I hear that mindset a lot lately. We’ve seen the mentality all too brutally clear over the last six or so years. And it is absolute nonsense if you are a disciple of Jesus.
Because of former Vice President Dick Cheney’s recent and continuous media parade defending the Bush administration’s enhanced interrogation methods, cable news shows are spending a lot of time interviewing people who land on both sides of the discussion. That discussion? Whether or not the enhanced interrogation techniques used to gain valuable national security information is in fact torture, which would be both illegal and nothing short of evil.
I listened closely to one interview in particular today on Hardball. Steve McMahon, Democratic strategist, sits on the side of calling what occurred under Bush’s watch (including water boarding) torture. Ron Christie, former Dick Cheney aid, sits on the side of calling them legal enhanced interrogation techniques. Ron very intently and quickly moved the discussion to the information gained by these tactics, and the level of safety the United States incurred during this time. Early on Steve stuck to his guns and focused on the torture itself. But as the discussion continued even he began to get wrapped up in Ron’s “the ends justify the means” mentality. Even the host (not Chris Matthews today by the way) threw in a question having to do with how Democrats will deal with the idea that eliminating the torture will make the US more vulnerable.
Whether an act is legal or not has no direct bearing on whether that act is evil or righteous. The ends do not justify the means. Because our military personnel were able to obtain information that helped stopped another possible 9/11 attack (not sure if that is the case, but there was mention of stopping other attacks on US soil) does not justify the use of torture to obtain that information. Torture is a crime. Torture is an act of evil. Remember the Spanish Inquisition. Remember the Crusades. Remember the horrible years in Reformation England under Henry VIII, Mary Tudor, Elizabeth I.
My hope is that those who call themselves disciples and followers of Jesus the Christ do not entrap themselves. Politics can have a very strong effect on people. I do not think anyone is truly immune. But who would dare stand amid other Christians and declare that torture is okay or justified? To do so would be to bring shame to the name and work and teachings of Jesus. To say what went on was not torture? Well that would be to blind yourself by your political leanings. Then you have the problem of serving two masters.
And choosing who you will serve is what this all boils down to. For example, take the average conservative evangelical who voted for George W. Bush and Dick Cheney twice, supported their work against abortion, supported the rise in faith-based initiatives during the 2000′s, and in general liked having the moral, Biblical standards return to the oval office. If they denounce torture they would have to admit that former President George W. Bush, former Vice President Dick Cheney, and the leaders of the administration (including Rice, Ashcroft, Gonzalez, and so forth), committed grave atrocities against other human beings who were created in God’s image. And if they either accept torture as something of a justifiable act or even find Scriptural support for it, or if they deny the existence of torture at all and side with the euphemism enhanced interrogation, then how can they in any way be serving and following Jesus period?
The ends do not justify the means. There is no justification for torturing another human being. And no Christian can ever support such activity. I believe as these interviews and investigations continue we will soon hear news that torture was in fact perpetrated, and the members of the former Bush administration will begin to see charges filed against individuals. I also believe far too many Christians will have their political blinders on and continue in either their denial or their abject support for the Bush administration’s use of enhanced interrogation techniques. And all to the detriment of the name of Jesus.
Your comments are entirely welcome and sought after. I want the dialogue to continue within the Christian community. Hopefully we can grow and learn from each other, and then have that extend to our local communities.
