Like many folks I sat mesmerized by the recent miniseries on the History Channel. Any cinematic recreation must play loose with the actual historical details, there is not time to portray all the intricacies of real life, especially something of this magnitude. I am no expert on this particular slice of American history. At any rate, what was on TV had a hisorical basis. One element was religion and faith.
The McCoy patriarch in the earlier episodes was a deeply Christian man. His was a particular type of Christian faith, as it always is. I believe we all confrom our Christian faith to our particular values and 'politics.' There is an old expression, "God made man in His image and likeness; and man has returned the favor." Randall McCoy's Christianity was of a particular kind and much of it of his own making.
As the feud produced its murders and destruction, Randall's faith was under test. At one point his wife asked, "You still pray?" implying that God had failed to answer his pleas. In the next episode, Randall asks, "Where is the God of Justice?" as he surveys his burning home and his dead son and daughter (He lost five children in total). For the rest of the episode he is reduced to a drunken unbeliever.
"Where is the God of Justice?" That is the ancient question; most favored by faith's enemies.
"You still pray?" That is the question asked by many in our culture, sometimes with a sneer.
Whatever else we can say about America's most famous family feud, it is clear that human decisions were perfectly aligned each step of the way to create ever greater misery. The people involved were victims of their environment. Desperately poor, they were educated in a value system which included a demand for respect and an embrace of violence. When life is hard the hard people survive. And hard people read the Bible through hard eyes. [much like soft people do the opposite]
I am too entrenched in my own socio-cultural bubble to be too judgmental of the fallacies of others. After all, in my "civilized" world all manner of evil is perpetrated in expensive offices on comfy leather chairs accompanied by drinks. Who needs to shoot someone when you can afford lawyers? Even so, there were some obvious theological errors to me. The first and most glaring: the absence of the cross. Jesus says we are saved by the cross, His and our own. If being saved by faith means being saved by becoming a disciple (and I think it does) then carrying our cross, in imitation of Him, is part of the process. Jesus says, "Unless you..." too many times for my comfort. There are definite expectations (some famous Pauline quotes aside) and most of them run counter to our natural inclinations!
Randall's faith did not overtly include "dying to self" or "forgiving the debts of others." His was an arrogant faith which demanded of others and spewed eternal judgment. It is never easy to forgive, whether scratching out an existence in rural Kentucky or living large in a penthouse in New York. (or somewhere inbetween like us!) Mercy is a God attribute which we can, at best, borrow from time to time. But a failure in mercy accompanied by a demand for justice (generally meaning 'getting even') has been the leading cause of endless blood feuds, whether on a small scare like Hatfield-McCoy or a grander scale like Ireland or Israel. There is something demonic about harboring memories of all past slights and offenses.
Two other issues which bear addressing:
"Where is the God of Justice?" I think the Bible is clear, He is watching and waiting. The "Day of the Lord" is something which is coming (and the prophets make clear it is not all good for ourside when it gets here!). Randall's question was answered long before his own personal misery added its existential angst. God long ago, soon after the beginning, when He had made us, handed over much of the enterprise to us. We battle on the planet to set things in order. Always have, always will. Choices for good and ill have consequences, and most of those unanticipated. God does not sit around pulling strings to make sure everything works out. He is not controlling every detail. He intervenes. That means much of what takes place (whether nature or us) is not directly His doing. In fact, He judges us. That is where the God of Justice is. He is watching us and determining if we act justly. So Randall, who helped create the blood feud, is the one standing before the Judge answering for his (in)justice. God is NOT under his scrutiny! In fact, the most arrogant aspect of Randall's Christianity is his insistence that God is answerable to him.
"You still pray?" I spent some weeks recently addressing the issue of prayer. The implication here is Prayer = Request. In such a scenario God answering our requests is the purpose of prayer. Hence, if you ask for stuff and you do not get it, prayer is useless. While there is every reason to include requests as prayer, the Christian journey implies a much deeper understanding of prayer. If Randall had truly prayed, he would have come into the presence of the Heavenly Father seeking "Thy will be done." Instead, he embraced my will be done.The proper answer to his wife should have been, "yes, I am praying, this situation is awful and my own sin has helped create it and sustain it. I am praying for mercy and guidance." Some day God will rule, some day His kingdom will come, some day His will will be done. Some day, but not today and not then, in the hills of Kentucky and West Virginia.
I do not know much about the real Randal McCoy. I know the History Channel modeled their tv character on him. And I know the tv character provided much fodder for thought and reflection as I assess the true meaning of faith, prayer and discipleship. I hope I do not end up a drunken unbeliever. I know that path is available to anyone who gets the questions and answers wrong. I know the struggle and the challenge of doubt. I know it is a journey, a journey of faith.
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