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Torture is Wrong

Torture violates the basic dignity of the human person that all religions hold dear. It degrades everyone involved -- policy-makers, perpetrators and victims. It contradicts our nation's most cherished ideals. Any policies that permit torture and inhumane treatment are shocking and morally intolerable.

Torture and inhumane treatment have long been banned by U.S. treaty obligations, and are punishable by criminal statute. Recent developments, however, have created new uncertainties. By reaffirming the ban on cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment as well as torture, the McCain amendment, now signed into law, is a step in the right direction. Yet its implementation remains unclear.             

The President's signing statement, which he issued when he signed the McCain Amendment into law, implies that the President does not believe he is bound by the amendment in his role as commander in chief. The possibility remains open that inhumane methods of interrogation will continue.

Furthermore, in a troubling development, for the first time in our nation's history, legislation has now been signed into law that effectively permits evidence obtained by torture to be used in a court of law. The military tribunals that are trying some terrorist suspects are now expressly permitted to consider information obtained under coercive interrogation techniques, including degrading and inhumane techniques and torture.             

We urge Congress and the President to remove all ambiguities by prohibiting:

• Exemptions from the human rights standards of international law for any arm of our government.
• The practice of extraordinary rendition, whereby suspects are apprehended and flown to countries that use torture as a means of interrogation.
• Any disconnection of "cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment" from the ban against "torture" so as to permit inhumane interrogation.
• The existence of secret U.S. prisons around the world.
• Any denial of Red Cross access to detainees held by our government overseas.      

We also call for an independent investigation of the severe human rights abuses at U.S. installations like Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, and Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan.      

Nothing less is at stake in the torture abuse crisis than the soul of our nation. What does it signify if torture is condemned in word but allowed in deed? Let America abolish torture now -- without exceptions.

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Click here for the source of this statement put out by the National Religious Campaign Against Torture. Click here for a list of well-known people of faith who have signed the statement. Click here for information about the demonstration/vigil taking place tomorrow morning (10/17/06).

The following was written by a Rev. Kermit D. Johnson, a retired U.S. Army Chaplain:

"What we must face squarely is this: whenever we torture or mistreat prisoners, we are capitulating morally to the enemy-in fact, adopting the terrorist ethic that the end justifies the means." (from "Inhuman behavior: A chaplain's view of torture," The Christian Century, 4/18/06.)

Fear and Self-Censorship

I attended an interesting lecture by Randall Balmer today. He was discussing thoughts from his new book, Thy Kingdom Come: An Evangelical's Lament, which discusses ways that the religious right have distorted the Christian faith. One of the stories he told really jumped out at me. He was at a some kind of a retreat or conference speaking to a bunch of presidents of Christian colleges. Over dinner, a discussion came up about what the people in the group feared the most for their schools. The answer that at least a few people agreed upon is that they were afraid James Dobson might take a disliking to their school. They realized that it would be devastating if a person with such tremendous influence over conservative Christians decided there was a problem with their school.

After the lecture, a man who has done some photography for Christianity Today shared a related story. He talked about an interview with a church leader who had struggled with his son's death from AIDS. According to this photographer, the magazine left out this part of the story because they were afraid of the controversial nature of whatever it was he said. Someone asked, "How much self-censorship goes on because of fear?"

That question hit me pretty hard. I know I've had my fair share of fear. Fear of what people might think. Fear of raising questions. Fear of disagreeing with emphatic, absolutist statements. Fear of being labelled a liberal. Fear of being labelled unfaithful. Fear of leading people astray. And the list goes on.

I don't want fear to cause me to censor myself anymore. Granted, there are legitimate reasons to stay quiet. Proverbs tells us that "the prudent are restrained in speech." (10:19) I want to choose my battles, but I don't want to mistake prudence for self-censorship. I don't want to let fear be my motivation for silence. Proverbs also says that "The fear of others lays a snare, but one who trusts in the Lord is secure." (29:25)

My prayer is that many Christians, including myself, will be able to overcome fear, ask hard questions, posit difficult solutions, and speak the truth in love.

Not a Bad Idea

I just became aware of this startling headline from The Onion:

Bush To Appoint Someone

To Be In Charge Of Country

Click here to read the whole story.  My thanks to Ryan Sharp for the tipoff.

Wife Swap

I just got done watching Wife Swap.  I don't really get into much reality TV (or TV in general), but I find this show interesting.  The show presents the philosophy that there is something transformative about experiencing other peoples' lives.  I wonder what kind of applications those of us who are followers of Christ might be able to make to our own lives.  How could we be putting ourselves more in others' shoes?  I guess what I'm asking is how can we follow Christ's example and be more "incarnational?"

After the show, they had a commercial for a new show called "Boss Swap."  That got me started on what other ideas I could come up with for a swap show.  How cool would it be if we could try "President Swap?"

The Challenge of Jesus

I have been discovering a whole new world of thought in the pages of "The Challenge of Jesus" by N.T. Wright.  Wright's challenge is to reconstruct a solidly historical picture of Christ and his mission while on earth.  He does so over and against the liberal tendency to trap Jesus in a modern, "enlightened" perspective (i.e. the Jesus Seminar) and the conservative tendency to simply ignore historical readings in favor of an overly "spiritualized" understanding.

I'm not sure that I agree with all of the conclusions that Mr. Wright comes to, but this book has been a real eye-opener.  It has helped me to move further away from the "flannelgraph" image of Jesus we sometimes tend to have.  I think this is an accurate assessment of the kind of error my tradition has fallen into:

"...many Christians have embraced a Jesus who only seemed to be human, have read a Bible that only seemed to have human authors..." (p.24-25)

We seem to have this concept of Jesus who came out of the womb ready to preach "the gospel" and do miracles.  We are unwilling to question Jesus' own understanding of vocation/calling.  We say he is human, but distort that image with our Platonic view of "perfection."  We say human beings wrote the Bible and we say we do not hold to a "dictation theory," but is that really the case?  In all practicality, I don't see much difference between our view of Scripture and an Islamic understanding of the Khoran.

One of the very interesting things that Mr. Wright does is to describe Jesus as a political figure.  He describes how Jesus, in his word and in his deeds, sought to disrupt the various political schemes of the day.  He talks about how Jesus' parables were rooted in Old Testament porphecy concerning the kingdom of God.  He shows how these parables go beyond the realm of the spiritual platitude.  More on this later...

Dobson Flexes for Us

The New York Times had an article today about Dr. Dobson's continuation down the path of partisan politics. 

"James C. Dobson, the nation's most influential evangelical leader, is threatening to put six potentially vulnerable Democratic senators "in the 'bull's-eye' " if they block conservative appointments to the Supreme Court."

Is this what we will have to expect as the norm now that "moral values" are in vogue?  Dobson hopes to capitalize on the fear factor of Senator Tom Daschle's defeat in this past election.

Interestingly enough, Chuck Colson has weighed in on this issue, warning "against listing demands of the president or other elected officials."

"To think that way demeans the Christian movement," Mr. Colson wrote with his associate Mark Earley. "We are not anybody's special interest group."

What helped to spur Dr. Dobson on to being more politically active? 

Dr. Dobson said he had been working for Mr. Daschle's defeat since August 2003, when he attended a rally to support Roy S. Moore, then chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, in his unsuccessful legal battle to keep a monument to the Ten Commandments in his courthouse. The crowd's reaction demonstrated the depth of popular resentment of liberal court decisions, Dr. Dobson said.

I, personally, can't believe an intelligent man such as he could be so confused about something like that.  Justice Moore used public funds to build a monument to the "Law" and Christian leaders like Dobson have the nerve to support the man.  Go on with your bad self, Dobson, I have less respect for you every day.

Top 5 Posts for 2004

I started blogging this year on June 1st.  My introductory post explains the name of my blog and is a good introduction to the journey I've been on.  I'll cheat by not including that as one of my top 5!

These are in the order that they were written:

1. untitled

A poem that describes the pain of the "emerging" journey I have been on.

2. Loser

More raw emotion.  Sometimes writing in stream-of-consciousness is the best way for me to really say something.  This one's for all those who have felt like a loser at some point this year!

3. Control Issues

A no-holds-barred view of some problems I perceive in the church of today.  I left this one out when I sent my links to Bob Carlton so that I could include my recent post concerning my vision for Emergent.  Please check it out if you haven't already.  (See how easy it is to cheat and fit in 7 instead of 5?)

4. The Globalization of Basketball

I wrote this because I was annoyed about the American basketball team at the olympics.  The real issue is not basketball, though.  This post is about globalization and how the U.S. continues to resist being a part of the world community.

5. A Time to Lament

When it comes to the war in Iraq, what can we all agree on?  This is my answer to that question.

Want to see top 5 lists from other bloggers?  Click here.

Assumptions

The most surreal and downright funny thing happened to me today.  I was at church and a seven year old I know confronted me about my political persuasion.  He asked me if it was true that I voted for John Kerry.  I told him yes and asked him if he was mad at me. 

I think he said he was and then made a comment along the lines of "John Kerry got beat real bad." 

"Oh, I don't know," I replied, "I thought it was pretty close."

I kid you not, this was his response: "Didn't you see all the red on the map?"

Of course, what could I do but continue this rather civilized political debate?  "Yeah, but there's a lot of people on those edges you know, where all the blue was."

I don't remember what was said after that, but I think we ended on good terms.  To the parents of this lovable little guy: I want to make sure you know I'm not mad about this.  I thought it was hysterical and couldn't resist talking about it.  I hope it doesn't offend you. 

I can't help wondering, however, what people might be thinking.  I wonder if all of the Christians who now know I voted for Senator Kerry will ever know how much I care about the issue of abortion.  I also wonder if they will ever have any hope of seeing past that one issue.  I wonder if they could ever look past their own fear and (sorry to say this) bad theology to see that Jesus just doesn't seem to be the preemptive strike kind of guy.  He doesn't seem to be the we-must-make-all-of-the-world-into-a-democracy kind of guy.  He actually seems like more of the communist type, but I'm sure you've heard that argument before. 

I guess I just kind of feel sad about what kind of assumptions people might make about me.  Remember people, if you make assumptions, you make an ass out of u and mptions.

A Difficult Decision

Just voted. When it came down to it, it was a very difficult decision. I considered voting for Nader. I know he won't win, so there's no chance of contributing to a victory for a candidate I don't believe in. The reason I would have voted for him is because I believe we need more and better choices.

In the end, I was reluctant to vote for either Kerry or Bush. Last night I attended a prayer service. It was difficult to sit through. I didn't agree with a lot of what was prayed for. I didn't want to do the childish thing and vote for Kerry to win after listening to people pray for Bush. Anyway, I could probably write a long post just about last night, but the point is something got to me. How could I vote for someone who supports partial birth abortion? This laid heavy on my heart this afternoon as I drove toward my designated voting place.

When I got to the booth I voted for all Republicans, right down the line. The only line I did not complete was the presidential one. I asked the woman outside the curtain if it would invalidate anything if I didn't vote on one of the lines. She came barging in, looked at how I had voted so far, and pointed out to me that I had skipped a line. She mumbled something like, "You forgot to vote for Bush." I couldn't believe it! I asked her my question again and she gave me the answer. She left and I stood there for awhile. I just couldn't decide what to do. The lady asked me if I need help again. I said, "No."

In the end I went with the decision I had made before going in. I voted for Kerry with a pledge. This year I will do something to contribute to the pro-life cause. I believe that if Christians want to protect the lives of the unborn, we have to do more than just fight legal battles. This is an economic issue, it's a spiritual issue, it's an adoption issue, it's an issue of grace. I say it's an issue of grace because we need to figure out how we can fight against the stigma of unwed motherhood. I'm not saying we should support unwed motherhood, I mean that we need to make people feel that they are loved, regardless of the choices they make.

Last night, I had trouble figuring out what to pray. I didn't want to be rude or childish. I ended up praying for grace...for myself and for the church. We Christians are great at condemnation. We don't need any more practice. But we need a whole lot more grace, no matter who wins this election. Grace does not come without an attempt to truly understand my fellow Christian or my fellow American. I pray that Christians will become known for understanding, for moderation in speech, and for grace. I pray that people who attack the integrity, values, and actions of our family will find themselves unable to continue to do so. I pray that this will start with me.

The Church Sign Goes Political

I guess I shouldn't have been surprised to see that our church sign has gone political this weekend. Here's what it says:

KEEP AMERICA

MORAL AND STRONG

VOTE ON NOV 2ND

IT'S A GRAND OLD PRIVILEGE

Keep America strong? I'm not sure how to respond to that. Are we strong? The powers that be wanted us to think we are in grave danger...at least at first. We're still on orange alert in the New York area. Maybe we're supposed to hope that if we beat up on the Iraqis a little more, other, unrelated terrorists, will not be tempted to attack our country that is so obviously defenseless. Did anybody see the scene about the Oregon Pacific border in Fahrenheit 9/11? One part-time police officer for hundreds of miles? I fail to see how Bush's cutbacks will keep us strong.

As for moral, I don't know if I want to go there. I'm not sure my voting either way will make us more moral. I think it's just a typical, but ridiculous adjective to throw in there. Are we to believe that John Kerry is hoping to make America a less moral place?

As for the privilege of voting, I guess that privilege doesn't extend to a place like New Jersey. Since we're not a "swing state" and since we've still got the most outdated election process in the world, it's hard to feel very privileged right about now.