Online at: http://www.projo.com/news/content/projo_20050131_riiraq.22a07bc.html
Prayer service urges United States to turn from 'path of domination 01:00 AM EST on Monday, January 31, 2005 BY RICHARD C. DUJARDIN Journal Religion Writer NORTH PROVIDENCE -- With the elections in Iraq serving as a backdrop, clergy and lay people attending a prayer service for Christian unity were urged yesterday to ponder the words of Jesus when they consider America's future role. Speaking at the Rhode Island State Council of Churches-sponsored service, held at the chapel of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, Noah Merrill, the American Friends Service Committee's program coordinator for Southeastern New England, drew parallels between the events of today and those of the time when Jesus lived. A Baptist friend, he said, had reminded him recently that, even as Jesus was calling on people to love their enemies, "militant, violent insurgents were preparing an attack on the forces supporting the Roman occupation," tempering their weapons and forging discontent. It was then, Merrill said, that Jesus presented his story of two men, one who foolishly builds his house on sand and another who builds on stone. "How are we to judge whether we, as Christians, have built our foundations on sand or stone? . . . We know that societies based on oppression do not stand, and that societies based on self-determination and the inherent worth of each person bear the fruit of prosperity." >From that perspective, he said, Saddam Hussein's regime was one built on sand, and had been destined to fall, but in the case of the United States, judgment is still pending. "We have done many great things as a nation, and we have also done great evil," Merrill said. "And today, we find ourselves teetering on the edge. . . . We face a choice: continue on the path of domination and empire; or change our hearts and our society, before it is too late." ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Help save the life of a child. Support St. Jude Children's Research Hospital's 'Thanks & Giving.' http://us.click.yahoo.com/mGEjbB/5WnJAA/E2hLAA/1dTolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Nat-International/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
