Killing in the name of
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“I’m driven with a mission from God… then God would tell me George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq” George W Bush June 2003 at a meeting with Palestinian Ministers.
This comment had me flabbergasted. It is a well-documented fact that the most dangerous people on earth are those who believe that God is on their side, yet what makes this even more remarkable was that George W Bush was the leader of one of the most powerful nations on earth.
With this single sentence uttered by the President of the United States of America I no longer saw any difference between him and a fanatical ‘Terrorist’. After all the ‘Terrorists’ use religion to justify their cause. How can you possibly be wrong if you have God on your side?
Killing in the name of (insert who you worship here) is almost always used exclusively by people who feel that somehow what they are doing is right and those who think differently are not true believers. It is way to ensure that you are telling everyone that God is behind you and with his help you will win.
I feel that I am missing something, it seems to be a paradox. On the one hand you have a God who preaches love and understanding of all creatures and then you have the President of the United States of America saying that God has told him to go and kill people.
My understanding of the basis of almost all religions is one of peace, love and understanding, so where did it all go so wrong? If this is the way that Christians are behaving it makes you not want to be one. By using God to justify a decision to invade a country, you become the very thing that you are fighting against, right?
How can a Christian no matter what adversity he faces turn to war as the answer. Jesus didn’t fight back when he was crucified, he placed his faith in God. For according to Christianity, it is Jesus who sits on the right hand side of God and comes to judge the living and the dead. It is not up to a Christian to judge who or what is right or wrong?
So when did the leader of one of the most powerful nations on earth become the judge of what is right and what is wrong?
How did the President come to decide that the leader of the Iraqi nation was no longer required? Who is he to make that decision?
I guess that he ultimately justifies his decision to invade Iraq (I use the word invade as it will become more apparent in subsequent chapters) by using God.
On a very interesting note the bible actually states the following
“The prophets say false words in my name and I gave them no orders and I said nothing to them: what they say to you is a false vision and wonder-working words without substance…” Jeremiah 14:14
What ever happened to loving your enemy as you would yourself? What happened to compassion and love, the basis of the Christian faith and the faith of almost all the religions in the world?
It begs asking the question is it truly a war on terror or is it a war based on religious fanaticism from both sides?
Check out the first issue of "The Roid Rager" - out now at Bitter & Twisted Comics
written and illustrated by Redi25