Adam Magazine on the Crazy Years

Looting, killing and raping -- by twisting their words they call it "empire"; and wherever they have created a wilderness they call it "peace" -- Tacitus

Saturday, April 12

These are the people who are running this country.

Jesus in Baghdad - Why we should keep Franklin Graham out of Iraq. By Steven Waldman Franklin Graham is the son of Billy Graham and a far more influential figure in the evangelical Christian community than Jerry Falwell or even Pat Robertson. Graham is viewed as the torch-carrier for his father, who is still among the most beloved figures in American Christianity. Moreover, the Graham family is close to Bush. Billy Graham led Bush to Christianity in the 1980s; Franklin Graham delivered the invocation at his presidential inauguration.

In addition to being publicly allied with the Bush administration, Graham also happens to be stridently anti-Islam. His list of anti-Islam comments is long; his most succinct was that Islam is a "very evil and wicked religion."

Graham is also, he says, "poised and ready" to send representatives of the charity he runs to Iraq as soon as possible. His primary purpose is humanitarian Aid€”providing food and shelter, ”but he also admits, "I believe as we work, God will always give us opportunities to tell others about his Son. We are there to reach out to love them and to save them, and as a Christian, I do this in the name of Jesus Christ."

Graham is not alone in wanting to work in Iraq. A number of other Christian group ”including the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation's largest Protestant denomination "are packing their bags and heading to Iraq (if they're not already there), equipped with food, shelter, and Bibles. (These well-wishers are not to be confused with an Army chaplain who forced his troops to get baptized if they wanted a bath.)
...
In fact, religious liberty does not trump all concerns. Among the concerns it does not trump is the safety of our soldiers and the desire not to have the entire Muslim world wanting to wage war against America. And make no mistake: Franklin Graham's mission to Iraq will help convince the Arab world that America is out to convert Muslims to Christianity. What Graham is doing probably isn't illegal; it's merely immoral.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home