[NCSteve]

Sorry, the Pope is not a Jew.

"Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away."

None of this is to say that one cannot defend one's self, but retribution, preemptive or otherwise is not a Christian concept.

[pandoraou812]

I know he isn't a Jew just like you knew a woman couldn't be a Pope. I just thought it was interesting. What I want to know is do you think truly that the Muslims will ever turn Christian? I had had people tell me on here if they did that the war would cease. I just think some of the extremist Islamics are too far gone to talk any sense to. I wish it was otherwise and I pray that there will be world peace someday . But I still say I would rather keep my head then lose it to them. I pray for the Pope's safety and his vision.

[Mark Felton]

"None of this is to say that one cannot defend one's self, but retribution, preemptive or otherwise is not a Christian concept."

Pre-emptive strikes are certainly justified when an enemy has decalred himself hostile and to give him time is to give him greater power to strike and kill you.

Policemen do not wait for an armed robber to pull a trigger before shooting them dead. Simply having a gun and showing willingnes to use it is enough to kill them.

Same for Iraq. Hussein was an enemy that vowed to retaliate. he should have been destroped in 1991 not waiting 12 years for him to get stronger and plan new ways to kill Americans.

Thomas Jefferson supported pre-emption, as well.