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It was so easy to avoid it. Even though I passed through the communications building every day while CNN was on the lobby television, and every time I opened my Internet homepage, more coverage was posted, I could still ignore a lot of it.
After all, I’m a college student. I have to complete my schoolwork on time and fulfill my other extracurricular commitments. Except for the most basic information that I gathered for my national news column and heard about on “Beyond the Bubble,” the weekly news radio show the Stampede sponsors, I could mostly ignore it.
But then, during last week’s newspaper meeting, the staff was quick to remind me that since this was extremely newsworthy, someone should write an editorial about it. They were just as quick to nominate me to be that person.
So, for the past week, I’ve addressed how I think about the war with Iraq.
I’ve recently been reading more articles about the war and discussing it with other people, but by no means do I consider myself an authority on the situation. I also imagine that like some of you, I’m struggling with the idea of war.
I consider myself a supporter of our government in general. I believe that scripture in Romans 13 directs us to give part of our allegiance to government authority, as all positions of authority have been put in place through God’s directive. At the same time, I appreciate the privilege we have as Americans to respectfully disagree with our leaders’ decisions, which is one reason why our democracy is able to function as well as it does.
Even if I don’t agree with everything President Bush does, I have to respect his position of authority and acknowledge that his task is not easy. As Dr. Ted Thomas said recently on “Beyond the Bubble,” if Bush doesn’t take any action and Saddam uses a weapon of mass destruction, Bush will be criticized for having the information about Saddam’s resources and doing nothing. But by taking action, without the support of the United Nations and other world leaders, he’ll be criticized for taking that step.
It seems evident that Iraq is closed off to the outside world, ruled by an oppressive dictatorship. If we are blessed enough as a nation to go into that country and provide the people with an opportunity for freedom from atrocities we can’t imagine, don’t we have an obligation to do that?
What becomes difficult for me, as a Christian, is our method of fighting evil. Although Christ lived under a Roman dictatorship, he didn’t advocate a violent reaction to that authority. In fact, he told us to “turn the other cheek” and show love to our enemies.
So I have been struggling to reconcile these extreme ideas swimming around in my head, with little success. However, an article that was pointed out to me at my work-study job during one discussion of recent war news has encouraged me.
Johann Christoph Arnold, a writer for an online web site for Bruderhof communities, wrote that it is clear Jesus did not support armed force. When Jesus was arrested, one of his disciples drew his sword and cut off the ear of a soldier, and Jesus rebuked him saying, “Put your sword back in its place, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.” (Matthew 26:52 NIV) Arnold, who writes from a strongly anti-war perspective, points out, “Neither did he condemn those who used it (armed force) - even against him.” Rather, Arnold contends that Jesus prayed for the forgiveness of everyone.
I thought about the wonderful grace extended in that statement. Jesus didn’t condemn the disciples for their shortcomings, he didn’t condemn the zealots that fought against the government, he didn’t condemn the soldiers for their show of force and he doesn’t condemn us for our imperfections either.
Recently, the world has questioned the United States’ motives in taking action against Iraq. Do we just want to safeguard ourselves and our oil supply? Are we really interested in bringing freedom to the Iraqi people?
I received an e-mail from my mother addressing one answer to these issues in two short paragraphs. The information came from a web site called “The Right Report,” and it reads:
“When in England at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example of empire building by George Bush. He answered by saying that, ‘Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return.’”
So I confess that I don’t have the answer to world peace, and I don’t know how to reconcile the conflicting ideas that I believe. But I do want to show support to our troops, and I think Jesus understands that.
I will continue praying for our troops, our leaders and our enemies and hope that someone wiser than I can find a solution to this conflict.