Wow! This topic is a verbal joust between the humanist and the warrior! Holmes, this world will never be perfect if we all love each other and roll up our sleeves like the Peace Corp. Why? Because Human nature is imperfect and NEVER will be. You may think that theology is but a dusty book of contradictions and ulterior motives, while the clear thinking non religious scientists that brought us bayer aspirin and celebrex are somehow going to eliminate religious conflicts, human oppression, and greed by eliminating outdated ideas in our heads. NEWS FLASH: We need a Savior!
Hangdawg writes:
Christianity places a premium on compassion and forgivness and turning the other cheek in all situations. Killing is always wrong except in warfare. And there it must be accomplished with maximum force and efficiency so as to save life in the long run. Neither you nor anyone else has demonstrated that Jesus' talk about turning the other cheek applies to warfare. In fact there is evidence that Jesus is not opposed to the military: He gave the Centurion a great compliment and mentioned nothing of his occupation of killing; Peter carried a sword with him and Jesus never discouraged this until Jesus was to be taken away to be tried; Jesus quoted from the OT (I can't remember if he quoted the psalms); Jesus claimed to be the same Lord of Hosts (armies) the OT who trained David's hands for battle and called David, the greatest warrior of his day, a man after God's own heart; Jesus said there will be wars and rumors of wars until I come; Jesus said to obey the government and give what is due (I suppose this applies to military service). Now don't tell me that being a Christian mandates that I must also be a pacifist.
Being a soldier in a free nation protecting that free nation is an honorable occupation and is compatible with Christianity.
Jesus, who is alive today, by the way, knows that all humans are imperfect. There will be wars and rumors of wars until the end of time. I suppose that in your secular humanist vision, humanity may someday come to its senses, eliminate ancient myths and fables which pit us against each other, and all work together under one world government to eliminate hunger, war, poverty, perhaps even by genetic engineering we will eliminate jealousy, greed, and pride! For those of us who know and love Jesus, however, we know that the world is an imperfect place and we know that the U.S. is also imperfect in many ways. One thing that we will not do is get rid of our belief for the sake of your humanist utopia.
What would YOU do if YOU were the one in charge? How would YOU handle Iraq? Send in the Peace Corp?
This message has been edited by Phatboy, 01-01-2005 02:25 AM
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