Remind Me Again?

It appears that there was quite the discussion between Jerry Falwell and Jesse Jackson on CNN Sunday night. The transcript is not out yet, but those who saw it are reporting that part of it went something like this;

Falwell said that when it comes to terrorists, President Bush should "blow them all away in the name of the Lord."

Jesse Jackson responded, "That does not sound Biblical to me. That sounds ridiculous."

Is Falwell in General Boykin's army now?

Satan wants to destroy this nation, he wants to destroy us as a nation, and he wants to destroy us as a Christian army. They will only be defeated if we come against them in the name of Jesus.

And from whom does this "Warrior for Jesus" takes his orders?

George Bush was not elected by a majority of the voters in the US. He was appointed by God.

I have to agree with Jesse. This stuff is ridiculous. And tragic. Over 15,000 innocent Iraqi civilians have died, for a war based on falsehoods. It is an outrage as well. These murders are being committed in the name of God.

Here is where this blood lust in the name of God has led Karen Horst Cobb;

No Longer a Christian

I was told in Sunday school the word "Christian" means to be Christ-like, but the message I hear daily on the airwaves from the “christian ” media are words of war, violence, and aggression. Throughout this article I will spell christian with a small c rather than a capital, since the term (as I usually hear it thrown about) does not refer to the teachings of the one I know as the Christ. I hear church goers call in to radio programs and explain that it was a mistake not to kill every living thing in Fallujah. They quote chapter and verse from the old testament about smiting the enemies of Israel. The fear of fighting the terrorists on our soil rather than across the globe causes the voices to be raised as they justify the latest prison scandal or other accounts of the horrors of war . The words they speak are words of destruction, aggression, dominance, revenge, fear and arrogance. The host and the callers echo the belief in the righteousness of our nation's killing. There are reminders to pray for our “christian” president who is doing the work of the Lord: Right to Life, Second Amendmendment, sanctity of marriage, welfare reform, war, kill, evil liberals. . . so much to fight, so much to destroy...

...Who will show the face of Christ to the world? Who will speak His radical message? I hear from these so called imitators of Christ that the pacifists are a collection of kids, hippies, socialists and communists who haven’t got a clue. Some of us, however, have come to our beliefs as a result of careful and prayerful study of the scriptures and admonishment from our elders. Many are Mennonite, Amish, Quaker and other Anabaptists, whose ancestors did not resist their torturers and were drowned, burnt at the stake and flogged for their pacifist stand. They truly followed the example of Christ, and their resistance against the catastrophic effects of the merging of church and state cost them a great price. Churches today have signed onto the government plan and have agreed to look the other way in exchange for tax free privileges. The true message of Christ still exists to some degree in the quiet of the land to peacemakers, but sadly these good people have been deceived by the angry words from a righteous sounding religious media majority broadcasting in cars and trucks and tractors all over our land ironically preaching the “good news of war for peace“ and convincing 24-7 “liberal“ bashing. I suspect there are many who share my sorrow at the loss of what it means to be Christ-like, but our voice is seldom heard. The blaring rhetoric drowns out the still small voice of the mighty God. Peace used be the opposite of war, Conservative used to mean the tendency to conserve resources. Liberal used to mean kind and generous, and Christian used to mean like Christ.

So I am no longer a christian but just a person who continues trying to follow the example of Christ. I’ll let him call me what he wants when I see him face to face. Until then, I will pray that someday people like me will be able to reclaim the meaning of Christ’s identity, and the world will see the effects of the radical message of Christ‘s love--the perfect love that casts out fear.

I would imagine that there are many who would agree with Karen. Our God has been stolen. Jesus has been replaced by Rambo as the god of these times. It is enough to decide that I also can no longer claim to be a Christian.

I won't go that far quite yet. I'm still convinced that there is a silent majority of Christians who are just as outraged by this indiscriminate waste of human lives. I think it is time we break the silence. I think it is time to speak up, if not yet with our voices, then with our vote.

Morrigan's Web asks a question that I think needs to be asked over and over again, until we get an honest answer;

Remind me again; why did we invade Iraq?

J.