Editorial for August 18, 2005
By Jim White
Every payday the vignette replayed itself. About 2 a.m. Kenny, a fellow Marine, would shake me awake. By this time, he had had sufficient time to move from bar to bar getting loaded while unloading greenbacks as he went. By the time he ran out of money and returned to the base, he was inebriated enough to be haunted once more by a scene from battle.
He and another Marine had been on guard duty in Vietnam when they were suddenly blinded by a flash and rocked by the force of an explosion. Kenney's companion had been hit in the face by white phosphorous. As Kenney watched in horror, his friend's face seemed to melt and slide from his head.
He described the scene including the sounds and smells in graphic detail. For several months, I heard him tell and retell this story until at last it seemed almost that I had witnessed it myself.
War. Glamorized by Hollywood and glorified by battlefield survivors, its true character is pain, stench, destruction and terror. Too often these days we learn that more of our countrymen have died. We witness in news reports the stabbing grief of family members whose loved ones will never come home.
I was one of those Americans who supported the war in Iraq believing, as we were told, that Saddam was developing devastating weapons that would alter the balance of power in the Middle East and perhaps threaten the peace of the world. Like the rest of America, Virginia Baptists are divided about whether we were intentionally deceived or whether our leaders presented the truth as they sincerely believed it to be. Also like the rest of America, Virginia Baptists have differing opinions about how long troops should remain in Iraq. Some of our own have lost their lives in this war. To speak of a timetable for withdrawal is a political issue and I do not wish to be political.
Rather, I want to call us to gather our spiritual perspective about us and to think about how awful it is for human beings to be killing each other even if there seems to be no alternative. I can almost hear what some of you are thinking: “We didn't ask for this war. Sometimes you have to go to war to preserve and promote freedom. War is a necessary evil.”
You'll get no quarrel from me. For 15 years I was a pastor in Newport News and I made peace with building aircraft carriers and submarines. Still, in meditative moments I wonder what life could be like if we would take Jesus' words literally. Does “turn the other cheek” only apply to an individual's response to an affront? Or did the Son of God intend to give us a principle that holds true on a global scale?
There was once a little man from India who read the words of Jesus and believed them. Although he never became a Christian, Mahatma Gandhi was inspired by Christ's teaching and led a movement that liberated India from British rule without firing a shot. Martin Luther King believed the words of Jesus and led African Americans in a movement of nonviolent resistance that helped accomplish civil rights reform. Nelson Mandela became the leader of a government eager for revenge, but he led South Africa to “turn the other cheek” and a peaceful transition of power resulted. Lincoln believed the Union should turn the other cheek-”with malice toward none; with charity for all.” If only he had lived how different parts of our history might be.
But our “if onlys” and “what ifs” do not alter the current hard reality. I long for Isaiah's prophecy to be fulfilled: “In the last days … He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore” (Isaiah 2:2, 4, NIV). Even if Isaiah's words are not intended to be applied to the end of the age, in the words of Shakespeare, “ 'tis a consummation devoutly to be wished.” Until then, in the words Jesus, “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars” (Matt. 24:6, NIV).
This does not constitute an endorsement, however. In Matthew 12:43-45, Jesus tells of the unclean spirit expelled from a man only to have it return with seven others even more evil. I concede that we must leave behind in Iraq the means to resist evil.
But I still can't help thinking about what might have been. As of this writing, what has the war on terror cost? 2,072 Americans have died; 194 from coalition nations have died; 25,000 Iraqis have died. What might these people have become if they had been allowed to live to old age? How many would have been saved later in life, but instead entered eternity without Christ? We will, of course, never know. Other costs, however, can be calculated.
By the time you receive this, the U.S. will have spent $188 billion on the war on terror with $150,000 added every minute. What could be done with $188 billion? We could fully fund global anti-hunger efforts for seven years. Or we could pay the entire cost for world-wide AIDS programs for 18 years. Or we could provide every child in the world with basic immunizations for 62 years. If we had spent that amount on research, could we have conquered cancer? Could we have discovered a new source of energy? We can't even imagine things that might have been discovered if that amount of money had been designated for research.
As long as I'm dreaming, I also can't help but wonder what could be done with the $23.5 billion we would have if every Southern Baptist family tithed!
Source. National Priorities [email protected]/costofwar/index.html.
Jim White is editor and business manager of the Religious Herald.