Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Time For Some Examination Of Conscience

CNN recently pubished survey results showing the more often people attend church the more likely they are to approve of torture. What's more, the most torture-approving denominations are the mainline Protestants like us.

I woud like to think that's a fluke survey. But I remember a diocesan convention in the "liberal" Diocese of Atlanta on the brink of the Iraq War. Several anti-war resolutions were offered, but the Committee replaced the anti-war statements with a resolution simpy affirming St. Augustine's criteria defining a "just war." This led to an extended debate over the critierion that a just war does not target civilians. We wound up passing a resolution endorsing St. Augustine minus the protection for civilians -- a standard the military upheld while the church abandoned.

I don't know what to think -- even less what to say. But it seems to me we have some big time soul searching to do.

1 comment:

Matthew said...

The Baptismal Covenant asks:

WILL YOU RESPECT THE DIGNITY OF EVERY HUMAN BEING?

Kinda hard to do that torturing them, which given their confined state, just war theory/self-defense does not apply. I'm not sure you respect the dignity of every human being by killing someone, but I would make an exception for self-defense, defense of the nation, etc.