and still the numbers grow
i feel bothered.
my spirit unsettle on an issue.
or rather, a few.
i was browsing through cbc's news this morning and came across the numbers of people that have died in iraq in the last 3 years. it around, if not more then 60,000 civilians. 60,000 civilians. then i continued to search through other war-torn countries.
12,000 dead in kosovo
70,000 in darfur in the sudan
250,000 in bosnia
800,000 in rwanda
and let me not forget the most horrific since WWII...........
3.8 million people died in the democratic republic of congo between august 1998 to april 2004 (1000 people per day half of which were children under the age of 5)
i don't really know what to say.
what can i say to it.
people have died all over the world to natural disasters such as the hurricanes in indonesia which is horrible in itself....and yet, you can't stop the weather. could war have been stopped?
i mentioned the death toll of people in iraq to a couple of guys that do some work for us. the first comment was...."population control."
then i asked these two guys what they thought of the hanging of saddam hussein. and the response was...."i think they should bring capital punishment back permenantly".
i still don't know what to say. except that my heart aches. how is any of this justified? how can anyone point a gun at another, and kill them? how can we say that capital punishment is okay? i agree with dale when he mentions in his blog on saddam hussein... "Look, by rights everyone of us should hang. There but for the GRACE of God go I."
the millions killed aren't just numbers, they are people. and those behind these atrocious crimes....are people too. and above it all, God created each of us in his image. attempt to grasp that. not only does God love me but he also loves saddam hussein......
God please help us........
Jesus we need you more the breath itself.......
and as cliche as it is......
we truly are lost without you............
9 Comments:
Hey Vicky.
I have been struggling with this as of late, as well. I just don't understand how so many innocent people can die at the whim of one other individual...it just does not make sense.
Anyways, I am praying for you.
Take care.
This is incredibly hard stuff. "Population control"...arghhhh, that makes me so angry. How can we dismiss death so flippantly? I suppose when it doesn't happen to us, we don't have to think about it. I pray that there will come a day when we understand as our Anabaptist ancestors understood that violence is never "okay".
peace
Jesse
well, i can't say that i agree. but, i don't disagree. war is awful. it always has been, always will be. if everyone would go for peace there would be no need for war. how can we just stand back and watch the suppression and destruction of our overseas brothers and sisters? at what point do we stand up and say enough is enough. i think we get far too passive. don't get me wrong, there is nothing about war that i like. it's horrific. but, peace has never been had without having to fight for it. and let's not forget that at times, God had his people completely annihilate a total race of people in a single war. it's a difficult thing. nothing glamorous about it. but i pray that through our military efforts and prayers, peace can be brought to people who have never known peace. as for saddam... i understand that God's grace has been extended to each one of us. it was there for saddam. he chose to look the other way. let's not forget that the issue isn't God's infinite grace. if there were no consequence for your actions, this world would experience total anarchy. if saddam can go free... then i suppose that we should also ask our police officers to stop handing out speeding tickets, our children should be undisciplined and we should tell Almighty God that his instituted design to discipline was wrong... sorry, i can't do that. let's all pray. our leaders need wisdom.
I'd like to respond to the above comment. There's a couple of statements that trouble me greatly. The first is attempting to justify war by referencing the Old Testament nation of Israel. Yes God did use the Israelites in a military way but back then there was only one chosen people. Through Christ everyone is "chosen." There is no longer an ethnic/political "chosen" nation. Also, since we have all been "grafted in" as Paul wrote, there are Christians in basically every nation on earth. Therefore, when one nation goes to war with another, they cannot do so without forcing Christians to fight each other. Can we really determine whose side God is on? The answer is a resounding no.
(A side note, I've always enjoyed the saying, "Warring for peace is like screwing for virginity")
The God we follow set out a very clear set of ethics concerning violence. "Love Your Neighbour as yourself." I wonder if the estimated 650,000 dead Iraqi civilians feel loved by the so-called "Christian" West. "Turn the other cheek" "Love your enemies" All of these are incompatible with war of any kind.
When we chose to take life, we have decided that we, not God, should decide who lives and dies. Do we doubt God's sovereingty? Do we not think that God himself could've handled Saddam Hussein?
The other thing I'd like to deal with here is this whole "God put our leaders in power, therefore we shouldn't question them." I have an interesting thought on this subject......why is it that we only believe that our democratically elected leaders were put there by God? Perish the thought, but when Paul wrote about the state in Romans 13, he was writing to Christians who were being heavily persecuted. He told them to be decent citizens under the rule of a tyrant.
Lastly, comparing the police giving speeding tickets to an overt military action is not only ridiculous but also irresponsible. The biblical mandate for the state in Romans 13 allows for a police force. Policing a society is far different from playing God with military action. Our Saviour obviously condemned such overt violence when he said "those who live by the sword, die by the sword." Jesus had every opportunity to win military victory over the Romans and the ruling Jewish elite. But he did not. He is a shining example of non-violence.
One last note, there are many documented cases where non-violent action has led to major social change. India's independence was won through the non-violent civil disobedience of Ghandi. African-Americans won their civil rights in the same manner.
I personally adhere to the phrase I happened to find on my Lemon Drop Jones Soda last summer: "There never was a good war or a bad peace."
with all do respect Dustin...reread the bible before you open your mouth. You come off as an uninformed ranter spewing incorrect facts...which lends your comments zero validity.
i'd like to mention that there is plenty of room for tolerance and respect but i for one can't tolerate ignorant judgements. thoughts are thoughts but they cannot and do not define ones character.
thank you all so much for your profound words. i appreciate discussion and the quest through many different angles. i am the type of person that gleans from stimulating and contreversial discussion.
much respect from me.
Thank you all for your comments regarding mine. I've learned so much from you all. I love and pray God's richest blessings for you all. God IS love.
Good for people to know.
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