Riad Kassis, Executive Director and Chaplain at the J.L. Schneller School in West Bekaa, Lebanon had this to say,
"Sunday morning, I woke up to the news that an Israeli air strike hit a residential building used as a shelter in the southern Lebanese town of Qana, killing and wounding more than 65 people, including 30 infants and young children. According to tradition, Qana is the village where Jesus Christ performed his first miracle by turning water into wine (John 2).
Now I hear of fellow Christians who enjoy seeing the turning of water into blood in the name of end-time prophecy. Their call should rather be to turn water into wine of gladness, peace, and life. Are we looking for the presence of Christ in Lebanon and Israel or for the presence of U.S. smart bombs?"
This quote sums up in spades, the dualistic outlook that too many (Evangelical) Christians not only harbour but publish. Non-violence remains a gospel concept.
Another example from Riad Kassis’ article:
I recently received an e-mail from a friend who lives in Washington, D.C., informing me that a sign displayed in front of an independent evangelical church simply states: "Go Israel!" This news came as I learned that the father of one of the six-year-old students at our school had been killed in an air strike as he went to get bread for his family.
Read Prof. Kassis’ entire article, "A Prayer to Condoleezza Rice". It’s a perspective we need to hear. He ends with:
Ms. Rice, I heard recently that you are an ardent evangelical. I have always believed that evangelicals are peacemakers. They are those who hold fast to the gospel of peace and reconciliation. …Help me at least not to lose faith in calling myself an evangelical.
Technorati Tags: War, Lebanon, Raid Kassis, Christianity, Evangelical, Peace, Religion, Violence
Heard on the news tonight that France, Some other country (not Canada) and the US are pressing for a cease-fire. And that the motion should hit the floor “within days.” But how many will have to die, and how much destruction will be reaped, before that lackadasical motion is enacted? And why is it that we hear so little of the context of this alarming dispute – that Israel illegally occupied Lebanon for 22 years, that it invaded the country to ward off the PLO’s peace-making agenda and that secret prisons and kidnappings are par for the course for this country that was “merely retaliating”? What kind of outcry would we see if Lebanon/Hezbollah was marching throughout Israel bent on destroying the terrorists? Until the US drops its imperial mission, there will be no peace. But hey, the Oilers made it to the Cup final – must mean anything’s possible, eh? Go Steve Go! Thanks for your enlightening and engaging site – as Dave Hubert, noted activist stated: “You are one fine writer.”