the basic message #E270

7/12/04

Most Americans can remember the old Beatles song, "Give peace a chance", but how many Americans really want peace?  We live in a nation of laws and rules and, overall, that's a good thing.  After the Columbine High School massacre some years ago, school bullying came under the full scrutiny of the public.  The teenage gunmen at Columbine, among other things, had been subjected to abuse by bullies for quite some time.  Is there an American out there that believes that those boys had any right to take their fears and frustrations out on the bullies and whoever else got in the way?  I doubt it.  What about spousal abuse?  Hundreds of women are either killed or nearly-killed each year by ex-spouses.  If a man has proven he intends to harm his ex-wife, is it okay for her to kill him before he hurts her again?  Sometimes I wish it would be okay, but the fact is that according to our system of laws, she cannot.  She can get restraining orders and call the police every time he gets near, but once again, our laws prohibit any "preventive action" to curb the violence.  If you are awakened in the middle of the night to the sound of a burglar, can you shoot him?  Depending on the state, you might be able to, but I don't know of any state that allows you to go outside of your house and shoot at the burglar as he's leaving the scene.  I remember a case vividly from about 20 years ago in which an old man did indeed go outside of the warehouse he owned and shot a thief that had burglarized the old man's building several times before.  Not only did the old man shoot, he hit his target and the burglar was killed.  The old man went to prison since our laws state very clearly that after the imminent danger passes, we aren't allowed to use deadly force.

Do you ever find it strange that many countries have their own militaries, yet they seldom go to war?  Some might think that Italy, for example, might be reluctant to wage war on anyone since their military is small.  Have you considered that their military is small because they seldom go to war?  The United States is considered to be a military superpower, whatever that is.  When I was a kid, the enemy was the Communists.  You don't hear too much about communists anymore, but they still exist. As I've grown-up, the enemy has been Cuba, Vietnam (Vietcong), Libya, Iran, Iraq and Iraq again.  Although I started writing this in July of 2004, I'm finishing it up in October.  I watched the Presidential debate last week and the Vice-Presidential debate last night and one of the recurring topics is the war in Iraq.  Both sides can haggle all they want over whether or not we should have waged war on Iraq, but the fact of the matter is that both candidates are really of the same opinion on terrorists.  Kerry repeated at least twice that "we will hunt down the terrorists and kill them", and Edwards said the same thing at least once last night.  I find that statement rather strange.  A serial killer in Baton Rouge was finally found and arrested a few months ago, but while he was at large the city was fearful.  It was believed he had killed at least a few people, maybe more, but it was never said that "we will hunt down this murderer and kill him". 

Christian conservatives will frequently point out a passage from the Old Testament that supposedly gives us clearance to kill criminals.  Let's take a look:

Genesis 9
⁶ "Whoever sheds the blood of man,
by man shall his blood be shed;
for in the image of God
has God made man.

Let's now take a look at the same chapter, but we'll read the verses before and after verse 6:

Genesis 9
⁵ And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man.

⁶ "Whoever sheds the blood of man,
by man shall his blood be shed;
for in the image of God
has God made man.

⁷ As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it."

Okay, if you're still in favor of verse 6, are you equally in favor of verses 5 and 7?  It certainly sounds to me like anyone who sheds the blood of innocent people will have to answer to God directly.  At last count, over one hundred death-row inmates have been released from prison in the past few years due to new evidence, largely DNA, that has proven them innocent.  If our justice system is left to its own, we would continue to execute innocent people.  God tells us very clearly that he will demand an accounting for the life of our fellow man.  Many of you will protest, "John, in the process of making our country safer, we're going to make some mistakes and some innocent people might die as a result."  Don't explain it to me, work on what you plan to tell God.  Let's move on to verse 7.  If you adhere to verse 6, then you can't simply toss out 7, which tells us to be fruitful and increase in number.  God is giving a specific instruction for us to have children, and not just one or two- he's telling us to have plenty.  Are you or your family guilty of sinning against God by limiting your family to 1 or 2 children?  "But John, at the time that was written, the population of the world was tiny....God wanted us to inhabit the earth."  Okay, you're right, so please agree with me that when that was written, there was no system of police and prisons established.  In other words, if you don't have the ability to arrest and incarcerate murderers, what can you do?  Kill them.  It's a very dangerous thing to pick and choose your way through the Bible.  If you want to take everything literally, then do so, but don't be selective on your own accord.

Achieving peace as Jesus taught is a tough thing.  I once had a former pastor tell our church that "Jesus never intended for us to let people use us like a doormat".  My response was that, in fact, Jesus' teachings certainly do support the idea that we should do everything possible to keep the peace, including allowing ourselves to be used by others in sometimes humiliating ways.  You don't believe that?  Read on....

Matthew 5:39-41

³⁹But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. ⁴⁰And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. ⁴¹If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.

If we took the words our Savior spoke 2000 years ago and "Americanized" them, they might read like this:

"But I tell you, don't let an evil person get away with anything.  If someone strikes you on the right cheek, shoot them in the leg.  If someone wants to sue you and take your shirt, get a better lawyer and take his house.  If someone forces you to go one mile, call the cops and have them arrested for kidnapping, and then take them to court and sue them for everything they have."  Silly?  Sure, but no more silly than the way we "Christians" like to act like those we call "the lost".  Quite frankly, it's pretty darn tough to tell who's a Christian and who is lost these days.  What do you think Jesus sees when he looks down on us?