Leveraging the land or loving its people?

Ammon Bundy’s militia has occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon since January 2. The standoff with authorities continues despite the arrest of Bundy and 11 of his followers and the shooting death of LaVoy Finicum during a traffic stop last week, and despite Bundy’s pleas that the four remaining militia members leave the refuge. They insist that they will not leave until their comrades are released and everyone is pardoned.

These conservative Mormons have claimed that God told them to seize the land in defense of ranchers sentenced to jail time for setting fires on federal land. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has officially denounced Bundy’s claim to divine sanction, as well as his interpretations of the Book of Mormon. Though the territory this militia seized is an unoccupied wildlife refuge, its actions have caused much frustration for people living nearby. Oregon governor Kate Brown has demanded federal intervention.

Maybe the Malheur occupiers are truly motivated by their stated doctrinal rationale; maybe this is simply a pretext for more material aims. Either way they exemplify a problematic American tradition. American history is filled with examples of people who interpreted scripture, particularly the Old Testament covenantal history of Israel, to justify the seizure of land to promote freedom and flourishing.