Friday, September 22, 2006

Bent

I was recently sent this bent fable for my review. I'll list it first and then presently, my thoughts about it. It apparently touched something in me:
----------------------------------------------------------
A mother asked President Bush,
"Why did my son have to die in Iraq?"
Another mother asked President Kennedy,
"Why did my son have to die in Viet Nam?"
Another mother asked President Truman,
"Why did my son have to die in Korea?
Another mother asked President F.D. Roosevelt,
"Why did my son have to die at Iwo Jima?"
Another mother asked President W. Wilson,
"Why did my son have to die on the battlefield of France?"
Yet another mother asked President Lincoln,
"Why did my son have to die at Gettysburg?"
And yet another mother asked President G. Washington,
"Why did my son have to die near Valley Forge?"
Then long, long ago, a mother asked...
"Heavenly Father, why did my Son have to die
on a cross outside of Jerusalem?"
The answers to all these are similar --
"So that others may have life and dwell in peace,
happiness and freedom."
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My thoughts/reflections:

Hmmm. I don't remember her asking that, but for the sake of the argument: Seems like its a way to justify the death of war using the birth of Christ. Seems kinda warm and fuzzy, but alot of those other wars were waged for various different reasons and not always the same as the current war in Iraq. I mean, someone could go back to every war in history and make up the same "a mother asked" scenario. I think just because its a war doesn't mean its right.

Bottom line: I think its crappy for someone to use the birth of Christ to make this point. Which, I think is flawed too. Lets take a look at that: "The answers to all these are similar --'So that others may have life and dwell in peace,happiness and freedom.'"

So, Jesus died so that others may have life and dwell in peace, happiness and freedom? Lets really think about that. Paul, you have your hand raised; do you have a question? Paul said, "Yeah, once Christ came into my life I presented his Love my whole life and was constantly tortured and eventually killed because of it. So, what happened to my freakin' peace?". Oh, while we're at it lets ask the rest of the Christian Martyrs over the years why they really think Christ died. I bet it won't be close to the above.

The reason Jesus died wasn't to let us dwell in peace, happiness and freedom. He died at the hands of man to fulfill the burden placed on man since the fall and in that restore the relationship between He and us. He died because He Loved his creation and wanted us to be how and who we were created to be.

And in that relationship we are free, but the Word also says we're slaves to Christ.

In this relationship we find Joy, not happiness, because being happy is when I get that big slab of pancakes and by the time I'm done I'm sick of it. Its temporal.

He does give us peace. But not peace as in if I walk around in Iraq I won't get shot because I'm a Christian. No, its peace in that if I'm walking around in Iraq and get shot, my peace is in my relationship with my Creator and no matter what might happen to my physical body, my spirit/soul belongs to Christ and no one can take that.

The Word talks about the battle against the one who can kill both soul and body. We should not be worried about physical peace.

Its the popular american bent christianity that makes arguments like this. And it should be torn down by the very Word that it bends to fit its purposes.

-rant over.

5 comments:

Mr. B said...

freakin christians...

jimmy (dge.y.m.ie) said...

i love thee niles. i wish you wouldn't choose football games over spending time with me (and Jesus), but alas...

just kidding. see you this week.

jimmy (dge.y.m.ie) said...

hey. merry christmas. to all the (now) three fergusons. much love. and check out my myspace. jesse left a friggin hilarious post on it, which includes your beautiful face.

robkroese said...

Wow, that is hella crappy. I suppose the mothers of the Nazis used a slightly different version, but all the stories end with Jesus.

gDodson said...

you have a blog? well, atleast you did in 2006.