|
I have often written here to the subject of the dangerous liaison
of church and state, and in particular, these days in our post 9/11 world, that
we may be less vigilant protecting that wall so wisely built by the Founding
Fathers. I’m adding another
commentary that those of you familiar with biblical teachings will recognize
the deeper meaning and references. For those who are not familiar, I hope the message will still
be clear. Now, more than ever, we must be more careful not to confuse the message
others hear from us. This is not a matter of being “politically correct”. It is
a matter of authenticity. Backward
Christian soldier: An open letter to the Christian General by Rev. Jim Wallis, in
Sojourners, 10.22.2003 @ sojo.net Dear Lt. General Boykin, You've gotten a lot of press this week, General.
Perhaps you didn't expect the things you've been saying in churches to go public - about
America's "Christian army," the holy war we're waging against the
"idol" of Islam's false God, and the "spiritual battle"
we're fighting against "a guy named Satan" who "wants to destroy
us as a nation, and he wants to destroy us as a Christian army." You call yourself a "warrior for
the kingdom of God," but most of your service has been with the Special
Forces and the CIA. You say, "We in the army of God, in the
house of God, in the kingdom of God, have been raised for such a time as
this." You apparently have no doubt that "America is still a
Christian nation," while other nations "have lost their morals, lost
their values." You think "George Bush was not elected by a majority
of the voters in the United States," but that "He was appointed by
God." You say, "He's in the White House because God put him there."
And maybe you believe God has put you in the new position to which you were
just appointed as deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence. Because your views sound like a "Christian
jihad" at a time when the United States government is sensitive to
offending the Muslim world, you have become a controversy. I'm sure you've been
under a lot of pressure since the story of your religious views broke in the
Los Angeles Times. Your critics say your private religious views are your own
business, but when you speak with your uniform on, you're
a spokesperson for the U.S. military and government. We don't need to make the
Arab world angrier at us than they already are and it doesn't help when you say
things like, "Why do they hate us? The answer to that is because we are a
Christian nation. We are hated because we are a nation of believers." Or
when you describe the Muslim warlords you fought in Mogadishu, Somalia, as
"the principalities of darkness" and a "demonic presence in that
city that God revealed to me as the enemy," that "will only be defeated
if we come against them in the
name of Jesus." General, I think the hymn "Onward Christian
Soldiers" must have been written just for you. I'm sure your superiors
have already given you a lesson in politics and public relations. And I've
heard you have toned down your opinions and said you didn't mean to offend
anyone. Whether you keep your job is a political question, the outcome of which
we will know soon enough. But I want to raise some different issues: biblical theology, bad teaching, and
church discipline. General, your theology bears no resemblance to
biblical teaching. You utterly confuse
the body of Christ with the American nation. The kingdom of God
doesn't endorse the principalities and powers of nation-states, armies, and the
ideologies of empire; but rather calls them all into question. You even miss
the third verse of "Onward Christian Soldiers," which reminds us,
"Crowns and thrones may perish, Kingdoms rise and wane, But the Church of
Jesus, constant will remain." And let's not misinterpret the famous first
verse, "Onward Christian soldiers marching as to war, with the cross
of Jesus going on before." The cross, General, not the Special Forces. Brother Boykin, I believe you are a product of bad
theology and church teaching. Why were you never given sound biblical tools to
help you discern the shape of your vocation? Why were you never taught in
Sunday school about the real meaning of the kingdom of God, and the
universality of the body of Christ? And why have you never heard that only peacemaking, not
war-making, can be done "in the name of Jesus?" General, I really don't want to blame you for the lack
of Christian teaching that you have obviously suffered. But there is a
legitimate issue of church discipline here. When a high-ranking military
officer espouses a zealous
religious nationalism that claims the name "Christian"
for both his nation and his army, and when he invokes the name of Jesus - not to
love our enemies as he instructed, but rather to target them for destruction -
the church must discipline that errant brother and name his public statements
for what they are, not mere
political incorrectness, but idolatry. General,
you have substituted your nation
and your army for God, your faith is more American than
Christian, the Jesus you claim is not the Jesus of the New Testament, and his kingdom will not be ushered in by
the U.S. military. Whatever happens with your job, I pray that you find a
church that offers you the ministry of repentance, forgiveness, and restoration
to a more authentic biblical faith. Speaking as a minister’s daughter, I can only hope that this
is what most congregations will hear from the pulpit on this subject. And I hope it comes up, because keeping
religious faith and nationalistic tasks separate is essential, for believers
and non-believers. Speaking for
myself, I have no doubt that he knew what he was doing, and did it anyway, out
of zealotry, mixed with ego, confusing it with a “calling”. From the video brief I watched on TV,
which by the way occurred less than 5 miles from where I live, this man is a
dangerous liability to the US government now. It is unfortunate that his valuable military training and
experience may be sacrificed but he has compromised his talents with the armed
services by his own mouth, not anyone else’s. He has no one to blame but himself. At the least, Boykin
should be reassigned. He cannot
remain in this position, tasked to deal with terrorism that so far is
inescapably tied to Islamic extremists already convinced we are conducting a
jihad to eradicate Islam. Leaving
him in this job would be the professional management equivalent of hiring a
known child molester as a supervisor of young children, and then upon
discovering the error, refusing to correct it. - KWC |
