WWJD?
Millions of people turned out for Bush on election day, and a sizable chunk of them are Christian. And it started me to thinking: What would Jesus have said to do in response to 9/11?
And the only answer I can come up with is to turn the other cheek.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m not saying this is the smart thing, or even the right thing to do under the circumstances. But – and please, correct me if I’m wrong – isn’t it the Christian thing to do? Should we be seeking retribution, or even justice, for this? Isn’t that God’s job?
I haven’t read a whole lot of the Bible, so maybe I’m missing some nuance. But if I’m right, then why haven’t I heard any clergy advocating this course of action? Why haven’t any of our Christian politicians, including the President, try to stop this cycle of violence?
I know part of the answer – “Because the real world doesn’t work that way.” And I can see the point. But isn’t one of the tenets of Fundamentalist Christianity that the real world DOES work the way the Bible says it does? That Jesus’s way is the only way into heaven?
If so, how do they live with themselves?
(And if not, what am I missing in the equation? I'm not just trying to stir up trouble. I’m genuinely curious.)
Rob
P.S. Yes, Jeri, your book really did a number on me.
Thursday, November 04, 2004
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3 comments:
Rob,
Christians mostly cite the Just War Theory of St. Thomas Aquinas. See this for details.
Personally I think it's just a means for Christians to rationalize war and their faith.
Thanks, Rob, for your comment on the book. I hope a lot more people get to read it someday and realize that there is such a thing as the Christian Left. We think Jesus is just swell, by golly, and we throw a mean Pancake Supper.
One thing that was cool about him was his universalism. He was concerned for his people, true, but made clear that the whole world was free to enter the kingdom of heaven.
One difference between conservatives and liberals is that conservatives seem to view non-Americans as lower forms of life, who either need to be saved from themselves (by missionaries or airstrikes), ridiculed ("Gimmee some Freedom Fries!"), or dismissed (as in those news reports that are always careful to mention how many Americans died in the latest tragedy).
Liberals, OTOH, seem to believe that the life of an Iraqi citizen or a Sudanese refugee has the same worth--in God's eyes, at least--as any random dude from East Orange.
As to WWJD in response to 9/11, that's tough. Turning the other cheek isn't the same as lying down and writing "Welcome" on your chest. He always stepped in when he saw injustice being done, like when they were stoning the woman for adultery. But it's hard to extrapolate from those times to now. Sometimes the answer to WWJD? is "Dunno. How 'bout we figure it out for ourselves?"
Thanks for all your comments... it's given me a lot of food for thought.
Rob
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