Adam, the Little Christian Boy Who Confronted Islamic Terrorists

By Michael Terheyden
12/14/2010
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

He was small in height and mind (being only three), yet he stood up to the terrorists and gave the world a message that it desperately needs. He showed us what it means to "Be not afraid" in the face of overwhelming evil. In contrast to the utter destruction of evil, he showed us the beauty and goodness of a child - and human life.

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Attack on church in Iraq

Three-year-old Adam murdered on October 31, 2010. Photo found at Christians For Iraq.

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KNOXVILLE, TN (Catholic Online) - We have passed the one month anniversary of the terrorist attack on the Syrian Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of Deliverance in Baghdad. Close to 60 innocent people were killed and 75 more wounded while they were attending Mass that day on October 31st. The dead included children and two priests. Given the genocidal attacks against Catholics in Iraq in recent years, these victims are martyrs for the faith.

What stands out most for me about that day is a story that Cardinal George told during his final address to the Catholic Conference of Bishops in mid-November about a little boy who confronted the terrorists. This powerful story reminds me of our failure to confront the reality of evil, but it also reminds me of hope.

On that tragic day, "three-year-old Adam witnessed the horror of dozens of deaths, including that of his own parents. He wandered among the corpses and the blood, following the terrorists around and admonishing them, 'enough, enough, enough.' According to witnesses, this continued for two hours until Adam was himself murdered." That is all I know about Adam, but I cannot get his story out of my head. I believe Adam gave us a message for the whole world.

The reason I believe Adam gave us a message is because what he did and said seems so unnatural to me. I find it incomprehensible that a three-year-old child could witness so much death around him, even his mother and father, and then follow the murderers amongst the carnage admonishing them for hours. I would think that most children would be frozen with fear or hysterical, but Adam was not. Rather, out of the mouth of this brave little child came the words of pure truth.

When I first read these words "enough, enough, enough," I sensed that they were exactly what needed to be said, that they were divinely inspired. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says, "When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you" (10:19-20).

In a certain sense, Adam was handed over that day. As a result, I believe this innocent child was inspired and given what to say, that the Holy Spirit spoke through him. I even imagine that the purpose of Adam's short life was fulfilled to a certain extent in those surreal moments leading up to and culminating in his martyrdom. With these thoughts in mind, I feel compelled to try to understand the message, especially as it may pertain to Catholics in America.

Clearly, the message has meaning on more than one level. On the most obvious and immediate level, Adam was telling the terrorists in the Church that day to stop the killing. On another level, we can easily envision Adam telling terrorists to stop the genocide of Catholics in Iraq; but this can be expanded, as Cardinal George noted, to include all persecuted Christians throughout the Middle East, in India and Pakistan, in China and in Vietnam, and in Sudan and African countries. On the most general level, perhaps Adam is telling all of us to look at evil for what it truly is, and avoid doing evil.

This final message may seem obvious, but it is not at all obvious in an age when people think they can decide what is good and evil. Take Frances Kissling. She was president of the National Abortion Federation and president of Catholics for Choice (an anti-Catholic organization) for many years. At present, she is a Visiting Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania Center for Bioethics. Wanting to justify killing the unborn, at a conference on abortion in October, she said, "We have to get rid of the 'idea' of evil" (emphasis added).

Notice, she does not really want to get rid of evil; she merely wants to justify abortion, which she knows kills children. Thus, we are speaking about moral evil. Also note that this kind of tactic seems to be a pattern for those who want to move away from traditional Christian morality and toward a secular state. This tactic is called moral relativism, though it can go by other names.

Moral relativism is an ethical philosophy. The Catholic philosopher and author Peter Kreeft contrasts this modern philosophy with the traditional view of morality. He says relativism treats moral laws as man-made rules like the rules of a game that children play. But if we create these rules, then we can also change them. Although it is more involved, this comment shows us that moral relativism has no solid foundation.

On the other hand, the traditional view holds that moral laws are not rules but laws based on our nature that we discover, like the laws of science. This helps explain why we say that moral laws are grounded in objective reality, which is a solid foundation, and why they are referred to as the natural law (however, all natural law is ultimately grounded in God). ...

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1 - 10 of 31 Comments

shaninjukskei
6 months ago
hi all please dont worship the creation worship the Creator Adam is to young to know fear unless it was invested in him but God Himself spoke through Adam because we are the Body of Chris, lets continue to be the hands and feet of Jesus, because thats what christianity means being Chris like even if we are persecuted we should keep our eyes on Heaven not on the things of this earth
JONAS EHIOGU
2 years ago
Christians must not be judgemental and must have open arms to forgive and endure for so he did on the cross. Remember they chose a murderer and a thief over him and nothing has changed since then.
David
2 years ago
What is really sad is that our President, our Congress and our citizens never spoke out against this heinous crime. The elitists and idealogues will never speak out against these terrorists yet they attack christians in this country with such ferocity. Does anyone remember the Larry David episode on HBO where Larry urinated on a picture of Christ. This cowardly,
disgusting gesture would never be directed at any other religion. My concern is that people are so blinded by their own distorted ideology that they are incapable of seeing reality. I'm reminded of a great saying that states-we see things not as they are but as we are-our prejudices and ideology blind us. Evil will thrive and grow as long as we fail to confront Evil.
And for those who behave indifferently toward Evil, they by ommission abet and sponsor
Evil.
happygael
2 years ago
Adam little tiger pray for all of us.
albert
2 years ago
We who are called christians,have to be aware and see the true life of our Lord and Saviour,dying on the cross for us...and in some cases we too will die ,it is scary and hard but with the assurance of the resurrection of the life in Christ which we will enjoy, yes it is scary but by God , God is worth it,we have to become champions of our faith,not by words but deeds and sometimes these deeds can cost us our very lives....as in the case in Iraq...we have to thankful and not take for granted our freedom of worhship...I pray we as people of God will rise up and make a difference in this world,because God wants to use every one of us in his perfect plan..pray for our priests,they that they can continue to be truly holy,and ready to die if called but that is conversation to many,their blood and lives would not go to waste,but our God will use this for conversations....God's plan is perfect..so we have to try to become more holy and the Father is Holy...this story brought tears to my eyes because God uses who he wills for his plan for salvation.......Pray for our brothers in sisters in countries where they are persecuted,becase they need our prayers
Catherina
2 years ago
So sad the people fight in the name of religion. God is love and is above all religions. Every one should respect and love each other not hate. Everybody should be brothers and I hope and pray that happens . I hope Adam prays for love to encompass the world.
Amanda
2 years ago
Let's hold those accountable for the murder of precious Adam. The United Christian Coaliation is sponsoring a petition against those who committed the massacre on that fateful day. We will not let this one go, they must be help accountable. Thousands of signatures you can see. Please sign at: http://www.petitiononline.com/UCC2010/petition.html
Mary
2 years ago
The words of little Adam echoes throughout the world telling all murderers, especially those who murder unborn babies in their mothers' wombs, that they have shed enough innocent blood. Adam's words are an indictment to all merchants of death. More so, the Catholics in America and elsewhere who support abortion. Yes, this martrydom of little Adam and the Catholic Faithful killed in that Church exposes the doctrine of Islam. To them, all of us are kafirs and infidels and unfit to live. And so, they have intensified persecution of Catholics in many Muslim countries and in India as well. How sad that they commit these atrocities against Christians in the name of God.
Justin
2 years ago
Wow, I haven't read an inspiring story quite like this ever. Icons will be made of little Adam in the coming centuries and I want one for my icon corner. While i should feel sad I do not, not because his death isn't tragic but because he was so courageous in standing up all alone to face his enemies at such a young age and amidst all the carnage. Truly this little boy is enjoying the Beatific Vision as we speak. Three years old? This is unbelievable.

Perhaps it is fitting to end with a quote by Pope innocent III of happy memory:

“How does a man love according to divine precept his neighbor as himself when, knowing that his Christian brothers in faith and in name are held by the perfidious Muslims in strict confinement and weighed down by the yoke of heaviest servitude, he does not devote himself to the task of freeing them? . . . Is it by chance that you do not know that many thousands of Christians are bound in slavery and imprisoned by the Muslims, tortured with innumerable torments?”

If there is any case for authentic ecumenism between the Orthodox and the Catholics it is the fact that we need a strong and united Christendom to stand up against the scourge of Islam that is rapidly rising up everywhere in Europe and will eventually come here to the US as well. A united Christendom defending its own by force if necessary probably could have saved Adam.
Edward.Fullerton
2 years ago
I shall pray for little,Adam.Adam pray for us and all innocents,Amen.

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