War

War best demonstrates the extremes to which religious belief can go to justify killing, IMO, justify itself even, not just justify killing/war, but also justify belief itself. From Joshua’s storied conquests, in Muhammad’s unlikely victories, to Arjuna’s reluctant obedience, within Saladin’s crusading, Constantine’s consolidating, and Mattathias’ insurgency, lies today’s rationale for preemptive invasions and maniacal bombers, secret prisons and nuclear options, no discussions and only presupposed blame: our beliefs sustain us but in the end perpetuate war just the same! This seems like a most curious game . . .

Duty, Honor, Country
Sweat, Strife, Blood
-
Qui bono?

“Us”? You? Me? No . . .

War is industry wasted, materials wasted, and of course far more importantly, lives wasted. War, by nature equaling death, is anti-life; therefore, war can never give meaning to humankind as it only brings sorrow, violence, and death. The American government, as obviated by the fact that one third of all federal spending requests are war related, is the number one “defense” consumer, and distributor, upon the face of this planet; in other words, America is the world’s number one warmaker, indeed by far, and this is in direct opposition to the very religion so overwhelmingly many Americans profess to believe in – Christianity.

As scholar Laurence M. Vance avows:

"The [U.S.] military is a force for evil in the world. The military spreads democracy by bombs, bayonets, and bullets. The military enforces a belligerent U.S. foreign policy. The military is the world’s unwanted and unloved policeman. The military garrisons the planet with troops and bases. The military is responsible for the network of brothels around the world to service U.S. troops who have no business being away from home. The military accounts for one third of all federal spending. The military accounts for over one half of total world military spending. The military increases terrorism by its foreign occupations.

The military does not defend our freedoms. The military does not secure our borders. The military does not patrol our coasts. The military does not guard our shores. The military does not fight terrorists over there so we don’t have to fight them over here. The military does not protect our First Amendment rights. The military does not keep us safe. The military does not ensure that we can speak English. The military is not retaliating against the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks.

The greatest danger to American life, liberty, and property is not the leaders or the military of Iran, China, Russia, or Venezuela: It is the government of the United States.

If they really want to honor Christ and the Bible, Christian colleges should discontinue all ROTC programs, ban military recruiters from all their campuses, and discourage their young people from enlisting in the military. It is bad enough when atheists, agnostics, pagans, and the irreligious join the military, but it is an indelible blot on Christianity when Christians do the same."

The staunchest conservative on the current republican presidential ballot, Dr. Ron Paul, states of the United States military’s role in the world today:

"A defense policy designed to keep Americans safe should start with the idea that we must secure our borders from those who would cross them to do us harm. Currently, the United States maintains hundreds of thousands of troops in more than 100 foreign countries. In many cases, they are there to defend foreign borders. Maintaining such a global empire drains nearly one trillion dollars from the U.S. economy each year, while offering very little real security for the American people. What’s worse, our U.S. Border Guards are sent overseas to places like Iraq while our own borders remain porous and vulnerable.
. . . .

A defense policy for the United States should first seek to make Americans safer. A foreign policy of non-interventionism overseas will be the first step in reducing threats to the U.S. My policy will enable us to focus our resources where they belong: in defense of the United States and the American people. An America-first defense policy will not go abroad seeking monsters to slay, but will deter through strength and lead by example."

Mr. Paul indeed expresses a beautiful sentiment, yet the reality on the ground, all around our world today, is that indeed America is in search of monsters to slay and not only that but according to republican frontrunner John War McCain, “There's going to be other wars”. Great: wars and rumors of more . . .

Justin Raimondo at antiwar.com writes:

"[As] More Americans become dependent on their military-oriented subsidies, whether they be Washington insiders with Pentagon contracts or ordinary workers who make good union wages manufacturing cluster bombs for export to the Middle East's bright, shining example of democracy. This permanent war economy is financed by government, of course, which goes into debt in order to pay for the biggest orgy of arms spending in history. That debt eats away at the very heart of our prosperity and threatens to hollow out our economic system as the markets shake and quiver, hinting at a financial meltdown that every half-awake economist and market maven expects [sic] fears. A few profit while the rest of us suffer the consequences. That isn't capitalism; that's government-subsidized cronyism."

Chalmers Johnson also vividly describes this scourge of modern man, this military keynesianism, that is, “the determination to maintain a permanent war economy and to treat military output as an ordinary economic product, even though it makes no contribution to either production or consumption”. And this is not simply needless waste, as this waste can only lead to killing and death, one could say this thoroughly needless physical waste is none other than evil personified; physical objects created by the minds, hearts, and hands, of men, objects created for no purpose other than killing other human beings. Evil.

When I sent you without purse and scrip and shoes, did you want anything? But they said: Nothing. Then said he unto them: But now he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise a scrip: and he that hath not, let him sell his coat and buy a sword. For I say to you that this that is written must yet be fulfilled in me. And with the wicked was he reckoned. For the things concerning me have an end. But they said: Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said to them: It is enough.

Clothes, profit, and even the sword, useless to a man who could even call the angels down from heaven to smite all those who sought to do him harm. Faith needs not clothes. Hope wants not profit. Charity makes not war. Clothes, profit, and the sword : possessions, pride, and greed : faith, hope, and charity. Economic profit hath no part of hope for it is too busy tending to itself. Faith removes possessions for tomorrow shall tend to itself. There is no greed, no war, in love.

Which brings us again to the words of Jesus Christ to Peter the Rock at the time of his arrest, Put your sword back in its place, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. This nicely compliments, You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also, and, I say to you, Love your enemies: do good to them that hate you: and pray for them that persecute and calumniate you.

Jesus did not return evil for evil and died on the Cross, and he only asked likewise that we deny ourselves and bear our own Cross.

Jesus spake thusly, A new commandment I give unto you: That you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another . . . ., By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another

Jesus died for us to save us from ourselves, from our fallen, our corporeal, nature. He died modeling the behavior that could set us free from the bondage of desire and war, and of judgment and guilt. He was innocent and he died, like a spotless sheep slaughtered, yet we are not innocent, we are all guilty, living but fallen; inherently incapable of administering ultimate justice as regards matters of life and death as proven by Jesus admonition of the Scribes and Pharisees to not cast the first stone at the adulteress unless they themselves were blameless, and of course as proven in the innocent death of Christ himself. That is why a state sanctioned death penalty is just as unforgivable an act, even more so actually, as is the murder(s), adultery, or treason that it is supposed to be punishing. While we would certainly keep the community safe, and humanely imprison for life those who have acted in barbarous fashion; we, Americans, nor the government, nor anybody, is of the unique moral disposition, of an utterly blameless perfection, to condemn any other to death. This is why the death penalty is as much of a mortal reproach unto our Creator as is War. War. Unlike so many evils that plague humanity that are to date unstoppable, natural disasters, disease, reputedly poverty – war - death that is – is the one evil created entirely by humanity, meaning it is wholly preventable; hence war is the first evil we must together defeat before we can hope to overcome any others.

Spending a trillion dollars a year on war will never have any peace dividends! Returning evil for evil will never result in peace: willing, desiring, resisting, duty, honor, country . . .

Clothes, profit, sword : possessions, pride, greed : willing, desiring, resisting : duty, honor, country / faith, hope, charity. Duty knows not faith for faith holds no duty, honor interests not hope for hope has no honor, national borders bound not charity for love transcends nations. We will by nature and nature wills nothing extra, but honor and country are only profit/pride and resistance/greed sounding noble yet simply being vanity and war. Evil.

Blessed are those

of poor spirit and meek wealth,

the hungering mournful,

the mercifully clean-hearted

and persecuted ones,

the peacemakers, for they are

children of God.

As David’s angry God slew all his enemies with horrific war, so does the death of God represent in the historical/idealist/scriptural a, to be quite Schopenhauer-“ian”, denial of the will to life; that is, Jesus could have called down a legion of angels, defeated the Roman Empire, in fact destroyed all evil in the world, and established his earthly kingdom. Yet he did not! That had to have been the biggest temptation of Christ, I would figure, to eradicate war and walk around healing and feeding people . . ., feeding/clothing, healing/for free, with love/and more

I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father, but by me.

Enough. More. More than that.
Willing. Desiring. Resisting.
Duty. Honor. Country.
Sweat. Strife. Blood.
Clothes. Profit. War.
Possessions. Pride. Greed.

We cannot prevent the will for that is of life itself, and Eve & Adam of desire already bit, but the murder of Abel is a sin for which perhaps humanity could one day atone. See, Cain had a duty to act for he had no other choice as the present persistently pressed upon him, yet his thoughts were of having more rather than faithfully regarding the Lord, to proudly make his mark upon the world if you will, and consequently of course his desire for more resulted in war, in fratricide; and brother has been killing brother ever since. Cain was willing, and Able, to give the fruits of his labor, the very clothes off his back or food that sustained him that is, but he was un-Able to let go of his pride and desired to keep the profit, he wanted more, to make and eat his cake as well, so to speak; and of course he then kept his brother no more, he wanted more than that, and from this greed, which itself sprang from desire/profit/pride, Abel died. War.

Faith Hope Charity
Jesus Spirit God

Killing cannot justify religious belief, and religious belief cannot justify killing, but Jesus-willing faith will one day justify our hope in God!

What if humankind could for one full 24-hour day not have one person die due to the desire of another? Like generally making a worldwide show of contrition, a universally willed bonding of intent, of sorrow, of thankfulness, of hope, hmmm . . .

Without desire and greed honor and country would cease to be, leaving only duty, only faith, the question being to what, or whom, will that be in . . .

If you want to be perfect . . .

pax vobiscum

[Suggested further reading: The State Lynch Mob?; An Uncontrollable Juggernaut?; Neocon Non-Warriors; What Do We Stand For?]