Anti-war voices!!! (Part 1 of 4)

The greatest opposition in any war is not necessarily the opponent you are fighting, but the anti-war voices: Those “conscientious objectors” that constitute the biggest distraction to waging an effective campaign. “World peace” is a popular refrain often touted at every beauty pageant worth its salt, but these days it’s become more than just a novel idea rolling around in the heads of the blonde beauties vying for the crown. Peace at any and all costs has become the loudest opposition to the Bush Whitehouse. Why, the indignant cries of the anti-war voices are so loud that even McCain has sought to distance himself from the President, seeing as he has become somewhat of a liability to the success of McCain’s campaign to step into his underappreciated shoes. This chasm between the war proponents and opponents has grown so wide that it threatens to polarize the Church on grounds of an “ill-advised war” that has crippled our economy and is killing our parents and children.

Now before you begin to vilify me, hear me out! I don’t presume to understand all the nuances of the war in Iraq (but speaking frankly, neither do you). I also admit that my sources, and my access to information in support of or against the war are significantly less reliable than those of the President of the United States (but honestly, so are yours). I do know however, that I support any war that is waged to thwart the efforts of any campaign designed to take away my rights to live in godly freedom, as long as I’m doing it within the dictates of the established order. ‘Bombs’ were ‘dropped’ on our friends and families back on September 11, 2001, and that changed our way of life forever. Those who sought to harm us made it clear that they would not rest until they had destroyed our way of life, and wiped the memory of this “Great Satan” (USA) off the face of the earth. They have continued to make it clear that they (Radical Islam) have a mandate from God to rid the earth of the “evil” that is the Western world. Last time I checked, this goal is yet to be accomplished and this means that they are still waging a war against our ‘utopian’ lifestyle.

I’m going to drop another bomb myself! God’s greatest priority in the earth is not world peace!! What?! “You can’t be serious” I hear you thinking. “Doesn’t the Bible call Jesus the Prince of Peace?” I hear you asking. Yes it does. But hear what the Prince of Peace has to say about peace: “Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division.” (Luke 12:51 NIV) Here’s another verse: “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” (Matthew 10:34 NIV). Wow! If these weren’t the words of Jesus Himself they would be tantamount to blasphemy. “What on God’s good earth is He talking about?” you may wonder. Well, He’s simply telling us that peace at any cost is not now, and never was His goal for the Church. If we sacrifice the truth for the sake of peace, then we have lost our conscience. If we choose the imagined safety of our comfortable Western lifestyles over fighting for the safety and freedom of oppressed peoples, then we have mortgaged our faith. Nibble on that for a while and let's discuss it. I'll post part 2 tomorrow.