Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
Politics and Religion
Remember, Jesus Don’t Like No Killin’.

Remember, Jesus Don’t Like No Killin’.

Last updated on: November 11, 2024 at 7:49 pm by Rebecca Hamilton

Remember, Jesus Don’t Like No Killin’. 2024-11-11T19:49:02-07:00 Rebecca Hamilton

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.

Black Lives Matter. Source: Flickr Creative Commons by David Geitgey Sierralupe https://www.flickr.com/photos/sierralupe/

I closed down my blog and went away to pray. I often do that.

I used to go to a nearby church and sit with the Host. That was closed during the COVID-19 shutdown, so I found other places. One place I go to pray in the mornings is my parents’ grave. Another is a serene spot in my back yard. Sometimes, I play the piano and my prayer is music.

Last Friday, I went to Mama and Daddy’s grave. On the way back, I passed a police officer in a patrol cruiser, parked on the side of the road behind a row of trees, waiting to give tickets to speeders. I almost stopped, went up and knocked on his window to talk to him. I think the next time I see a cop sitting alone like that, I will stop.

I want to understand what is driving the murderous rage that the police are exhibiting all around our nation. What is wrong with them, and by that I mean what is wrong with them as people, not police officers.

I’ve seen too many videos of the police looking right at a completely non-violent reporter or an old man or a woman alone and shooting, tasing, strong-arming them. I’ve seen people go almost limp in front of cops, trying to convey that they are not “provoking” them because of the evidently well-founded belief that if you “provoke” a cop, you somehow or other have revoked all your unalienable rights as a human being and the cop may kill you at will. I’ve seen groups of male police beat 100-pound women with night sticks like a pack of vicious dogs. They kept on beating these young women long after they were lying helpless on the ground.

What is wrong with these people with a badge?

Any police officer who seriously thinks that they can kill another person just because that person “provoked” them is not only in the wrong job, they are in the wrong human race. You don’t get do-overs when you kill somebody. Killing is forever. To paraphrase a Talmudic saying, when you kill someone, you kill the world entire.

What could possibly be wrong with these police officers that they don’t see the reality of what they are doing? How can they live with this, and why do those who aren’t turned this way tolerate this behavior in their fellow officers?

I’ve watched enough of these videos and seen enough documentation about the police murders of young black men to be totally confounded. What I sense watching these videos is that our police have an enormous loyalty to one another that transcends their own individual morality and decency. I see group-think and mass rage and more than a little bit of terror and fear.

These cops are scared. And they are angry beyond anger. And they are aggrieved. And many of them have no business with a badge and a gun.

I see people who are looking at the world as a hostile place where their only allies are each other. I see people who need help but are too dangerous, explosive and violently unpredictable to even approach. They remind me of a terrified animal, striking out at everyone.

I’ve had family members in law enforcement and I’ve heard stories. One story was about CLEET training. My family member was in a CLEET class about weaponry or use of force or something of that nature. The class was taught by a veteran officer. The teacher discussed the various issues of the topic with the class, then he added a thought.

“Remember,” he said, “Jesus don’t like no killin’.”

My family member said the whole room fell into a deep silence.

I keep remembering that story as I watch these videos.

When you go out with a gun and point it at another human being, remember*,* Jesus don’t like no killin’.

We have to remember, these are our police. They work for us. Their charge is to protect and serve, not kill and terrify. Everything they do, they do in our name. If they are violent, racist, cruel, enraged and bullying, that is more than likely because we are those same things ourselves.

These are people who eat in our restaurants, go to our churches, live in our neighborhoods, send their kids to school with ours and show up on Saturdays to watch their kids play soccer with our kids. If their values are askew, then the values of our whole society are probably askew, as well.

I think we spend way too much time patting ourselves on our own moral backs and condemning our neighbors. I also think that political preachers encourage this practice because it increases their ability to control us and sell that control on up the social food chain to increase their own power.

The truth — simple, unvarnished and plain — is that Jesus don’t like no killin’.

If we want change, we’re going to have to change ourselves. Respect for the humanity of every person begins with you, and with me.

If you’re a cop and you’re reading this, that means you too. I know full well that you don’t think I understand what it’s like to be out on patrol in a society that’s coming apart morally. You’re right about that. I don’t understand.

I don’t know what you go through. I don’t know how scary it is. I don’t know how alone it is. I don’t know the barbarism and inhumanity you see and deal with. I don’t know how enraging and degrading dealing with the savagery of our society is to you. I don’t know how funny it can be or what a power rush it gives you or how satisfying it can be to frighten a belligerent person into submission.

I don’t know. Not anything. I don’t know one thing of what your job asks of you, of what it does to you, of what it does for you and gives to you.

I only know that we need you. We need you sane. We need you moral. We need you sound of heart and mind.

Most of all, we need for you to remember, Jesus don’t like no killin’.

Racism

Violence in America

Previous Post

June 5, 2020

Christian Persecution: Which Countries are Worst?

Next Post

June 10, 2020 5 Pro Life Votes: The Supremes can Overturn Roe Now.

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 10 Commandments 2012 Election 2016 Election 2020 Election 2022 Election 2024 Election Abortion Addiction Adult Day Care Advent Africa AI Alcoholism Alex Pretti Renee Good America American Citizenship American Fascism Announcement Anti Semitism Anti-Semitism Apologetics Archbishop Coakley Argentina Armenian Genocide Ash Wednesday Ballot Box Salvation Biden Big Beautiful Bill Bishop Black Mass Blasphemy Boko Haram Book Review Brainwashing Breast Cancer Bribery Calling Evil Good calling good evil Cancer Canonize Caregiving Catholic Catholic Vote Cause for Sainthood Chaos child abuse Child Labor Child Rearing Child Sacrifice Christian Bashers Christian Leadership Christian Persecution Christian Solidarity Christianity Christmas clergy Clergy Sex Abuse Scandal Climate Coakley Common Good Communion Communism Computers concentration camps Conclave Confession Consecration to Our Lady Conversion Coptic Christians Coronavirus Corporatism Corruption COVID Crisis Pregnancy Centers Culture D Day Death Death Penalty Dementia Democracy Designer Baby Destruction of the Family Dictator Dignity of Work Divine Mercy Novena Divine Mercy Sunday Divorce Doubt Drug Addiction easter Ebola Economics Education Egg Harvesting El Salvador Elderly Epiphany Epstein Eternal Life eternal life Eucharist Eugenics Euthanizing Children Euthansia evangelization Excommunicate Biden Extraterrestrial Life Failed Clergy Faith False Gods Family Fascism Fatherhood Feast of the Assumption First Amendment Flood the Zone Following Christ forced conversion Forgiveness Fortnight4Freedom fourth amendment Fr James Altman Fr Stanley Rother free press Freedom Freedom of Conscience freedom of religion Freedom of Speech Freedom of Worship vs Religious Freedom Geek Stuff Gender Theory Genocide God the Father Good Friday Gossip GQP Greenland Grief Gun Control Gun Violence Hate Blogs Health Health Care Heart Attack Heaven Hell Herod HHS Mandate History of the Crusades Holy Father Holy Father' Holy Father's Tweets Holy Matrimony Holy Saturday Holy Spirit Holy Thursday Holy Week Home Homeschooling homosexual Hospice Human Dignity Human Rights human trafficking Humor ICE Idolatry Immaculate Conception Immigration Incest Infertility Inspiration Iran War ISIS Islam Islamic Brotherhood Israel JD Vance Jesus Jobs Jordan Judas Judicial and Legislative Murder Judicial Murder July 4 Just War Justice Kavanaugh Ketanji Jackson Brown Laity Latin Mass Leadership Lent Less of Me Lying Lying for Trump Mad King MAGA Magnifica humanitas Mama Marriage Marriage Protection Amendment Martyr Media Bias Medicaid Men and Abortion Mercy Military Dictatorship Misogyny Motherhood Movie Review Murder Music National Catholic Register Nazi Clergy Neo Nazis New Category New Evangelism New Evangelization News Headlines Nigeria No Kings Novena for the Persecuted Church Nuns Obama Oklahoma Oscar Romero Our Lady Our National Embarrassment Pakistan Palm Sunday Papal Conclave Papal G8 Pedophile piano political priests Political Whore Clergy Politics Polygamy Pope Francis Pope Francis Visit United States Pope Leo XIV Pope's Prayer Intentions Pornography Post Christian West Poverty Prayer Prayers for the Persecuted Church Pro Life Prophecy Prostitution Purgatory Putin Quack Medicine Racism Rape Religious Freedom Renee Good Republican Republican priests Rerum Novarum Retirement Risen Lord Roe v Wade Rosary Sacrament Sacred Heart Sacrilege Saints Salvation Same Sex Marriage Sanctity of Human Life Satan Save Our Democracy scandal Scripture Shroud of Turin Sisters Slavery Social Justice Social Security Solidarity Cross St Michael the Archangel stations of the cross Stop Late Term Abortion Stroke Suicide Supreme Court Surrogacy Surveillance State Synod Syria Taliban Tariffs Taxes Technology Thanksgiving The Ascension The Cross The Locust Class The Political Heresy The Resurrection The Tomb The Transfiguration The Trinity The War on Girls Tornado Trauma Trump Trump Coup Trump Destroying America Trump's Coup Trump's War on the Rule of Law Trumpism Ukraine Uncategorized USAID USCCB Vatican Vatican Reform Violence Against Women Violence in America Vocation Voting Rights Wages Walk for Life War Weight Loss White House Why Aren't You a Feminist Too? Woke Women Leaders Women's Rights Worker's Rights World Hunger World War I World War III World Youth Day Worship Writing Year of Faith

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 March 2024 February 2024 November 2023 October 2023 August 2023 July 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 October 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 August 2016 May 2016 April 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 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 January 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was Moses' brother?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Aaron Joshua Eleazar Caleb