Martha Mullen, a Christian Antigone

Last updated on: July 17, 2014 at 2:14 pm by Morgan Guyton

Martha Mullen, a Christian Antigone 2014-07-17T14:14:23-05:00 Morgan Guyton

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

TSARNAEV_RICHMOND_SHELLEY_018

In Sophocles’ great tragedy Antigone, a civil war has taken place in the city of Thebes between the two sons of Oedipus, Polynices and Eteocles, who are fighting for power. They are both killed, and when their uncle Creon takes throne, he decrees that Polynices is forbidden to be buried and must have his body eaten by animals outside the city walls. Antigone, the sister of Polynices and Eteocles, disobeys Creon’s order because leaving a human body unburied like that is not only a dishonor but an offense against the gods. Martha Mullen, a United Methodist from the Richmond area, is a Christian Antigone.

Mullen didn’t set out to do anything heroic, but she was really bothered when she saw on TV that Boston Marathon bomber Tamarlen Tsarnaev’s body was in limbo at the Graham Putnam & Mahoney Funeral Parlor in Worcester, Massachusetts, because every cemetery in the area was refusing to bury him. Moreover, people were actually picketing the funeral parlor as though the poor undertaker was somehow supporting terrorism by taking responsibility for putting a body in the ground and just dumping it in the middle of the road and creating a health and safety hazard.

So Mullen discreetly got in touch with some people of different faiths in the local community and the Islamic Funeral Services of Virginia agreed to inter the body. She then contacted the Worcester police department which got in touch with the funeral home. Tsarnaev’s uncle paid the cost; the body was shipped and buried in a rural plot just outside of Richmond. Nobody was supposed to find out anything about it, but the media ruthlessly pursued the story and Mullen bravely used the interviews as an opportunity to bear witness to her Christian conviction in loving her enemies. How in the world could any Christian who takes the Bible seriously oppose her actions?

In an interview with a TV station, she said, “I think we need to remember that we are all, in the end, human, and we need to remember our common humanity. As the police chief said in Worcester, we’re not barbarians, we bury the dead.” The fact that Mullen’s actions are controversial to anyone is a pretty scary indicator of where we have come as a nation. Has anyone ever protested the burial of a criminal before? Does it matter that Tsarnaev has a family who are doubly traumatized by the shame that his actions caused them and the grief of losing him? Does it matter that rotting bodies are a health hazard and the funeral home director didn’t have a thing to do with Tsarnaev’s crime?

This is another example of how God has been making the fruit so plain and obvious among His people. Mullen has been called the “most hated woman in Virginia” in the trollosphere. If you want to talk about being “persecuted for righteousness’ sake” (Matthew 5:10), Mullen is actually a legitimate example of that, unlike all the whining Christians who say that it “oppresses” them for gay people to get married. There are so few people in our world anymore who do the right thing even when it’s incredibly unpopular. I’m so glad that there are Christians like Mullen out there. Otherwise, disgusting precedents would start to get set, and the bodies of people unworthy to be eaten by worms would start to fill up the sidewalks.

Previous Post

May 11, 2013

A brilliant rebuttal to my attack on suburbia

Next Post

May 12, 2013 My mommy was my first pastor

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Advent Beauty Will Save the World Bible Big Picture: Ephesians Bloggers Book Christian salvation and the Beautitudes Culture Daily Office Danceable Homiletics Deadly Sins Deep Roots: Genesis Devotions Dominican Republic May 2011 El Principio Misericordia (The Mercy Principle) Five verses God tattooed on my heart Fundraising FutureGospel Good Biblical Words Henri Nouwen Interview Jennings' Christian Imagination Jesus inside the beltway Jesus Is My Candidate Jesus vs the Pharisees Jesus vs. Plato Journey to Eternity Looking Back on 2012 Love Actually Monday Merton Monday Merton Music Occupy the manger On Earth As It Is In Heaven Original Sin Podcast Poetry Politics Prayer Psalm 119 Radical Jesus 101 Reviews Sermon on the Mount Sermons Spanish Bible study Special Series Spiritual but not religious Synchroblog Theology Things that made me think Thomas a Kempis Ugliness Into Beauty Uncategorized Viaje Dominicano 2013 Walking in the Valley (Lent) Welcome: It's More than a Mat Wild Goose 2013 Wrestling

Select a Month March 2022 January 2022 December 2021 September 2021 April 2021 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was Jacob's firstborn son?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Joseph Levi Reuben Judah