Love, War, Torture, and Human Dignity

This morning, I listened carefully as a local radio host interviewed a Catholic priest who had written an article critical of torturing terrorists. The priest argued that Islamic terrorists bear the image of God just as every other person on earth does. Therefore, they should not be tortured. It is dehumanizing and demeaning.

The talk show host and his listeners did not agree with his argument. They made the point that terrorists should not retain human rights. The terrorists had forfeited all rights when they started to engage in the murder of American citizens. Some callers completely denied the idea that terrorists are human beings. They considered the terrorists to be animals.

From a biblical perspective, the priest made the better argument. Of course the Islamic terrorists bear the image of God. They are not animals.

However, the question is not: Do Islamic terrorists bear the image of God? The question is: Is it morally acceptable for the government to torture them in order to save innocent lives?

On the one hand, Jesus told his followers to love their enemies (Matthew 5:44). Islamic terrorists certainly fall into the category of the enemies of Christians.

On the other hand, Christ wants his people to love their neighbors (Matthew 22:39). The innocent people who are the targets of the terrorists would certainly fall into the category of our neighbors.

So what do we do when two commandments seem to conflict? If a woman were being raped in front of my house, would it be enough for me to plead with the rapist to stop raping my neighbor? Or would the loving thing be to use whatever force necessary to stop the rapist, even if it meant hurting or killing him? I believe the answer would be to try to stop him verbally, but to kill him if necessary. It's loving when we call for repentance, but it's also loving to intervene with force when necessary to protect the innocent.

In Romans 12, the apostle Paul urged Christians, "Do not repay evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord" (Romans 12:17-19).

Then, in the next chapter, he adds, "For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer" (Romans 13:3-4).

So is it morally acceptable for the government to torture terrorists in order to save the lives of innocent people? Yes. It's the government's duty to terrorize those who would kill the innocent, and it could be the most loving thing the government could do for our neighbors. At the same time, Christians need to be praying for the terrorists' hearts to change while calling on them to repent from their evil. Both actions can be motivated by love.

Sin, Temptation, and the Dark Knight

This is not a review of The Dark Knight, the latest Batman movie, but it is a post about one of the movie's major themes. A good review can be found at http://www.pluggedinonline.com/movies/movies/a0004153.cfm.

In The Dark Knight, we see the Joker creating chaos and desperation through terrorist attacks upon the citizens of Gotham City. His ultimate goal appears to be to cause enough distress among the people of the city that they will turn on each other, harm each other, and murder each other.

The Joker convinces one police officer to aid him by bribing her. Since she was struggling with paying her mother's hospital bills, she caved in to the Joker's offer and became an accomplice in murder.

In one scene, the Joker rigged two ferry boats with explosives. As the ferries were crossing the bay with people trying to escape the chaos in Gotham City, the Joker cut their power. He provided a trigger devise for each ferry, but each devise would trigger an explosion on the other boat. Then he announced that the people on one boat could blow up the other ferry. If they did so, they would survive. If neither ferry exploded by midnight, the Joker would blow up both of them. The people were facing the choice of murder or be murdered.

The Joker exploited a weakness in human character, a weakness acknowledged in Scripture: As people become more desperate, they become more vulnerable to the temptation to commit evil acts against others. For example, in Deuteronomy 28:53-57, we read, "Because of the suffering that your enemy will inflict on you during the siege, you will eat the fruit of the womb, the flesh of the sons and daughters the LORD your God has given you. Even the most gentle and sensitive man among you will have no compassion on his own brother or the wife he loves or his surviving children, and he will not give to one of them any of the flesh of his children that he is eating. It will be all he has left because of the suffering your enemy will inflict on you during the siege of all your cities. The most gentle and sensitive woman among you--so sensitive and gentle that she would not venture to touch the ground with the sole of her foot--will begrudge the husband she loves and her own son or daughter the afterbirth from her womb and the children she bears. For she intends to eat them secretly during the siege and in the distress that your enemy will inflict on you in your cities" (NIV). As Jesus said, "Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold" (Matthew 24:12, NIV).

Unfortunately, we don't need to get very desperate before we are tempted to sin. Losing a few hours of sleep over a few nights can make us vulnerable to impatience and outbursts of anger. A tight budget can tempt us to cheat others out of their money or to refuse to help someone in greater need.

While The Dark Knight has a few flaws, it explores some weighty issues surrounding human nature, sin, and temptation. In showing our vulnerabilities, it humbles us. It reveals how close we may be to becoming villains ourselves.

Living in the Tension

"Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord. Therefore
'If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
For in so doing you will heap coals of
fire on his head.'
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:17-21, NKJV).

"Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil" (Romans 13:1-4, NKJV).

Shortly after the terrorists' attacks on September 11, 2001, I prayed with a group of Christians for Osama bin Laden and his fellow terrorists to repent, to have a change of heart and to become followers of Christ. Afterwards, a fellow Christian asked if I supported the war against terrorists. I answered, "Yes." Confused, he asked, "Then how can you pray for them on one hand and support efforts to kill them on the other?" That's a fair question.

My answer lies within the tension between the end of Romans 12 and the beginning of Romans 13.

I attempt to care about my enemies, as Paul taught in Romans 12. Despite the evil within them, I want the best for them. I would love to see terrorists turn from Allah to Jesus Christ. I want them to place their trust in what he has done to save them. I would love to see them acknowledging Christ as their Lord and submitting to baptism in his name. I desire to see them expressing faith in Christ through love for others.

I also support my government's efforts to avenge the innocent and to terrorize people who would harm others, as Paul taught in Romans 13. The government has a God-given responsibility to do so. When I served on a jury a couple of years ago, I had to deal with this issue as we were attempting to sentence a rapist and burglar for smashing in his girlfriend's face. Wanting to love my neighbors by protecting them from this violent man, I pushed for the strongest sentence possible. While we need to love our enemies, we cannot allow it to prevent us from loving our other neighbors. The government exists to prevent evil people from harming others. When it is attempting to do its job, I need to support it.

I will continue to pray for the terrorists while supporting the government's war against them. In doing so, I am trying to love my neighbors and my enemies.

Praying for Terrorists

"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Matthew 5:43-44, NIV).

Perhaps no one on earth hates Christians more than do the Islamic terrorists. Believing that they are following the will of God, they are intent on killing those who disagree with them. Without a doubt, followers of Jesus Christ are their enemies. We disagree with them at every point.

Our obligation is to pray for them. They need the grace and mercy of God. They are heading toward hell without any hope of escape, unless they come to know Christ as their Savior and Lord. We have been instructed to pray for them. Jesus wants to save them, and He wants us to cooperate with Him in His mission of salvation.

At http://www.atfp.org, we can adopt a terrorist for prayer. This is an excellent opportunity to love our enemies.

Can Osama bin Laden Be Saved?

Can Osama bin Laden be saved? As scandalous and disgusting as this sounds, the answer is: Yes. Even the worst mass murderer of our time can be saved. Even the most satanic leader of Islamic terrorists can be saved.

Does bin Laden deserve to go to hell? No question about it. He is a murderer. He mocks the true God who will judge him. He promotes a distorted view of God and humanity. He is evil to the core.

However, another enemy of God who was an unlikely prospect for salvation once reflected back on his life and wrote, "Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 1:13-14, NIV). The apostle Paul could identify with Osama bin Laden in his hatred of Jesus Christ and his followers, but he was changed by an encounter with the Lord.

Osama bin Laden can be saved, but not until he submits to Christ.

So what can we do about it? We must pray for the Islamic world to open up to the gospel. Over one billion Muslims do not know the true Christ. (The one that they know about never died and was never resurrected so that their sins could be forgiven.) They need a Savior, because they have sin in their lives as much as any of us.

In addition, we must send missionaries to Islamic lands. (I know that this has been happening for years. I met a missionary to Indonesia at the National Urban Ministry Conference of the Churches of Christ a few years ago, and I heard about a former urban minister who was serving as a missionary in Pakistan. We simply need to send more missionaries, because the need is so great.) As the apostle Paul also wrote, "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!'' (Romans 10:14-15, NIV).

With prayer and evangelism (accompanied by a love for Muslims and a willingness to die in order to reach them), people like Osama bin Laden have a opportunity to be saved. Otherwise, it is hopeless.