Not everyone, of course, agrees about the Israel-Hezbollah/Lebanon war. I think it’s good to hear from someone closer to the source (that doesn’t include CNN), so you can read this article in The Daily Star (main English paper in Lebanon), whose survey essentially shows that nearly all of Lebanon is behind Hezbollah. Or you can read a commentary by the academic dean of the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary. Think believers might have something in common? Less than you might think. (I’d like to see what a former Lebanese evangelical believer says; my guess is that there’s a big difference between those who currently live in Lebanon and those who are no longer subject to the wrath of Hezbollah.) Or you can read the rantings of a Baptist pastor in Tennessee. (Which only suggests that the word “Baptist” is meaningless if our views are 100% opposite.)
For something more accurate, Locusts & Honey has a good, short round-up of why everyone would do well to be slow in jumping to conclusions in condemning Israel. I’m not sure that all of his sources are accurate though (conservatives too often jump the gun and argue for a possible but not proven conclusion).
The Head of the Moor has 10 questions he wants you to answer about the war. My answer to #6 (should Syria be held responsible?) is this Daniel Pipes‘ column from today.
And if you like conservative (and humorous) commentary on this and everything else, check out “The Best of the Web” by OpinionJournal.com. I don’t have time to read it every day, but it’s always interesting and you can get an email subscription.
You know … I would love to get Randy’s take on the whole thing. He is the “Modern State” prof … would be good to get his perspective.
Is Syria responsible? Yeah, along with the rest of the Lebanese, Iran, and perhaps others in the region.
My sources may be wrong. But as you suggest, we can wait until an investigation is completed before drawing conclusions about the Qana attack.
Todd you can characterize my comments as rantings all you wish. The fact of the matter is, Israel has killed hundred and hundreds of Lebanese civilians. You may find that ok but I don’t. And you may think anyone who doesn’t is “ranting” but the only real rant is performed by the blind “Israel is always right” zionists who don’t care who get’s killed as long as Israel can hang on to its portion of dirt.
Jim – an example of a rant is the last sentence in your comment. You simply insist on making uninformed and foolish statements. There may be those who don’t care who gets killed, but they are fringe, are not most Israeli politicians or military generals, and not Dr. Caner is not one of them. You can put words in peoples’ mouths, but sometimes you’re going to get called on it. As for the issue being holding on to a piece of dirt, apparently you have missed everything that is going on today and in the last century. It is about the survival of the Jews. You have made it clear what side you are on. I am on the other side.
Who killed hundreds of Lebanese civilians? The Israelis or the Hezbollah fighters using them as hostages?
Todd, I appreciate you taking the time to articulate the long history of grievance between Israel and Hezbollah, and the rest of the world for that matter. I guess what gives me pause as a Christian is any sort of brazen endorsement of killing, whether it’s Nazi killers or Hezbollah militants. Whether it’s a just war or not, this is an awful thing and a Christian ought to pause before calling any killing “a good thing”. This may in fact be a necessary war for the ultimate peace of Israel and the region at large, but we should never be glad, and we should always be vigilant to bring about peaceful solutions. There is never any cause for triumphalism in war, and I think we’d all do well to season our speech with a little of that salt.
Stratkey, the awful reality is that you are going to have “collateral damage” in any war. People who you don’t intend to kill are going to be killed. It’s a sad tragedy of war and there is killing happening on BOTH sides of the border.
Another problem is that too many people keep saying that Israel is targeting innocent civilians. In reality it is targeting what it believes are legitimate terrorist targets. I believe that Hezbollah is intentionally forcing people to stay against their will or otherwise putting them there on purpose.
Hezbollah’s apparent use of a hospital as a command post is sickening. It only shows how low they will sink in their efforts to destroy Israel. Israel, unlike other countries (including the United States) isn’t going to hold back just because it is a hospital. If there are terrorists there, Israel is within its right and should consider it a valid target.
I’m a Christian, but I support the war in Israel, the nation of Israel, and the Jewish people. We are commanded in Scripture to do so and there are consequences for not doing so.
Unfortunately, the pacifistic nature of certain people is exactly what the terrorists want out of us. It only spurs them to do more, because they know they can get away with it. Hold that attitude too long and you have another 9/11, which I believe could have been prevented.
Stratkey – I agree and don’t agree. I do think a Christian should “pause” and make certain that matters are clear. But if pause means not to act, then I don’t agree. The Nazis are a good example – they should have been stopped (from conquering Europe/Asia, from killing Jews and others, etc.), and if that means bombing runs, then I think this is right. War is awful, of course, but in some cases, it is better than the alternative (allowing the genocide of the Jews, or today, constant terrorism on Israel’s northern border).
Brian – I disagree that the Scripture requires us to support Israel. That could be another post, but right now I’m quite behind on other things and don’t have time for a lengthy write-up.
Todd, thanks for the response. I guess the appropriate question is not so much about “why” as “how” at this point. It seems that if we accept the need for Hezbollah to be removed–the “why”– (which most of us do), then we ought to then discuss “how” they ought to be removed.
I think we Christians too blithely endorse actions that are horrific because we assume they are the only options available to us, and often times without any thought to what a gospel ethic might require. As I read it, the gospel requires us to work vigilantly for peace, though it doesn’t go so far as to recommend total pacifism (e.g. defending the powerless). Moreoever, I don’t believe that this current course of bombing is going to help more than it hurts, for the same reason that US action in Iraq isn’t helping more than it hurts. In light of those beliefs: 1) that the gospel constrains me to work for peace 2) that military action will likely have negative results, I think this war is a bad idea.
But don’t take it from me, take it from someone up close. Here’s a blurb from a secular, Hezbollah hating, Lebanese journalist that I think we would all do well to consider when we are thinking about endorsing Israel’s current actions:
“Even after 9/11, there is this expectation in the U.S. and Israel that some unspoken middle class is just sitting there waiting to inherit the ruins of whatever country it is that they are obliterating. But that there is no calculation that, if they flatten Lebanon and Nasrallah comes out of hiding and is given a microphone to deliver a speech, he can topple governments. He has (unfortunately) been extraordinarily empowered by this. Israel and America are obsessed with destroying hardware. But if you do this with Hezbollah you merely propagate what you want to destroy. . . Do I want to live under Hezbollah? No I don’t. But the same errors that the Americans made in Iraq are the ones being made here. You get rid of Nasrallah not by destroying his guns but by helping to create a sustainable society. . . ” —–Jamil Mroue
Helping to create a sustainable society? Pie in the sky? Wishful thinking? Or a strategy that never crossed anyone’s mind? Christian, perhaps?
Food for thought.
Stratkey – I appreciate your careful thoughts. We would do well to think very carefully. And I am the first to admit that I know very little about the whole situation. If the question is a practical one, the issue is one long debated. I am not convinced that the solution is to help our enemies in the hopes that they will change. Israel did what the liberals said would bring peace when they withdrew from Lebanon in 2000. There has been no occupation since that time. Instead of peace, the enemy built up a huge arsenal, such that the danger to Israel is now far greater than ever before (on the northern border). Giving Lebanon “peace” did not work then and I don’t see reason to believe that it will work in the future.
I also take my clue from some godly men who are Israelis. Perhaps they are the best ones to listen to in this situation (together with godly Lebanese). They not only know God’s Word but they know the situation because they have lived with Arab neighbors all their lives. And all I can tell you is that you can’t understand the Arab mindset from reading a few newspaper articles, or, in my case, even living in Israel for 10 years. It takes much much more. And so I tend to trust them more than some U.S. TV commentators. For them, there really is no question that the enemy must be crushed. At the same time, they know that this will never bring true peace, but only a brief respite. Their prayer and mine is that the nation of Israel would trust in the Prince of Peace.
Having studied the Arab-Israeli conflict, my natural inclination is to support Israel in whatever way they feel necessary (in most sitations). The Hezbollah mind set is not one I condone, and certainly one I would like to see wiped out. Israel was provoked and has a right to defend herself against naked agression.
However, I’m not convinced that this latest military action is going to have the desired effect. In fact, I’m scared that it’s going to have the opposite effect, the one that the journalist I quoted above points out.
I’m also concerned that the war in Lebanon will be used as a pretext for the Neoconservatives in America to further advance their stated agenda which is to plunge us into war with Iran. If you think that’s scare talk, read some of their literature; they’ve been planning it for five years now.
At the end of the day, I worry that all we might accomplish by letting Israel carry out this action is a Lebanon politically sympathetic to a tattered Hezbollah with many civilians dead on both sides. Scariest of all, this may be just the pretext Bush needs to step into Iran.
With Iraq as our litmus test, it should be clear that fomenting democracy by force is NOT a very good idea, at the very least it’s extremely costly and deals out death in a way that should make us reconsider its moral warrant.
Which brings me back to my point: Christians should work for peace, and the reasons I state above seem like good ones to stop this present military action and start rethinking what we can do that might actually help.
Having said all that, I respect your opinions on the matter. These aren’t easy decisions and no one has a clear line of sight to the end game here.
I’ll leave with this: as a Christian I’m praying for peace in the region at whatever cost. As a US Citizen I’m worried that we’re getting taken for a ride by war mongers cloaking themselves in Christian double speak. They believe that the means justify the ends. They advocate terrible means, and haven’t produced a decent end in 6 years. Fool me once (Iraq) shame on you, fool me twice (Iran) shame on me.