An Angry Email

In the last couple of weeks, my inbox has seen a flood of patriotic forwards.  Perhaps they were sparked by a combination of Memorial Day, increased tensions in the Middle East, and the approaching final leg of the presidential contest.  Whatever the reason, political fervor is at an all-time high – and you can tell by the kinds of things that are going around on the internet.

One email in particular has caught my attention.  I’ve gotten it three times now, from three very different people.  It’s supposedly written by a ticked-off housewife in New Jersey… who, by the way, chose to remain anonymous.  The writer rants and raves against anyone who has criticized the many scandals that have plagued the US military in Iraq – the Abu Ghraib scandal, treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, mishandling of the Quran, and various extreme torture tactics.  She calls Muslims and Iraqis cowards, thugs, and fanatics.

“I don’t care,” she insists repeatedly, that the US is doing all these things;  she claims we have the right because of the attacks of 9/11.  It’s an argument we’ve heard many times – in political speeches, TV commentaries, and newspaper articles.  Because so many people were killed by Muslim extremists on 9/11, the US is justified to do whatever we want to anyone who seems to pose a threat to us.

The writer indirectly claims to be Christian, but tends to ignore some of those distinctive things that Christ taught.  What happened to “love your enemy,” and “turn the other cheek” instead of the old eye-for-eye mentality?  What happened to loving our neighbor – no matter their race or religion – as ourselves?  The writer mentions the Bible, to be certain, but it seems she’s left a few key parts out.

From my wanderings on the internet, I’m not the only one disturbed by this email – and with good reason.  One person has said, “I’m not so disturbed by what the email says… as I am by how many people AGREED with it.”

Lots of folks claim that we have been, and should still be, a “Christian Nation.”  Ask them what that means, and you’ll get more interpretations than you can count.  But like it or not, many people in the world already consider us a “Christian Nation.”  As the largest and most visible group that claims Christianity, they see us as a primary example of what it means to be a Christian.  They judge Christianity by how they see Americans ACT – not by what’s posted in our courtrooms, or how often we pray in schools.  I’m afraid that sometimes, we aren’t the best “poster children” for Christ.

If I call myself a “Christian,” that means I’m allowing others to judge my conduct by a certain standard – the standard set forth by Christ.  I know when others look at me, they’ll be watching to see whether I live up to the name.  It’s a big responsibility, but it’s one I took on when I chose to take on the name.

In the same way, if we call ourselves a “Christian Nation,” that means we’re allowing others to judge our conduct by the standards set forth by Christ.  If we want to be considered by the world as a “Christian Nation,” that means our actions, our words, our responses to tragedies and injustices, must be made in light of the one whose name we bear.

When tens and hundreds of thousands of people are dying each year around the world because of wars, famine and natural disasters, it’s hard to use the deaths of three thousand – no matter how awful and tragic their deaths might have been – to justify torture, disrespect, and even more slaughter.  You don’t need Jesus to tell you that two wrongs simply do not make a right.

If we want to be a Christian nation, it’s time we started acting like one.

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