Staff Editorial
Daily Texan (U. Texas-Austin)
(U-WIRE) AUSTIN, Texas - On Sunday, President Bush told reporters that he had prayed "for God's comfort and God's healing powers to anybody - coalition force, American, Brit - anybody who loses a life in this, in our efforts to make the world more peaceful and free."
"This," of course, referred to the current war in Iraq.
Bush's faith has been an integral part of much of his life and his administration's policy. But with the recent invasion of Iraq, it is worth questioning whether the desire for political and personal gain has trumped the tenets of Christianity to which Bush claims to adhere.
The Bible is somewhat contradictory on the issue of war, as it is with many issues. In Exodus, Moses receives the Ten Commandments for God, the sixth of which, according to the new international version, reads, "You shall not murder." However, this commandment is rarely interpreted in a manner which condemns war.
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There are instances where God encouraged war, such as in Joshua, Chapter 5, when Joshua, on the road to Jericho, came upon a warrior that God had sent.
However, James, Chapter 4, states that war is wrought from coveting and internal conflicts within the person who chooses to wage war. It goes on to say that peace with God is found by establishing peace with the world.
For more than 1,000 years, clergy and theologians, from fourth-century church leader St. Augustine to present-day ideologue Charles Colson, have grappled with determining what exactly constitutes a just war.
Among the requirements set forth are whether a war is declared by a proper authority, which is generally considered to be the leader of the people, the "Caesar" unto whom the Apostle Paul claims all subjects must render.
It is fair to say that Bush's desires for this war may stem from vengeance - Saddam's government attempted to assassinate George H.W. Bush in 1993.
No matter how hard he prays, Bush's decisions have and will continue to result in the devastation of the Creator's work and the destruction of the greatest gift mankind has received from one's god: life.
