This might make several of you mad, but stay with me here. Here is a news story about a speech delivered by Iranian President Ahmadinejad. He delivered this message on Christmas Day. Speaking of the United States, he says:
"If Christ was on Earth today undoubtedly he would stand with the people in opposition to bullying, ill-tempered and expansionist powers."
He continued:
"If Christ was on Earth today undoubtedly he would hoist the banner of justice and love for humanity to oppose warmongers, occupiers, terrorists and bullies the world over. If Christ was on Earth today undoubtedly he would fight against the tyrannical policies of prevailing global economic and political systems, as He did in His lifetime."
My question is does Ahmadinejad have a point? Many Americans dismiss his words because he is attacking the United States. Many empires (and yes, we are an empire) have crumbled because they went against God. Are we one of those empires?
I want to know if you think Ahmadinejad has a point. Has American gone too far? Are they on the verge of going to far? Is Ahmadinejad completely wrong? What would Christ say about role in international affairs?
Michael, my struggle is that these same claims could be made about almost any "empire" country, including Iran, Russia, and China. Ahmadinejad has vowed to wipe Israel off the face of the earth, which clearly lands them into many of those categories that he put the US into.
ReplyDeleteOn his point, I think yes and no. Jesus was born into thetime when Israel was under Roman rule, but Jesus never said to overthrow the Romans, he said to look to the greater Kingdom, which is at hand. The very war mongers, bullies, and tyrannical political systems were responsible for putting him to death. They had to be there to fulfill prophesy.
Have we gone too far, or close to going too far? To be honest, I don't know. Part of me agrees with the end-times folks that argue that the US is not described in any fashion in the Bible, so we may be "gone" when that time comes. Part of me agrees that we as a country are going against God and He's allowing it, just as He allowed Israel to go against Him for a "time", until He brought them back in-line. Part of me looks at the technological advances that are here, or right around the corner which could effectively enable many of the end-times prophesy. Part of me thinks we're too involved in policing the world for our interests. Part of me thinks we will be raptured soon. Part of me knows that when David sought permission from God to attack, and it was given, he was successful for God's purposes. Part of me knows that we're not "policing" for God's glory, but for America's own interests. Part of me knows that there are many American missionary organizations doing a lot of good, spreading the gospel as a result of financial support made possible by the wealth of America.
I just don't know.
Will, thanks for stopping by.
ReplyDeleteI think your last paragraph is right on. There isn't a single answer to this question. I'm a foreign policy scholar, and I can't answer the question. We do do a lot of good. We do help others out and spread the love of God through missionaries and other groups. We also harm people in our drive for power and hubris.
It's a tough question to answer.
Wow, right on? I thought I was all over the place! ;-)
ReplyDeleteIt is quite the conundrum.
I have to go with Will on this one (whatever he said). Just kidding. I have struggled with this. I have absolutely NO RESPECT for this madman. However, it does bring the point that you have asked: have we gone too far? Maybe. Maybe not. 9/11 should have humbled us. It did. For awhile. But we are back to arrogance again. The pay raise issue is frying my bacon (I just read about it since I was out of touch somewhat). I reckon they could justify it by saying, "Hey we deserve it. We bailed out Wall Street and we bailed out Detroit. Time for us." So much for a different administration. But let's not go there. I will just say this: it is a tough question to answer. :)
ReplyDeleteWill,
ReplyDeleteYou were all over the place, but that's why you were right on. ;)
I just don't think this is a black and white issue. There is no guilty or not guilty verdict. It's a little bit of both.
Bill,
Way to ride the fence with Will and I. That makes you right as well!
Alright! Power to the fence-surfers!!
ReplyDelete:-P
Ya'll have a fantastic New Year out in Lubbock!! I'll pray that it doesn't rain with a wind out of the southeast, blowing the "eau du Slaton" up into Lubbock - unless you've had your olfactory senses surgically removed and it doesn't matter. ;-)
Ha. We are actually house sitting for someone in Slaton this week. We're feeding there cattle and what not, so we've gotten our fair share of smelly stuff.
ReplyDelete