Why war today? Knowledge, intelligence, world wide coverage of events?
I think it is a matter of education. Many places that breed terrorists, like Minnesota, where I grew up, eschewed violence for the sake of the American National Identity. Lies perpetrated my life as a youth and the media denied me a clear understanding of what was actually happening. So, I joined the Marines, first, to be a man, and to be all I could be, and then a defender of my homeland. Not until much later, after my boot camp, did I wonder why I was half way around the world defending the USA. The USA was only there in camps and small areas, it appeared we were defending ideologies and ideas that were not necessarily factual.
MY COUNTRY, RIGHT OR WRONG and that was that. My flag, my country, my nation, and it became very confusing. Drugs helped. They stopped the truth from bothering me. Someone knew what was right and I was “one tin soldier,” then the facts started coming out.
So, after a medical discharge, I wandered the world, looking for truth. I ran into Jesus all the time, amidst the cries of the religions I studied that went out of their way to attack Christianity. Of course, I though Christianity was American, I mean, no one told me that it was to the middle east that Jesus came and for values that were directly opposed to those I was taught. Selflessness instead of selfishness, giving instead of getting and then …..
Today, I am finishing my study on numbers, you know, the steps that one must follow to be a follower of God. Henry W. Wright’s 8 steps, the Government of 12 and their steps and mores steps along with the injection of fear of failure and the possibility that demons could and would stop you from being all you can be.
My friends were bombed yesterday in Nigeria by Arabs that have been taught that there are two kinds of people in the world. Those that believe like they believe and dead people. Most of the world needs to die that God can be the ruler. This is not unlike the numbers game the name-it-and-claim-it folks use. Though they do not promote violence in the American Church, at least publically, there is the divine right to rule the world doctrine which promotes armies and bombs and the right of the American Government to arrest, detain and torture folks that they think should be arrested,, detained and tortured.
The Bible is in direct opposition to everyone, as far as I can tell. Everyone who is willing to fight for what is right is ultimately opposed to Jesus and his commandments to die for what is right by blessing those that persecute you.
Numbers or not, Matthew 5, 6 and 7 are powerful chapters written by a man who was a competent stenographer, able to write as fast as Jesus talked and who marveled that Jesus was explaining a system whereby we love one another and did not kill those who wanted to kill us.
He did not come as a warrior. He came to bless and to teach love, acceptance and forgiveness and I wonder who is visiting the families of the bombers and loving them. Maybe I better do that. I know folks are visiting the families of those who died at the hands of the bombers but should we be looking to kill the killers?
Will the numbers we talk about, the ones the demon chasers insiste are necessary to make one whole, bring back the dead? Will they bless the persecuters or just establish the fact that it might take years and years and years to get ourselves ready. Ready for what? What is an ideal Christian? Healthy, wealthy and wise or humbly serving those who want us killed.
There are so many who study Christianity and then turn their back on Christianity, or at least the numbers and methods we espouse, for something else.
Matthew 25:31-46 seems to be so simple.
Pray for me, whatever religion you use or to whatever God you see at the end of your tunnel. I want to live Matthew, chapters 5,6 and 7.
