Peter Eavis Christian Soldiers
After hearing Bush's State of the Union address last night, many nonbelievers, as well as plenty of Christians, will be asking how the prez can talk with great fervor about his compassionate God, and yet be so keen to wage a war that could lead to the deaths of thousands of innocents. As a born-again, albeit an antiwar one, I'll have a go at parsing that.
First off, you have to realize how happy Christians are to have anyone in the White House talking God-talk, despite strict warnings in scripture not to worship Man. As a result, they will often tolerate a surprisingly large number of policies they don't agree with. For example, it was uplifting last night to see the world's most powerful man talking about supernatural miracles before millions of people. As an ex-addict freed by the Lord's power, Bush said the following with true feeling: "Tonight, let us bring to all Americans who struggle with drug addiction this message of hope: The miracle of recovery is possible, and it could be you."
But Iraq should present problems to anyone who takes "turning the other cheek" seriously. How can Bush, who so obviously knows God's love, want to engage in an attack that could cause great suffering for millions of dirt-poor, downtrodden Iraqis? Obviously, Bush thinks he's doing good. At some point, he decided that the possible gains to the American and Iraqi people from a war far outweigh the harmful consequences. I don't believe that to be the case—the suffering could be horrendous. Nor would an attack on Iraq constitute a just war, in my book. Also, the Bush administration, to its great discredit, is using war rhetoric for maximum domestic political effect. And you'd be deranged to think oil is not a significant motivating factor in its Mideast policy. Most importantly, the Pentagon's plans to rain down hundreds of cruise missiles in the first days of the war does not sit well with the part of Bush's speech that says: "we will fight in a just cause and by just means, sparing, in every way we can, the innocent."
However, I can't categorically say Bush has broken clear biblical teachings or laws by wanting to go after Saddam. As much as I hate to admit, much ultimately depends on how he conducts this conflict. Who knows, the second big miracle of Dubya's life could be an easy, relatively bloodless road to Baghdad. But then what? Send in Ann Coulter to convert the Ay-rabs, I guess.
__________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com