That Ain't Christian

They Ain't Christian

"We're entering a new era. Wars of the future are not going to fought like wars of the past." George W. Bush September 14, 2002

www.cnn.com/2002/US/09/14/iraq.bush.berlusconi/index.html

George W. Bush, who was elected by a minority that included the evangelical voting block, calls himself a born-again Christian and his White House staff includes many evangelical Protestants. President Bush says that in his own moments of religious contemplation he prays "for strength. I pray for guidance. I pray for forgiveness. And I pray to offer my thanks for a kind and generous Almighty God." President Bush believes he is a Christian by faith yet he is directing the War On Terror and the War On Drugs. Can anyone believe war is the answer and still profess to live the precepts of Christ’s teachings?

In the Old Testament God is portrayed as angry and vengeful. In the New Testament we find Christ’s ministry is about compassion and forgiveness. Christ had a spiritual vision that all laws must have a basis of love - laws cannot fulfill themselves - it is love that informs, enlightens and fulfills the laws.

The world's earliest codified law is the code of the Babylonian king Hammurabi (who reigned from 2213 to 2080 BC). Hammurabi had the law inscribed on an upright stone slab that today sits in Le Louvre. There were 282 laws craved onto the stele. The following are three of those laws that effectively convey the sentiment of all the laws:

196 If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out.

197 If a man breaks another man's bone, his bone shall be broken.

200 If a man knocks out the teeth of another man, his teeth shall be knocked out.

Hammurabi’s law is retribution in kind which prescribes proportional punishment for each offense and it was the prevailing ethic of that time in human history. Christ’s teachings were a total departure from Hammurabi’s law. Christ said "You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’. But I tell you, do not resist an evildoer. On the contrary, if anyone slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also” Matthew 5: 38 - 39. Christ’s message was about compassion and forgiveness and he said, "You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy’. But I tell you love your enemies and pray for those who persecute and despise you” Matthew 5: 43 – 44. Christ’s lesson is we must learn to love one another or we will destroy our civilization and ourselves. Christ’s message of compassion stands in stark contrast to President Bush’s assertion that he will preemptively strike any nation, group or person he deems a threat to the U.S.A.’s interests or security.

President Bush revels in the persona of a cowboy from Texas as evidenced by his comment on Osama bin Laden "There's an old poster out West that said, 'Wanted: Dead or Alive.'" The movie High Noon has the archetypal western movie plot. Gary Cooper is Hollywood's perfect hero, the very embodiment of integrity and strength. As the newly married town marshal he must balance an innate sense of justice and duty with loyalty to his beautiful new bride, who's a Christian and pacifist of the Quaker denomination, when a fearful town leaves him alone to face the Miller Gang. In order to create what Cooper envisions as a safer future for everyone he ignores his wife's entreaties and Christian principals, takes his gun and proceeds to kill the Millers. Giles Fraser, the vicar of Putney and lecturer in philosophy at Wadham College in Oxford, England says, "In American western movies Christianity is depicted as weak and ineffectual, something commonly practiced by women and wholly incapable of dealing with the challenges of the frontier ... For the cowboy Christian forgiveness and compassion aren't an option. Redemption only comes through violence."

Is it possible to apply Christ’s instruction to love one's enemies to the political arena? Let us consider what sages throughout history had to say about living Christ’s principals:

Mahatma Gandhi, the apostle of nonviolence said, "An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind."

John Lennon, the media mega star of Beatles fame, said, "We are trying to make Christ's message contemporary. We want Christ to win. What would he have done if he had advertisements, TV, records, films and newspapers? The miracle today is communication. So let's use it."

The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the champion of the American civil rights movement, said "The past is prophetic in that it asserts loudly that wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows. One day we must come to see that peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal. We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means. How much longer must we play at deadly war games before we heed the plaintive pleas of the unnumbered dead and maimed of past wars? "

Each of these men was assassinated which is the modern day equivalent of Christ’s execution on the cross. When Joseph’s brothers conspired against him they said, "Behold the dreamer. Let us slay him, and we will see what will become of his dreams." Genesis 37: 19-20. Is it possible to live by Christ’s precepts and survive? A better question is to ask if living a life without Christ’s precepts is worth living? Christ said, “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” Matthew 16: 26.

With his cowboy ethic, his lofty sense of moral certitude, and a biblical piety that’s syrupy and sentimental President Bush believes he and his ardent supporters are Christians but the facts belie such convictions. At the Sermon on the Mount Christ pronounced the Beatitudes or solemn blessings. Christ said, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God” Matthew 5: 9.