Sunday Morning Message: Reflection on our "collateral damage"

[checks-n-balances]

Saw F-9/11 last night and was bowled over with emotion (hope to say more about the film another time). I knew a lot of the facts before that, but seeing actual footage was much more powerful.

Some of the most gut-wrenching scenes and profound statements in F-9/11 concerned the injuries and deaths of Iraqi citizens. Except for recent coverage and revelations about Abu Ghraib, it is ironic that in this "age of information", Americans have seen and heard less about "enemy casualties" now than we did on our "television sets" during the Vietnam War.

On the other hand, one topic that is more openly shown and discussed (or that some feel is being foisted upon the public) since Vietnam is the topic of religion - Christianity in particular. And one theme repeated by the Religious Right is the insistance that "America is a Christian Nation." IMHO, they "know not what they do" - not just because that is a dubious claim, but with the world knowing that GWB in the White House professing Christianity, our nation will be judged by other nations worldwide on the basis of that claim. (Not that many in the Religious Right care what the rest of the world thinks!)

There has been periodic discussion of religion - Christianity in particular - on this board with regard to the Religious Right vs. the teachings of Jesus. For those interested in that topic, or even if you don't consider yourself religious/spiritual, here are some related thoughts that could be applied to footage from Iraq used by Michael Moore's film:

The Big Lie
by Vernon S. Broyles III

http://www.pcusa.org/today/department/church-society/church-society.htm

There is one blatant lie against which the church must cry out unequivocally. It is the result of managed media, "imbedded" reporters, and "news" conferences given a "spin" intended to comfort us that there have been only a few casualties and that we are "winning." That "big lie" is the systematic pattern of ignoring Iraqi casualties and understating U.S. casualties.

<snip>

The "big lie" suggests that only U.S. casualties are worth counting. "Enemy" dead are just that, along with unfortunate non-combatants, officially referred to as "collateral damage."

We who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ have been commanded to love our enemies. That does not necessarily prohibit the use of force in the face of evil. It does mean that the moment we name our "enemy" we have identified the one whom Christ has commanded us to love. Every "enemy" is a child of God for whom Christ died, and even those killed in war must not be written off simply as "enemy dead."

It is natural to grieve in a special way for our own loved ones who are the victims of war. But it is arrogance of the highest order to believe that our own dead are more precious to God than the Iraqis whose lives have been lost.

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So, to those Americans with the belief that this administration takes its cues from Christianity:

The footage and the facts (as well as the shielding of the public from the truth), combined with the words of Jesus, raise a glaring contradiction between words and deeds, and pretty much blow the "Christian nation" claim out of the water.

[Loki]

1. I too saw F9-11 last night

with the same reaction. My anger is also directed towards those in this country who have not spoken out forcefully, and that is the heads of the major churches. Where has their outrage been? Christian philosophy has been hijacked by the evangelical right, and twisted and tortured into this idea of a "Christian nation" which has no basis in the kind of Christianity that I am familiar with. I am heartened to see the Presbyterians taking a stand and speaking out. Now I want to hear from leaders of the Methodists, the Episcopalians ,Lutherans, Church of Christ, Catholics - where are your voices of outrage? It's not only time to take our country back, it's time to take our religion back.

[checks-n-balances]

2. I know there are other mainline leaders who have been speaking out

but many have been condemned by their fellow conservatives in the pew for being "too liberal". Besides, they are totally ignored by the media today, unless their names are Jerry Falwell, James Dobson, or Pat Robertson.

However, I'll post any others if I have time today. Thanks for your comments.

Just found this quote in NYT today from an interview with Ron Reagan:

If you are going to call yourself a Christian -- and I don't -- then you have to ask yourself a fundamental question, and that is: Whom would Jesus torture? Whom would Jesus drag around on a dog's leash? How can Christians tolerate it?

It is unconscionable. It has put our young men and women who are over there, fighting a war that they should not have been asked to fight --it has put them in greater danger.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/27/magazine/27QUESTIONS.html

Well said, Ron.

[struggle4progress]

3. Churches should speak truth to power. Thanks. eom