Rodney

Personally, I don't believe that Jesus would buy that argument. He wouldn't even let his disciples "bear the sword" to try to save him.

Let me list all the things that Jesus does not care about:

* He does not care if we are wealthy, or if we stay wealthy, or if we become poor.
* He does not care about whether we have a large army to send to other countries.
* He does not care about foreign policy; he does not care if we are attacked by other countries.
* He does not even care if America survives. In general, he does not care about nations at all.

What he cares about is what we do with the grace he has granted to us. It's all in the Sermon on the Mount. It is about making the kingdom of heaven on earth, not accepting war and aggression as "just the way things are" until Jesus comes back. And for those who do, what side of the moneychanger's table would Jesus place them on?

What Jesus cares about is what is in our hearts, and the gentle message that he gave to all of us. That message has nothing to do with nations, and is corrupted when we try to join Christianity with the very cold logic of international relations. It doesn't work. It will never work. And this is a lesson that most American Christians, certainly, don't want to hear. God is not on their side. God is on everyone's side.

I'm not criticizing everybody who's pro-war. But trying to make exceptions in Christianity to justify the acts of a particular nation -- Jesus wouldn't do it. Neither should you.

Or as Gandhi once said when asked how he felt about Christianity (somewhat paraphrased): "Christianity? It's a great idea. Too bad it's never been put into practice!" With the cynical wit that only an involuntary member of the British Empire might muster.