[cicero's_son]

What would God be more happy with - that we protected a human life or we protected a thing of the world.

I'm sympathetic to this argument, but I believe it frames the whole issue unfairly. Given the choice between a human life and "a stupid clay pot," who wouldn't choose to protect the life?

Do you remember about 8 months ago when the Palestinian terrorists were holed up in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem? At the time, there was a vocal group on FR--Christians, no less--who were saying "To hell with the church, it's just a bunch of old stones and mortar anyway. Bomb it, kill the terrorists inside, and ensure that they never take another innocent Israeli life."

But the Israeli government, thank God, didn't see it that way. It was a false choice, just as I believe the choice between American troops' lives and old Mesopotamian pots is a false choice.

[7thson]

Well, this is one area where we part company - opinion wise. What if those terrorists started popping off priests in that church - would you be so willing to let them die in order to protect the building? I would not. When we hold on too dearly onto this world and what is of this world, we lose the next one.