Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Kill 'Em All, Let God Sort 'Em Out
This week over at Antiwar.com, Dr. Teresa Whitehurst tries to figure out "Why Are Some American Christians So Bloodthirsty?" She makes the excellent point that many conservative Christians have redefined "morality" to cover only sex and nothing else.
Along the same lines, albeit a bit more purple, Adam Nicolson of The Age (in Australia) suggests that one group of American Christians finds in the chaos of the Middle East precisely what they've waited all their lives to see:
Recommended Reading: With one week to go, I am meeting more and more people who are saying they wish the election would just come and go already. Well, it's already begun, and it won't be over a week from today, either. Andrew Gumbel of Britain's Independent newspaper reported over the weekend on the voting irregularities that have already appeared across the United States, and the likely meltdown to come. Gumbel reminds readers that there's a limited window for the post-election chaos to play out--until the scheduled meeting of the Electoral College in December. If legal controversies remain unresolved at that point, state legislatures could simply appoint slates of electors, disregarding the popular vote. Florida threatened to do this in 2000, and I'm betting some state legislature somewhere will actually do it this year.
There's more on the campaign in Salon from Iowa, on the ground in Davenport, where The Mrs. and I lived for 10 years.
This week over at Antiwar.com, Dr. Teresa Whitehurst tries to figure out "Why Are Some American Christians So Bloodthirsty?" She makes the excellent point that many conservative Christians have redefined "morality" to cover only sex and nothing else.
By restricting any discussion of morality to sexual behavior, right-wing politicians have obliterated the once-central Christian teaching that the way we teach others is of paramount importance to God. Cleverly "working the room," pro-war politicians have infiltrated churches to such a degree that killings and torture are no longer within the province of morality. When morality is only about sex, no aspect of war--even the killing of entire families--can arouse criticism, much less condemnation.In other words, if you're not playing slap-and-tickle with White House interns, you are therefore "moral," and anything else you do is not worth evaluating for its moral content.
Along the same lines, albeit a bit more purple, Adam Nicolson of The Age (in Australia) suggests that one group of American Christians finds in the chaos of the Middle East precisely what they've waited all their lives to see:
Violence is feeding violence. The Abu Ghraib pictures, the rounding up and detaining of thousands of civilians and the cockpit-shot film of an American pilot firing missiles into the streets of Fallujah: all of that has fuelled and will fuel decades of future rage and resentment.And millions of them are determined to keep in office the president who will continue the violence, which is reason enough to be apprehensive about the election. How apprehensive are you? Be sure to vote in the new Useless Web Poll.
The Americans have effectively created a second Palestine, in which they are now playing the part of the Israelis themselves.
But for any Christian who is driven by an apocalyptic and millennial vision, these events are exactly what should be happening. Terrible and desperate violence, blood and grief are all, for them, mile posts on the road to God's dominion. The more there are, the better it is.
Recommended Reading: With one week to go, I am meeting more and more people who are saying they wish the election would just come and go already. Well, it's already begun, and it won't be over a week from today, either. Andrew Gumbel of Britain's Independent newspaper reported over the weekend on the voting irregularities that have already appeared across the United States, and the likely meltdown to come. Gumbel reminds readers that there's a limited window for the post-election chaos to play out--until the scheduled meeting of the Electoral College in December. If legal controversies remain unresolved at that point, state legislatures could simply appoint slates of electors, disregarding the popular vote. Florida threatened to do this in 2000, and I'm betting some state legislature somewhere will actually do it this year.
There's more on the campaign in Salon from Iowa, on the ground in Davenport, where The Mrs. and I lived for 10 years.
