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Religion
See other Religion Articles

Title: Christians for Torture
Source: Lew Rockwell
URL Source: http://lewrockwell.com/vance/vance171.html
Published: May 14, 2009
Author: Laurence Vance
Post Date: 2009-05-14 06:58:33 by Ada
Keywords: None
Views: 1021
Comments: 44

The most ardent atheist would be rendered speechless should he hear of Christians for abortion, profanity, adultery, or drunkenness. Of all people in the world, it is certainly Christians – and especially the conservative, evangelical, and fundamentalist kind – that atheists, agnostics, and infidels expect to be opposed to these things.

So what in the world is an atheist to think when he sees the widespread Christian support for torture? Yes, torture. But don’t Christians claim to follow the ethics of Jesus and the apostles in the New Testament? Aren’t Christians commanded to put off anger, wrath, and malice (Colossians 3:8), "be ready to every good work" (Titus 3:1), and "live peaceably with all men" (Romans 12:18)? Yes, Christians.

What is really tragic is that most Christians who of late have weighed in on the subject of torture are not arguing whether or not waterboarding and other "enhanced interrogation techniques" constitute torture – they readily admit that they do – but that torture is justified in the name of fighting terrorism, national security, defending our freedoms, keeping us safe, or protecting our children and grandchildren.

In my recent article "Waterboard an A-rab for Jesus," I mentioned two polls which showed that a great percentage of evangelicals supported the use of torture against suspected terrorists. Now come two additional surveys that are even more shocking. When an Allen Hunt Show poll asked for views on torture, 50 percent of the participants indicated their preference for the position: "Am A Christian – And I Support Torture." Hunt himself, thank God, is opposed to the practice. And in a story on OneNewsNow (a division of the American Family New Network) about Southern Baptist leader Richard Land saying that the use of waterboarding is unethical, a poll asked simply: "Do you agree with Dr. Land? Is waterboarding ‘unethical’?" The results: less than 10 percent agreed with Land. What is interesting about Land is that he fully supports Bush’s war on terror, minus the torture, of course.

These are unbelievable poll results. Christian torture advocates should be ashamed of themselves for being so ignorant of New Testament ethics. This is FrontPage Magazine Christianity. This is National Review Christianity. This is imperial Christianity at its worse. I lay a great deal of the blame on pastors for being servants of the state instead of servants of Christ. It is pastors who ought to be teaching and warning their congregations about what is wrong with the U.S. empire, the U.S. military, the CIA, U.S. wars, and U.S. foreign policy. Instead, we have pastors that lead their congregations to pledge to the flag, sing praise to the state on every national holiday, and honor the U.S. war machine on special military appreciation days.

It is one thing for Christians to think that the Republican Party is the lesser of two evils, that we should be fighting a global war on terror, that U.S. troops are defending our freedoms by fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, that we are protecting Israel by fighting against terrorism, that it is "liberal" to be opposed to war, that we should fight them "over there" lest we have to fight them "over here," or that Iraq attacked us on 9/11 (all completely bogus ideas) – but this in no way justifies torture.

We didn’t torture Nazi war criminals to reveal the names of others similarly guilty. Although we sentenced some of them to death, and some of them to prison terms, we never tortured them even though they were guilty of genocide. We don’t torture serial killers to get them to reveal where all the bodies of their victims are buried. Even when we call them monsters and sentence them to death, we still don’t torture them. We don’t allow police to torture suspects until they confess to committing a crime, and neither do we allow confessions obtained by torture to be used in court. Heck, we didn’t even torture Saddam Hussein when we captured and imprisoned him.

We associate torture with Japan (American WWII POWs), North Korea (American Korean War POWs), China (recently deceased Air Force Colonel Harold E. Fischer), and Vietnam (just ask John McCain).

We associate torture with third-world prisons, the KGB, the Stasi, and other secret police organizations, the Dark Ages, the Inquisition, the Holocaust, the Reign of Terror, mass murderers, massacres, and genocides.

We associate torture with the Soviet Union under Stalin, China under Mao, Germany under Hitler, Korea under Kim Il-sung, Cuba under Castro, Cambodia under Pol Pot, Iraq under Saddam Hussein, and Uganda under Idi Amin.

We associate torture with everything that is evil, vile, and inhuman.

What have we come to in the United States when people who name the name of Christ support torture? How dare Christians criticize Muslims for saying that Islam is a religion of peace and then advocate the torturing of suspected terrorists. By their support for torture, Christians have given "great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme" (2 Samuel 12:14).

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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 38.

#1. To: Ada, ALL!!! (#0)

These are unbelievable poll results. Christian torture advocates should be ashamed of themselves for being so ignorant of New Testament ethics.

Unbelievable? Not hardly!

New Testament ethics???

According to their sick take on NT ethics, their "god" is going to torture the vast majority of creation in REAL FIRE, for an ENDLESS period of time, BECAUSE THEY DONT BELIEVE AS THE "christian" DOES!

Never mind those that DIDNT EVEN HAVE A CHANCE TO HEAR ONE WORD OF THE GOSPEL! They dont account for those people. They just chuck them into the flames to be burned forever.

Never mind that NO ONE can on their own "free will" chooses Christ.

John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

That word "draw" means to "drag". This is just one scripture out of many that they totally ignore.

Now, whats wrong will a little "christian" torture? They are just following an example set by their kind and loving "god"!!!

These people are sick beyond my ability to ever describe. Words totally defy me!

.

PSUSA  posted on  2009-05-14   7:33:56 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#6. To: PSUSA (#1)

Never mind those that DIDNT EVEN HAVE A CHANCE TO HEAR ONE WORD OF THE GOSPEL! They dont account for those people. They just chuck them into the flames to be burned forever.

That is a bold faced lie. Either that or you are really really stupid.

Old Friend  posted on  2009-05-14   9:07:56 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#9. To: Old Friend (#6)

That is a bold faced lie.

Tell me, where's the lie?

PSUSA  posted on  2009-05-14   9:46:13 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#13. To: PSUSA (#9)

That is a bold faced lie.

Tell me, where's the lie?

Tell me the names of 10 christians that support torture. It should be really easy since most of us "support torture".

Old Friend  posted on  2009-05-14   10:03:20 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#15. To: Old Friend (#13)

Gary Bauer,Pat Robertson,James Dobson,John Hagee,Rick Warren,Tim Lehay,.....want me to continue?

robnoel  posted on  2009-05-14   10:25:28 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#16. To: robnoel, Old Friend (#15)

Don't you read or follow the news, O.F. ??

randge  posted on  2009-05-14   10:29:56 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#18. To: randge (#16)

Don't you read or follow the news, O.F. ??

I follow the news, not propaganda. Such as this article.

Old Friend  posted on  2009-05-14   10:32:56 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#31. To: Old Friend (#18)

Backing Torture More Important than Opposing Abortion posted by Dan Savage on November 7 at 8:04 AM

Prominent talibangelist Pat Robertson endorses pro-abortion, pro-gay-rights, pro-torture Rudy Giuliani.

Make no mistake–this is a coup for Mr. Giuliani’s campaign. Mr. Giuliani spoke at Regent University, the evangelical school Mr. Robertson founded, several months ago and was warmly received. The endorsement helps them quiet talk the talk that had bubbled up among Christian conservative leaders about supporting a third-party candidate if Mr. Giuliani, a supporter of abortion rights is the nominee, and bolstering his advisers’ contention that he can compete among Christian conservative voters who are dominant in early voting states like South Carolina and Iowa.

http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/11/backing_torture_more_important_than_oppo

randge  posted on  2009-05-14   10:44:37 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#33. To: randge (#31)

Is your post supposed to be news to me? Is it supposed to prove something?

Old Friend  posted on  2009-05-14   10:45:38 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#34. To: Old Friend (#33)

What do you think it purports to demonstrate?

randge  posted on  2009-05-14   10:47:07 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#35. To: randge (#34)

What do you think it purports to demonstrate?

That there are people who say they are christians when most likely they are not.

Old Friend  posted on  2009-05-14   10:47:59 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#38. To: Old Friend (#35)

That there are people who say they are christians when most likely they are not.

Halleluja. We agree on something.

This nation is going down the path of blood and conquest well trodden by christian empires before it.

randge  posted on  2009-05-14   10:58:59 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


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