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On August 27, 2014 By In Politics

Palestine ≠ Terrorism

On July 8th, Israel launched Operation Protective Edge, a military response to rockets fired from the Gaza Strip by Hamas. The operation is currently in its 50th day. If you watch the news, you’ve heard about the strikes back and forth between Israel and Hamas. You’ve heard about the deaths of civilians and the destruction of property on both sides. You’ve heard many condemn Israel as being disproportionate in its use of force; you’ve heard many defend Israel for its use of force. Whatever the case, emotions are high and battle lines have been drawn.

In America, especially in Christian circles, it seems that the lines are drawn rather simplistically. Dennis Prager summarizes the conflict between Israel and Palestine as “one side wants the other side dead.” The glaring problem with such a statement is that there are more than two sides involved. When we think of the conflict as “Israel vs. Palestine” without distinguishing the Palestinian Authority from Hamas, or the West Bank from Gaza, we’ve accepted a false narrative. Prager uses general terms such as “Palestinians,” “Palestinian people,” or “Palestinian leadership” when describing the side that wants to kill the other. This causes his audience to see no distinction; they are left to assume that all Palestinians are thirsty for Israeli blood. Some clarifications are in order.  (more…)

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On August 22, 2013 By In Politics, Theology

Military Intervention & Islamic Terrorism, pt. 2

When Gov. Chris Christie criticized Sen. Rand Paul‘s non-interventionism, he inevitably appealed to the events of September 11th, 2001. Indeed, 9/11 is the go-to argument for anyone wishing to make non-interventionists look naïve, insensitive and weak. This was a common tactic against Congressman Ron Paul during his recent presidential campaigns and it will no doubt be used against libertarian Republicans as we near 2016.

So, how should a Christian view Islamic terrorism and what should our response to it be? The mainstream narrative is that we were attacked on 9/11 because of our freedoms. On the day of the attacks and in the weeks to come, President Bush promoted this theory in his speeches:

“Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts…America was targeted for attack because we’re the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world.”

“They hate our freedoms: our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each other.” (more…)

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On August 6, 2013 By In Politics, Theology

Military Intervention & Islamic Terrorism, pt. 1

This past week has given us two conflicting turn of events in the Republican camp. First, Gov. Chris Christie criticized Sen. Rand Paul for his non-interventionist foreign policy. This lead to an entertaining, back-and-forth feud between the two that still has the media talking. Secondly, Newt Gingrich – a self-proclaimed neoconservative – admitted on Sunday that he admires Paul’s non-interventionism and that he now questions the validity of our military adventures around the world. On one hand, we have a big government politician simply being himself. On the other hand, we have a big-government politician openly suggesting that his views may need to be reformed. If this shows us anything, it shows us that militarism and terrorism will be major topics in the Republican primaries of 2016. It’s important that Christian libertarians and constitutionalists have a firm position on both. Today, we’ll discuss military intervention.

I’ve written previously on what a biblical war policy looks like. In summary, God revealed to the Israelites that military violence should be a last resort and always defensive rather than aggressive. We might say the only exception to this rule was in regard to the inheritance nations listed in Deuteronomy 20:16-18. Israel was to destroy these nations in order to fulfill God’s promise to Abraham. This was the only type of aggressive war God allowed Israel to be involved in. They did defeat the nations and received their rightful inheritance (Jos. 21:43-45). In the New Covenant, the only type of aggressive war we are told to partake in is the Great Commission, converting people to Christianity through evangelism. The conditions for aggressive war have been fulfilled but the defensive-only policy still stands. (more…)

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