Posted on 12/10/2005 9:38:53 AM PST by emiller
Christians of strong religious faith and sound moral conscience often end up in disagreement. Human affairs are a messy business, unfortunately, and even at the best of times we only see through a glass, darkly.
It is hard for that reason to call Christians to a universal standard of behavior. At this moment, however, we cannot afford to dilute the message of Jesus into meaningless ambiguity. There are certain acts that a follower of Jesus simply cannot accept. Here is one: A Christian cannot justify the torture of a human being.
The practice of torture by American soldiers is a hot topic at the Pentagon, in the Congress, and in the White House at the moment. The U.S. Senate already has passed 90-9 a bill that prohibits "cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment" of prisoners in U.S. custody. The lead advocate of the bill, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), was tortured by his captors during the Vietnam War. According to The New York Times, the Pentagon adopted a policy last Thursday to rein in interrogation tech
(Excerpt) Read more at beliefnet.com ...
That's OK. "Of a human being". And if one defines "human being" by behavior and not by anatomy, then the whole topic becomes moot.
I read this somewhere on FR and have adopted it as a means to drive pro-abortion liberals nuts:
Torture should be safe, legal, and rare.
There. Perfect synergy.
Apparently tying millstones around peoples neck and throwing them in the sea is not torture.
Ok, I can live with that.
What if the "human being" in question were a known criminal/terrorist that we knew possessed info that, if revealed, could be used to save the lives of countless innocent human beings? .....and no other methods were working?
"Gentle Jesus, Meek and Mild" isn't the Jesus of the Bible.
"... when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed..." - 2 Thes 2
Thanks for making my day!
And dont forget the fact that Jesus fashioned a WHIP and BEAT the money changers in the temple.
Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
Matt 10:34
Real Christians understand the idea of 'his terrible swift sword'. They understand what must be done to evil ones. They understand that Jesus is One so utterly powerful and destructive, we should all be cowering.
Torture?, no, but He will rule with a rod of iron in the next age.
Jesus never protested against "torture", even when he himself was about to be on the business end of the lash. Liberals promote a disneyfied form of Christianity that needs to be confronted.
I like the Jesus version of waterboarding
with a millstone around the neck and cast into the sea.
"David Batstone is executive editor of Sojourners magazine."
More info. about the leftist religious group "The Sojourners":
http://www.discoverthenetwork.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=7018
and Sojourners founder, Jim Wallis:
http://www.discoverthenetwork.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=1833
(thanks to writer David Horowitz and Frontpagemag.com for the info.)
It's just not an easy answer. No, torture is not Christian. I agree. But neither is terrorism. Neither is weakness turned accomplice that stands back and watches the innocent die. Frankly, your basic justice system isn't all that Christian. It is OT judgment. Eye for an eye sort of stuff. The law must be applied equally. We don't forgive people in the legal world until they themselves have paid their own debt. There are no substitutions, no grace, no mercy. (Except for legal pardons.)
You can't apply a "turn the other cheek" ethic to terrorists unless it is your own personal cheek they are after. Otherwise you are basically joining up with them by aiding and abetting via weakness and inaction. I do not think Jesus would turn his back on innocents being terrorized, certainly not in the name of turning his OWN cheek.
It would be better if we never had to use torture to gain information. But I really can't see how that's possible when you are dealing with terrorists. Rules only work when both sides keep them. I don't like it at all. But do we let everyone else die rather than use torture? That's the game we are playing with these insane people.
Even if one were to consider the Christian Virtues of Humility and Charity in the context of interpersonal relationships, Paul makes it clear that we are "to submit to authority" and he also makes it clear that "authority has the responsibility of safety of the group" and that as Christians we "submit to that authority" in collectively defending our community and nation. The contention that because we are Christian we should submit to abuse is a lie perpetrated by the "Father of Lies". Nice try, but no cigar.
To suggest that "the Chritian thing" is to allow evil men to murder millions is a very twisted perspective of Christianity pormmoted only by those who either don't understand Christianity or are purposefully trading in lies.
The entire population of hell.
Next question
I like it
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