(America has the right) “to unilateral use of military power” to ensure “unihabitated access to key makets, energy supplies, and strategic resources.”
– Bill Clinton speaking to the United Nations – Sept. 27, 1993
“We have a choice, either to change the way we live, which is unacceptable, or to change the way they live, and we choose the latter.”
– Donald Rumsfield
(both as quoted in Everything Must Change)
I don’t know about anyone else, but this has really irked me the last couple days…
I read a chapter of Brian McLaren’s Everything Must Change and I can’t decide if I should throw the book across the room in disgust or quit working and join an anti-war protest. This suicidal machine he’s talked about is out of hand! Seriously – EVERYTHING must change.
McLaren paints a chilling comparison between suicide bombers in the Middle East and “religious leaders” in the U.S. in chp. 19 of his book.
Suicide bombers in the Middle East cry, “God is great!” as they blow their bodies – and those of innocent neighbors – to pieces. Religious leaders in the United States encourage presidents to “blow [enemies] away in the name of the Lord.”
After checking the book notes and reading further, I’m not sure I would call the U.S. leader a religious leader, but many people may say/argue that she is.
McLaren refers to Sam Harris, America’s leading atheist several times in his discussion on Armed Religion. Harris wrote a column after Sept. 11 that called religious leaders to task for the ways religion aids and abets the violent turn in human nature and society.
We have become, “increasingly deranged by our own religious certainty. We have a society in which 44 percent of the people claim to be either certain or confident that Jesus is going to come back out of the clouds and judge the living and the dead sometime in the next 50 years. It just seems transparently obvious that this is a belief that will do nothing to create a durable civilization.” … (if) the future is determined by God and predicted in a book, and it’s going to get worse and worse, so why try to work against the destruction that is predestined? As one famous evangelist put it, if the Titanic is destined to sink, why rearrange the deck chairs on it? Far better to man the lifeboats.
Is that the attitude we as Christians have taken? Are we so bent on Jesus coming back and “ridding the world of evil” that we simply don’t care to fight for what’s good and holy in the world any more? Are we more like the doomsday profits who are more interested in scaring everyone than the musicians on the Titanic who played their music until they went down with the ship?
Jesus seems to take a different approach to the war and doomsday framing story of His day – as well as the similar doomsday framing story of our day.
His cross doesn’t represent a “shock and awe” display of power as Roman crucifixions were intended to do, but rather represents a “reverence and awe” display of God’s willingness to accept rejections and mistreatment, and then to respond with forgiveness, reconciliation, and resurrection. In this kingdom, peace is not made and kept through the shedding of the blood of enemies, but the king himself sacrifices his blood to make a new kind of peace, offering amnesty to repentant rebels and open borders to needy immigrants.
This may have been the punch in the gut…
If, as Domnic Crossan says, the Roman motto is peace through victory, or peace through the destruction of enemies, or peace through domination… then for Jesus the motto is peace through nonviolent justice, peace through the forgiveness of enemies, peace through reconciliation, peace through embrace and grace. If in the violent narratives of Rome the victorious are blessed – which means that the most heavily armed, the most willing to kill, and the most aggressive ad dominant are blessed – then in the framing story of the kingdom of God, blessed are the meek, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, blessed are the peacemakers, and blessed are the those who are willing to suffer for doing good. In this light, these aren’t simply greeting card sentiments, but rather ways of starkly contrasting Jesus’ framing story with the narratives and counter narratives of His day… Following Jesus instead means forming communities that seek peace through justice, generosity and mutual concern, and a willingness to suffer persecution but refusal to inflict it on others.
McLaren goes on to talk about the U.S. and the Western war machine that we’ve created… but I’ll let you all mull on these thoughts for a while as I had to.
A Message from John Cleese
To the citizens of the United States of America:
In light of your failure to nominate competent candidates for President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately.
Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (except Kansas , which she does not fancy).
Your new prime minister, Gordon Brown, will appoint a governor for America without the need for further elections.
Congress and the Senate will be disbanded.
A questionnaire may be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed.
To aid in the transition to a British Crown Dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:
Continue reading Britain is Repossessing the U.S.A.
Just over 9 1/2 months ago I pledged my love to Laurie before God and man. Today that pledge rings truer than ever:
In the presence of God and before our family and friends, I choose you Laurie to be my wife and I promise you these things: I will laugh with you in times of joy, and comfort you in times of sorrow. I will share in your dreams, and support you as you strive to achieve your goals. I will listen to you with compassion and understanding, and speak to you with encouragement. I will help you when you need it, and step aside when you don’t. I will remain faithful to you for better or worse, in times of sickness and health. You are my best friend, and I will love and respect you always.
My love for you Laurie grows deeper each and every day. Laurie you are truly my best friend and I have and always will love you!
“In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person’s becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American…There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag… We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language… and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.”
Theodore Roosevelt 1907
Kevin Hendricks has some great thoughts on sharing our faith and beliefs with others. Sounds a lot like me…
I used to think obnoxious but true statements were a great way to tell people about my faith. I’d buy T-shirts plastered with them, bumper stickers proclaiming them, even music centered around them. I was very proud of my boldness.
But I didn’t realize how completely ineffective it was. I didn’t realize that instead of opening a door of conversation, I was kicking in the door and slapping the owner in the face–and expecting them to be grateful.
It’s kind of embarrassing when I think back on it. I’ve since realized (and am continually reminded) that is no way to change minds.
You Need a Connection
Bumper stickers don’t convince anyone. They’re intended to be inspirational–a rallying cry for the troops–not conversional (can I make up that word?). At best they’re confrontational–and how effective is confrontation from a total stranger?If you really want to change someone’s mind, you need a relationship, a connection, a story. And if you really hope to change someone’s mind, you better be prepared to have your own mind changed. Perhaps not your core convictions changed, but your assumptions, your judgments, your impressions will be changed. It has to be a two-way street, otherwise you’re not listening.