Genocide and the Gospel
A 13-year-old bloodstained altar cloth represented both the devastation of genocide and the hope of the gospel to Jim Coffield, a Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS)/Orlando counseling professor who led an eight-person team to Rwanda in November. “The level of brutality and devastation they have suffered is unspeakable,” said Coffield.
More than 8,000 people had huddled in a church for shelter before the militia burst in and killed the entire group with machetes, resulting in so much carnage that the altar cloth—suspended two feet off the floor—was drenched in blood. (Hundreds of thousands Rwandans were killed in a 100-day genocide in 1994.)
But what is most remarkable is the courage and resiliency demonstrated by the Rwandan people, says Coffield. “In America, we demand God to justify Himself, but here people are trusting God to redeem this tragedy more than they are trying to make sense of it.”
More than 8,000 people had huddled in a church for shelter before the militia burst in and killed the entire group with machetes, resulting in so much carnage that the altar cloth—suspended two feet off the floor—was drenched in blood. (Hundreds of thousands Rwandans were killed in a 100-day genocide in 1994.)
But what is most remarkable is the courage and resiliency demonstrated by the Rwandan people, says Coffield. “In America, we demand God to justify Himself, but here people are trusting God to redeem this tragedy more than they are trying to make sense of it.”
Coffield’s team of RTS students, graduates, and several New Covenant Church members spent 10 days listening to the stories of Rwandans and learning from them.
“The gospel clearly speaks against prejudice and genocide,” said Coffield, “just as it upholds the dignity of all humans as image bearers of God. And the gospel offers radical reconciliation—it’s only possible to forgive others if you have a sense of your own need.”
Extraordinarily, recent events in Rwanda seem to have created fertile ground for the gospel to grow. “The president of Rwanda is speaking about reconciliation and wrestling with how to live as redemptively as possible,” said Coffield. “It’s just like God to start a revival in one of the most unlikely places.”
“The gospel clearly speaks against prejudice and genocide,” said Coffield, “just as it upholds the dignity of all humans as image bearers of God. And the gospel offers radical reconciliation—it’s only possible to forgive others if you have a sense of your own need.”
Extraordinarily, recent events in Rwanda seem to have created fertile ground for the gospel to grow. “The president of Rwanda is speaking about reconciliation and wrestling with how to live as redemptively as possible,” said Coffield. “It’s just like God to start a revival in one of the most unlikely places.”
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