Some of the most amusing comments I get are the ones like the last one on this page by "endO":
As a Christian myself, I CANNOT see how any true Christian can justify or support war (particularly an illegal one!)
I assume endO is talking about the Global War on Terror, or perhaps the liberation of Iraq more specifically. If he, or anyone, is actually interested in how and why I justify and support America's involvement in these conflicts, he should simply read through the numerous posts I've written on the topic.
The only reason I can think of for him to preface his position with "as a Christian myself" is that he wants to bypass and ignore all my written arguments on the matter -- which he probably hasn't bothered to read -- and morph the issue into a question of being a "true Christian". He himself is naturally a "true Christian", and since he "CANNOT see" any way to justify the war that I support, I must not be a "true Christian".
As for myself, I can see plenty of reasons why people I would consider to be true Christians would not support the Global War on Terror -- after all, there are plenty of stupid Christians. Just kidding. Anyway, even if it were the case that "true Christianity" compelled a person to take a certain position on the GWoT, I don't think that argument would be useful for convincing anyone to change their mind. All such an argument does is obscure the real area of disagreement: what characteristics of the GWoT compel such a belief? I think very few pairs of people could agree about all the characteristics of the GWoT and then come to different conclusions as to whether or not to support it. Why? Because in the vast majority of cases the decision to support or denounce the GWoT preceded an understanding of the evidence, and the decision actually determines which evidence will be accepted and which evidence will be rejected.
Interestingly, most people make decisions about spiritual matters the same way: first they decide, then they look at evidence, then they adjust the evidence to fit their decision.
Have you ever noticed that everything that offends the left is either "illegal," "unconstitutional" or both? For once, could somebody - anybody - admit to opposing the legal war on terror?
I get it all the time, after a similar fashion: "Because you don't think homosexual relations are a sin, you must therefor not be a Christian." If I'm not a Christian, there is no need to put up an argument agaisnt me; I'm wrong because I'm not a Christian; I'm not a Christian because I'm wrong.
YAWN!
Xrlq,
And everything that seems to offend certain elements of the right is Communist, immoral, secular humanism, unpatriotic, politically correct, or "blame America first"-ing.
If I had $5 for every person that e-mailed me "if you hate America so much why don't you move" I'd have enough for a tidy little cruise trip to whatever land it is they want me to sail for.
YAWN.
If people think you hate America, maybe there is something leading them to that conclusion. If it walks like a duck and all.
There's always more than one way to solve a problem. Some ways are way easier than others. You just need to think outside the oil drum.....
If this country can do the Atomic Bomb and the Moon Shot with federal dollars, why does it call super cheap solar energy impossible when anyone in a hot car can feel the obvious potential ?
200 billion spent on research, even if unsuccessful, would drive the price of oil way down, and insure that the Middle East itself would give Osama and his followers justice. Why force our troops to solve this problem the hard way, when peak oil will force the development of cheaper solar soon anyway ?
BTW, for a great morining chuckle, type in "stupid Christians" into the technorati search engine, and even the names of the blogs that come up will give you a laugh !
Halram
Halram: Super cheap solar energy is a pipe dream. I doubt the environmentalists would be happy paving over thouands of square miles of land with solar cells. Aside from that, solar energy is cyclical with the time of day and time of year, and thus totally unsuited to modern electicity usage patterns. You get the least energy collected in the winter, when you need to use the most. You get none collected at night, when everyone turns on the lights.
Finlay:
If people think the likes of myself and Joel Thomas hate America... it doesn't necessarily mean there's a valid reason behind it.
Some people think Republicans in general and conservatives in particular are cold-hearted, greedy, and bent on world domination. Does that mean there's a valid reason behind such opinions? Not at all.
Based on your both your and Joel's comments, the evidence sure does fit a pattern of hating on America as a knee jerk response. My question is why burden yourself with such a depressing world view? There is so much to appreciate and love about America, the character of Americans, and our history.
Is there a website that goes into more depth (from a layman's perspective, not geekspeak) on how much power can be generated from solar energy in the way you detail, Michael? I'd just like to see some hard numbers.
I mean, sure, we don't want all those sq. miles of solar panels - but could there be a balance created, so that while we may still be depending on oil we're not depending on so much? 70%? 60%? What if solar (and other non-fossil fuels) were pooled together to power stationary objects like cities and leave oil-based to power vehicles? What would that save? Would that be doable? I just want to see some #'s...
Finlay:
Your presumptions about me are troubling.. not because I take them personally, but because of the precious little you're basing them on.
I don't "hate America" or "hate on America"... regardless of whatever you might think. I disagree with many of the policies of President Bush and the Republican-led Congress... but that doesn't mean I hate America anymore than conservatives hated America during the Clinton administration.
Since your premise that I hate America is flawed, so too is your conclusion that I possess "such a depressing world view"... and that I find nothing to love about America, don't know of or don't appreciate the character of Americans, or don't appreciate our history.
Well Mark, I've followed your comments on this site for a while, and you've never had anything positive to say. Since that is the only basis I have to try and understand where you are coming from the only conclusion I can make is that your hatred of republicans and George Bush has spilled into a general distaste for America.
Name three positive things that have happened in America in the last five years, and admit that the vast majority of men and women in uniform performing their mission with professionalism, heroism and dedication and we'll be getting somewhere.
Finlay:
Given the limitations inherent to basing conclusions on what I've posted here on MW's site... I'd say it's quite unreasonable to draw any conclusions at all. If the bar for drawing conclusions about people is as low as you've set it, then I could say that MW (or many other people here) hates liberals because he never has anything positive to say about them. Would it be true? No.
I wouldn't characterize my opinion of Republicans and George Bush as "hatred"... but more of "fundamental disagreement".
As for positive things that happened in America, here are a few:
- The economy got better.
- Taxes were cut (would've been nicer if there were an accompanying cut in spending.. but that's "big-government conservatism" for ya).
- We're taking terrorism more seriously.
- Saddam was removed from power. As I've said all along I disapprove of the way we did it, but it's still great that he's gone.
I don't know where you found anything I wrote here that suggested I *didn't* think the vast majority of those in our Armed Forces are performing their mission with professionalism, heroism, and dedication..... so I'm not sure why I should have to state a belief that I don't think was ever questioned. At any rate, I *do* think the people in our Armed Services are professionals, heroes, and extremely dedicated. This isn't a recent change in opinion either. I've *always* felt that way.
Finlay,
I don't hate America, just you. Only you.
Wow, I thought you were a Christian Joel. Too bad.
Oh, come on Brian, and lighten up a little. It's just my way of acknowleding that we aren't likely to convince each other of much, and, that like Mark, I think you make far too many assumptions about people you haven't met. I like MW even though I don't understand his personality well and don't agree with many of his views (and in fact find some of what he rights beyond appalling).
My comment reflects back to the day that you shared that you doubted that I had actually served in the military. If you didn't believe that, you're not going to believe that I'm a Christian, either, or that I love the United States. The line also popped into my head as an alteration of a line in the movie "Stand By Me" where Kiefer Sutherland's character is all macho and stuff "are you going to shoot us all?" and Will Wheaton's character answers,
No, Ace, just you." At that point the Sutherland character hightails.
I have nothing against you Brian. It just seemed like a couple of years ago you wanted to make something "personal" with someone you've never met.
Good blog post, Michael. A quick Google finds that Intervarsity, an hardly a sell-out Christian group, recognizes that there a the Just War theory is compatible with Christianity:
http://www.intervarsity.org/news/news.php?item_id=1164
It is explained excellently by the Pew Center:
http://pewforum.org/just-war/
Whether or not you agree with the war, the "As a Christian myself, I CANNOT see how any true Christian can justify or support war" line does not hold water.