Tuesday, 12 June 2012
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War in the Name of the Lord: Who Does Jesus Stand With?
By EowynThe horrific "Dirty Wars" of Argentina ran from about 1976 to 1983. During that time, Argentina was ruled by a military junta led by General Jorge Rafael Videla. Under General Videla's direction an estimated 30,000 Argentinians were labeled terrorists and "disappeared." Terrorists, according to General Videla, were not people who set off bombs but "(people) whose ideas are contrary to Christian Western civilization."
In General Videla's attempt to defend "Christian Western civilization" and off all opponents of his regime, many young parents were deliberately targeted and assassinated. Their babies were abducted and sold to wealthy childless couples as a reward for supporting the military junta. Some women were deliberately imprisoned and raped before being killed so that they could get pregnant and their babies be given to whichever high government official wanted a daughter at the time.The reason I'm talking about this dispiriting piece of history is because I want to show how easy it is, with General speech about "Christian civilization," to use Christ's name to justify horrific, unchristian acts. Politicians nowadays do not hesitate to use His name to push their own agendas. Yet Christ did not stand with the politicians. He stood with the poor."And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." (Mathew 25:40)Christ stands with the poor, the disenfranchised, the hungry, the sick and the dying. When the Muslim population of Bosnia was massacred by the Orthodox Christian factions of Serbia back in the nineties, Christ stood not with the Christians as they shot their guns but with the Muslims as they lay dying in pits. Christ stands with the dying women and children of Syria as they are gunned down by government forces.
Christ stands with the Christians in China where religious minorities are prosecuted and tortured daily. Christ stands with the Cancer victims at the free clinic. Christ stands with the homeless man who wraps himself up in a thin, stinking sleeping bag to guard against encroaching cold. Christ stands with the despairing man, unemployed for eighteen months, who can no longer receive unemployment checks while the rich natter on about tax breaks.Who does Christ stand with?Christ stands with the poor. He stands with those who help the poor. He does not stand with those who repeat His name constantly to justify immoral acts. Those who help the poor help Christ, even if they do not even know it. Those who use Christ's name like they would any ordinary word do not earn His love even if they claim to worship him. Those who sacrifice their time and money and do their utmost to see that the poor in this country and all around the world receive comfort are those who are the real Christians.Do you agree that Christ stands with the poor and not with those who use His name to commit atrocities? Is there ever a condition under which using Christ's name to justify war is appropriate? Where in scripture can we find answers to these questions?
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Comments (38)
Jesus was certainly no capitalist!
@JandJinJapan@xanga - Nice rebuttal, Slick. Nevertheless.... wagging your finger at a commentator on a message board isn't going to do much when it comes to the truth of how hard a truly Christian life is. Read the Bible a bit before playing schoolmarm on the internet
@rmatonti2@xanga - Check out the Parable of the Talents.
Jesus uses the principle of growing money through investment.The best investors were rewarded. The worst investor was punished.
Hi, phoebester@xanga, I have read my Bible and I still do, and here's what the Bible has to say:
"Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain." --Exodus 20.7; Dueteronomy 5.11
"Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers." --Ephesians 4.29
Now how is it that someone who impliesd that she is a Christian can use God's name in such a wretched way and think its alright? Can you explain that in light of the above Scripture?
As far as the Christian life not being easy, I am well aware of this truth also.
Thank you for your reply.
@PrisonerxOfxLove@xanga - He was referring to investing in our afterlife in heaven,laying up our treasures in heaven. Why do all the fundamentalists twist His words and take scripture out of context. Any biblical scholar would confirm this including any Roman Catholic Priest.
@rmatonti2@xanga - Exactly, but he was using a capitalist principle, not a socialist principle to make his point.
That's because capitalism, the growth of money through investment, is real, while socialism is a big lie.@PrisonerxOfxLove@xanga - Nonsense, he did not charge a fortune for healthcare for the needy and pre-existing condition, he healed for free and he did not charge for food for the needy, he provided unlimited amounts of mana and bread and fish and birds. Socialism is love and unbridled capitalism is evil greed.
@rmatonti2@xanga - In the Parable of the Talents, Jesus used the capitalist principle of investment as a means to grow money. He used that as a metaphor for the spiritual lesson he was teaching.
My point is that Jesus was a resident of Realville and that's why he used a capitalist principle.
Capitalism is real. Socialism is a lie.
That's why Jesus used the growth of money through investment to make his point and not some socialist piece of nonsense.
@PrisonerxOfxLove@xanga - I find Socialism love and unbridled capitalism a lie of the devil and inherently evil.
@rmatonti2@xanga - Reality is exactly the opposite.
Capitalism allows for economic growth whereby everyone can become very wealthy.
Economic growth is impossible under socialism because the earnings of those who produce wealth are confiscated and given to people who did not earn the wealth.
Such societies are miserable, poor and oppressive and eventually collapse.
I find it amazing that we try to apply todays terms to a non-western thinking person who lived two thousand years ago. Its hard to know what Jesus would be like today, just as it was hard for the people that lived around him to understand him and his teachings when he walked this earth. No I don't think Jesus would support war, but that was not his purpose, but God (yes, I know I'm getting into trinity talk, a touchy subject) did order the slaughter of countless innocents and if God is the same today as yesturday then that poses a difficult question for us to understand.
@PrisonerxOfxLove@xanga - You are a dreamer and live in a fantasy world instead of reality if you really believe that you can get rich in a capitalistic society. The chances are extremely slim but very high that you will end up poverty stricken as most seniors are if they are fortunate to live that long without universal healthcare. The new socialistic societies of Denmark and Norway have much a higher standard of living than we do and the universal healthcare they have has a much higher life expectancy than we have with capitalistic healthcare. Venezuela eliminated 70% of their poverty by switching from capitalism to socialism.Wake up, you are still fighting the cold war with Senator McCarthy.
@rmatonti2@xanga - You made the claim that Jesus was a socialist.
You supported that claim by expressing your own personal preference toward socialism. You also listed Norway, Sweden and Hugo Chavez' work in Venezuela and the need for the elderly to have nationalized health care.
I made the claim that Jesus was not a socialist and supported my claim by citing holy scripture.
Since neither you, nor Norway, nor Sweden, nor Venezuela, nor Hugo Chavez nor socialized medicine were around during the time of Christ or have anything whatsoever to do with Christ your claim that Jesus was a socialist continues to be unsupported.
To take part in a rational discussion your claims and their support must have some connection with the topic at hand which is Jesus and his teachings.
You and your personal opinions don't have the magisterial authority to be valid in a discussion about Jesus Christ and his teachings.