[Peace-discuss] Faith issues

[Bob Illyes]

I pretty much agree with Mort, except that I do think that
the word "God" refers to something real but not yet well
understood. I do not trust those who claim to be certain of
the intent of God, because these folks seem too good at
visiting slaughter and repression on the rest of us.
I agree with Jesus that the best way to tell a "false
profit" is by his "fruits", that is to say, that we need not
concern ourselves with judging the truth of the words of
people who claim to stand by God but endorse slaughter and
other obvious evils. Their actions and effects tell us all
we need to know, and no theology is needed to judge them.

How much theological information is required to notice that
trying to force democracy on Iraq is self-contradictory, that
revenge destroys those who practice it, that we make the
world better only by doing good, or that the more general
notion that the ends justify the means is reliably false
and will usually destroy the ends?

Inside the progressive community, I've seen way too many
examples of folks who thought their ideas were so important
that fair and decent treatment of other people could be
dispensed with. I've seen only evil come from this.

Years ago, the mother of a friend of mine was sitting in
a Lutheran Church in Germany in Nazi times, listening to the
pastor praise the Nazis. She didn't argue with him, she just
stood up and walked out. Then her husband walked out. Then half
of the church stood up and walked out. Unfortunately, this
did not happen often enough. You can be sure that it wasn't
considered newsworthy at the time, and that if it had been
mass action would have resulted.

I believe that most people will do the right thing if they have
the facts, and that it is a failure of the press that is
behind our occupation of Iraq. To the extent folks in the
churches are for the war, I think they reflect not so much
their religion but rather a failed press.

It is, of course, necessary to always and loudly speak out against
the noisy, self-serving religious patriarchs who pretend to be
religious but who worship only power. Fortunately, they are
a tiny minority of this land. It is not their adopted religion
that is the problem, but their disregard for ethical behavior.
We can bring these guys down be exposing their ethical failures.
But others will be right back if we don't fix the press.

Bob