  | I don't need to go into detail about what's happened, as I'm sure you all follow the news. What isn't being stated though is the fact that this is merely the opening salvo in what clearly promises to be a long and bloody urban guerrilla war. I say that because our beloved leader announced in Turkey that he still has no plans to commit any US troops to the international efforts against ISIS, and he took great pains to reassure everyone that our grand strategy of poking at them from the air is actually working perfectly, recent evidence to the contrary notwithstanding. In response, this group of animals also promised that Paris was just the beginning, and that their unequivocal aim is to strike the same fear into the hearts of Americans by attacking our Nation's capital in the future. |
Although ostensibly we are carrying on a dedicated air campaign against the Islamic extremists, and even though the Kurds retook Sinjar with a great deal of weapons and training from Western (read: CIA) backers, the fact remains that we still have a stateless terror group firmly entrenched in two sovereign nations' territories with no imminent signs of their defeat on the horizon. Even though France is now urgently calling on the US and Russia to resolve their longstanding differences for the sake of presenting a unified front to destroy ISIS, it seems the two world leaders are instead content to continue reciting platitudes (or worse, it seems more recently that Russia may become the new leader in world security). Since the "vicious retaliatory air strikes" carried out unilaterally by France in the wake of the attacks have done little to dampen the enemy's resolve, and this after five years of protracted warfare with little to no western intervention, it must be accepted at this point that we are, in fact, doing virtually nothing.
As the Roman author Vegitius famously wrote, one who desires peace must necessarily prepare for war; otherwise one's peace overtures will simply be swatted aside with callous violence. Put another way, George Orwell also wrote that those who abjure violence can only do so because others are committing it on their behalf. The message in either case is simply that peaceable men and women are only able to be so because someone else is being paid to do their violence for them, whether that be their military, law enforcement, or spies. On the other hand, when violence visits itself upon a defenseless people, they really have no choice but to fight back or die.
Granted that in the life of a Christian, death is not viewed as a defeat, but rather as a victory. To my mind, however, that does not mean that death should be a Christian's first plan of action in the face of a violent and irreconcilable enemy. Even Paul understood that some people simply can't be reasoned with.
As a responsible Christian, I should stop at this juncture and quote to you Romans 12:14-21
Granted that in the life of a Christian, death is not viewed as a defeat, but rather as a victory. To my mind, however, that does not mean that death should be a Christian's first plan of action in the face of a violent and irreconcilable enemy. Even Paul understood that some people simply can't be reasoned with.
As a responsible Christian, I should stop at this juncture and quote to you Romans 12:14-21
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.[a] Do not be conceited.
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”[b] says the Lord.20 On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”[c]
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
-Biblegateway.com
So there it is, in black and white. Christians have a clear directive to be people who seek peace. Nevertheless, as King David and King Solomon both understood, there is also a time when violence is not only a necessary evil, but is in fact a moral obligation. Psalm 94 speaks of God as a God who avenges the innocent, and King Solomon famously wrote in Ecclesiastes that there is, in fact, a time to kill.
Edmund Burke once said that, "the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Even though the above passage from Romans 12 clearly leaves us with a mandate to seek peace and pray for those who do wrong, it is also worth pointing out that in the same excerpt Paul also wrote, "as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." To my mind, that means that if someone comes to me intending to do evil, or even worse, intends to exploit, terrorize, and kill innocent men, women, and children right before my eyes, then at that point, it no longer depends on me to live at peace, since evil people have taken that option away from me. I wouldn't have joined the military if I truly believed that evil people should never be resisted.
Finally, a word about social justice: There is nothing wrong with expressing one's notional support for those who have been wronged, whether by posting indignant statuses on social media or changing one's picture to the French flag. Nevertheless, at some point we have an obligation to not simply condemn evil from afar, but to confront it face to face. I'd like to think that if a similar situation happened here, there would be enough gun-toting, red-blooded Americans around that we could stop such an attack in its tracks before hundreds of innocent people were senselessly slaughtered.
Edmund Burke once said that, "the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Even though the above passage from Romans 12 clearly leaves us with a mandate to seek peace and pray for those who do wrong, it is also worth pointing out that in the same excerpt Paul also wrote, "as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." To my mind, that means that if someone comes to me intending to do evil, or even worse, intends to exploit, terrorize, and kill innocent men, women, and children right before my eyes, then at that point, it no longer depends on me to live at peace, since evil people have taken that option away from me. I wouldn't have joined the military if I truly believed that evil people should never be resisted.
Finally, a word about social justice: There is nothing wrong with expressing one's notional support for those who have been wronged, whether by posting indignant statuses on social media or changing one's picture to the French flag. Nevertheless, at some point we have an obligation to not simply condemn evil from afar, but to confront it face to face. I'd like to think that if a similar situation happened here, there would be enough gun-toting, red-blooded Americans around that we could stop such an attack in its tracks before hundreds of innocent people were senselessly slaughtered.
It's time to get serious about fighting evil.
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