Friday, October 29, 2004

confessing christ in a time of war...

jeff was just over and we talked about how sad it is that someone such as jerry falwell is representing 'christian' views of this war... below is a quote from him...

“But you’ve got to kill the terrorists before the killing stops. And I’m for the president to chase them all over the world. If it takes 10 years, blow them all away in the name of the Lord.”—Jerry Falwell, CNN Late Edition, October 24, 2004

wow... it breaks my heart that people actually think this... and 'in the name of the Lord'?... wow...

sojourners had posted this response... here's some of it below...

200 Christian Leaders Condemn a ‘Theology of War’. In their statement “Confessing Christ in a World of Violence,” more than 200 theologians and ethicists—many from leading evangelical institutions— wrote: “A ‘theology of war,’ emanating from the highest circles of American government, is seeping into our churches as well.... The roles of God, church, and nation are confused by talk of an American ‘mission’ and ‘divine appointment’ to ‘rid the world of evil.’” They continued: “In this time of crisis, we need a new confession of Christ.”

■Jesus Christ knows no national boundaries.

■Christ commits Christians to a strong presumption against war. Christians have a responsibility to count the cost, speak out for the victims, and explore every alternative before a nation goes to war.

■Christ commands us to see not only the splinter in our adversary’s eye, but also the beam in our own.

■Christ shows us that love of enemy is the heart of the gospel.

■Christ teaches us that humility is the virtue befitting forgiven sinners.

■We reject the false teaching that a war on terrorism takes precedence over ethical and legal norms.

■We reject the false teaching that America is a “Christian nation,” representing only virtue, while its adversaries are nothing but vicious.

■We reject the false teaching that any human being can be defined as outside the law’s protection, and the demonization of perceived enemies, which only paves the way to abuse.

■We reject the false teaching that those who are not for the United States politically are against it or that those who fundamentally question American policies must be with the “evil-doers.”

1 comment:

ViktorEE said...

Interesting post. I am a member of a future (political) party. They've been discussing over a few years. I'm a relativily new member. We're now working on nailing down where we should stand on a few issues as a united party. Please feel free to read the posts so far and offer any observations you wish to express.
3rdparty.org

I also host a blog that offers an open discussion for progressive thinkers.

Good luck with your blog.