A Reminder of the Truth

Some days, it's more difficult to be a Christian then others. Today is one of those days. It begins when New York State Thruway radio announces that an accident in the left lane of the Tappan Z has backed traffic all the Bridge way to the Garden State Parkway. Since I live in Rockland County and commute to the Bronx, I need to cross the Hudson River. That means either the Tappan Zee Bridge or the George Washington Bridge, or as we say in these parts, the TZ or the George.

Well, if George is my alternate...I'm up sh*t's creek with a broken paddle. I stride into my 7:40 class at 8:10. Again.

But that's not what makes being a Christian difficult today. It's only what began a difficult day. This is what makes today a difficult one.

The Butcher certainly has done nothing to deserve respect. The trouble is that he doesn't have to do anything to earn his dignity. We Christians must see that his dignity, like everyone else's, is respected. Our military did not do that. Neither did this commentator. He is one among many that often claim to speak for "the folks" and profess to support the Judeo-Christian values that even in tatters undergird our culture. They're the ones who, whether religious or not, are supposed to be a Christian's ally in the culture war. However, when situations like this arise, it's hard to stomach such allies.

John Gibson of Fox News was in for Bill O'Reilly on the Radio Factor this afternoon. Now, I like John Gibson. He's a straight-talking, stand-up guy. Today I couldn't listen to him. He freely admitted that it was wrong to enjoy seeing Saddam all briefed out. He enjoyed it anyway.

I carry no sympathy for Saddam Hussein. His crimes cry out to heaven for justice, and may God have mercy on him. However, until he stands before the Judgement seat of the Savior--or even the Court of his own trial--he is a United States Prisoner-Of-War. This is not how the United States should treat any of her prisoners.

According the historian Stephen E. Ambrose, German soldiers during WWII often raced to US soldiers during the waning weeks of the European campaign. They sought the G.I.s because their reputation for mercy and honor preceded them.

What happened to our honor? I'm not condemning the anonymous military personnel that took the picture. It's not my place to judge, particularly when facts remain unclear. However, any one committed to the Foolishness of common sense may observe that our culture has lost touch with an important part of honor. For whatever reason, some young soldier did not grasp that photographing the Butcher in his briefs robbed him of his dignity. However heinous his crimes, he is still a man entitled to that. That's not conservatively correct, I know. Tough. That's Christianity. Check out Evangelium Vitae if you don't believe me. Count how many times the word dignity appears.

On top of this, commentators like Gibson gloat! They gloat about our betrayal of our heritage! We offered mercy and honor to even the most ruthless of our enemies. Now, we celebrate the humiliation of them on the world stage. The call to confront such a contradiction makes today a difficult one for me to be a Christian. To follow Christ today, I have to publically disagree with those whom I respect in defense of a man whose reign of terror disgusts me to no end. In short, I have to love my neighbor and hate his sin. This is difficult.

That's why I'm glad Eve Tushnet brought this to my attention. Heh, I can only wish that she directly brings anything to my attention. She links to how Old Oligarch drops his friends' jaws to the floor with this.

He's right. Living the Gospel means bearing witness to a life that rises above mutual scorched earth rhetoric. Too often such our witness fails to be counter-cultural enough in the blogosphere, where the smoke rises from the star chamber comboxes as the point-scored-on ones burn. Never mind the culture of American media and society at large. We all need to seek forgiveness, so we all had better be ready to humbly pick up our cross today and every day. Even if that means defending the dignity of the Butcher of Bagdad from the satisfyingly vengeance of our friends.