.  It led to the independence of South Sudan; Sudan itself being Muslim and South Sudan being established as a Christian nation.

America has had its own struggle to learn to live by the principle of religious freedom. Before the Constitution was ratified there were constant conflicts between religious groups. Some states even abolished churches. 

Then during the 1800s there was much violence against the Irish Catholic immigrants. The strong Protestant values that had permeated the US were so ingrained that Catholics were just not welcomed. In 1844 gun battles took place in Philadelphia. Martial law had to be declared.

The second religious group that was openly persecuted in the United States were the Mormons. That persecution lasted from the 1830s until 1896 when Utah finally became a state.

Anti-Semitism reached its heights between 1933 and 1939. In urban areas like New York and Boston Jews were violently attacked. There was much social and political discrimination. The KKK was anti-Jewish as well as anti-black. It wasn't until the 1950s that Jews in the United States were allowed membership in country clubs, allowed to attend colleges, to enter the medical profession and political offices.

We are not totally free from acts of religious violence yet. After September 11th 2001 hate crimes against Muslims in the United States increased by 1600% from the previous year.

Alma chapter 1 is an important chapter because it gives us an opportunity to talk about what it is to live in a diverse community and to learn to live together in unity.