I'm feel guilty because I simply CANNOT do this...?

Question

...Ok.

So, I support the war in Afghanistan. I don't know what why everyone says "we gotta get out of Afghanistan!" (Iraq has nothing to do with this), but from what I recall, thousands were murdered six years ago when they decided to crash jets into my southern neighbour's cities.

Now, the Bible says to "love your enemies", and that showing kindness to your enemy in his time of need is even BETTER than kicking him when hes down.

We're not supposed to really "hate" the enemy, are we?

I know this to be true, but I simply cannot apply it to this situation...

On April 8th, I turned on the radio and heard all about six Canadian soldiers killed by a roadside bomb; pretty much the worst event for Canada's military in the last half-century.

So, Bible says to love my enemies; yet every time I hear the words "Another Canadian soldier died in Kandahar today", I get really angry and hateful, despite the fact that I can't do anything (too young AND I'm a damned coward)

Yeah, I probably don't deserve to get angry because I've never actually gone and fought anywhere (like I said above)

But can anyone help me deal with this?

How can I start to "Love the enemy", even though whenever the words "another Canadian soldier killed today" glare out at fellow Canucks all across the country?

We haven't lost anyone over there in a while, thank God...

I can't imagine how I'd react if I were American and heard that 3588 times.

I'll be right back, gotta fry potatoes for dinner.

Thanks in advance,

Phil, the ignorant Canuck

Yeah, its not like me hating them does anything - its not like Islamic radicalists are going to say "Ohhh you hurt my feelings"

But its just the principle of the thing?

Mother Mayl - I'm not sure what you're getting at!

I'm not angry at governments for getting us in there - I'm furious with the enemy killing Canadian troops, I'm angry at them pretty much because they're the enemy; however, the Bible says I should love them! =-(

In the case that you're moaning about my support of the war, I think you don't realise something;

Every child that gets an education over there is a Canadian victory; because without us in there, they wouldn't get one.

Every person who no longer has to drink dirty water is a Canadian victory.

Every woman who is NOT stoned because they aren't wearing a Burka... Is a Canadian victory..

What do I see our troops over there doing?

I see them restoring "freedom" to a people who lost it as soon as the Taliban took over.

I see them restoring freedom to those who lost it a long time ago.

Our country was BORN in the fires of war.

Answer 1

You raise a good question. It's easy for people to preach until the reality of something hits home. Thank you for your honesty.

Answer 2

This is a difficult situation, especially for a Christian who wants to love others. I have the same difficulty at times.

But, the reason that I hate war is because I see the Iraquis and the Afghanis and the other people in the Middle East as real people, not just "the enemy". When I start to personalize them, I start to care about them.

I cannot justify killing a father, an uncle, a mother, a sister, a brother, a little child, just because I am opposed to their ideals.

And I see other countries, like Darfur where there is genocide as bad or worse than what is going on in the Middle East. I also see other dictators, including areas of Colombia or in certain areas of Africa where to be of a certain category, such a being a Christian, or a Muslim, or a different religion, will get you killed or sold into slavery.

War tends to dehumanize people. In the Nazi concentration camps, the Jews were treated like cattle. We did the same to the Japanese we (the US) interned during World War II.

I don't see anyone supporting the war that thinks that these enemies are flesh and blood people. I do.

I also see the backlash against the people in this country. Many of them are decent caring people who happen to be from the Middle East and worship Allah. We don't know if they are terrorists or not, but yet we treat them with distrust and suspicion. Often causing many of them to lose their business, because they "might" be terrorists.

Yes, I do see your point in terms of hatred because you are seeing a battle that is causing the loss of life. But as you think of these soldiers as individuals that are killed, just remember that there are also people on the other side of the war who are individuals as well.

Answer 3

One of the things you have to understand about wars, is that, most of the time, neither side actually hates the other. Soldiers are just normal people, and the people they're killing are people too, they just wound up on the wrong side. As well, although the Bible says to love your enemies, sometimes, you have to protect your own first. This whole war is about protection. There is an injustice occurring, and, because we have the power to stop it, we are obligated to do so. Different spin, eh?

I definitely understand your feeling though (I'm Canadian too) But it might also help to know that the people that die over there believe in what they're doing. They have a cause, and the best thing to do is to support that cause. And, velieve me, the cause isn't 'we hate the Taliban' It's more along the lines of People need help, what can we do to give it. Feel better?

Answer 4

This is not God's war. This is Man's war all the way! Has anybody killed a terrorist lately? I only see innocent civilians and soldiers dying. Where is even the chance of victory? We were supposed to wreck vengence on the terrorists and those that support them. We began this war with false information. We have an arrogant president that won't admit his mistakes or consider other people's opinions. These soldiers are getting killed because they went over there and are fighting 'the enemy'. In a way, we're just as much the enemy. Pray for peace at whatever cost and don't focus on who wins? We don't even know who is on our side and who is against us over there. Everyone looks the same. How many people are getting caught in the crossfire just because they happen to live there? We're lucky we don't have to live like that here.

Answer 5

One, I'm not a christian.

You shouldn't be listening to the news casts that are filled with the negative, there is many things positive that is going on over there, and the soldiers want to go back even after they've served their time, they see the truth, we do not.

You can't really have hate for an enemy for the simple fact that we are all children of God. We can have hate for what action they do-the judging of the fruit, but each person was created equal to another.

Use your thoughts and feelings resourcefully, add something positive to life for another human being when you feel we are being stomped on. We have a lot of things to be proud of, seek these things out and reinforce your days with some things of a positive nature.

Answer 6

ok....answering as someone who is against the war in every sense, as much of a pacifist as I can be and also not religious.

However, this is the way that I think of it for what it is worth. I try to understand. I try to understand what they (the enemy in this case) is going through. Most of the individuals involved on 'the enemies side' are probably no different than those that are sent over there from Canada.

Most of them are probably scared and many probably do not even understand what is going on, I am sure they are fed lies by their governments and religions to make them fight, plus many of them probably have no choice but to fight.

If your country was invaded for something some terrorists had done in the name of a religion you did not understand and believe in and your family was at risk and you fought to defend them would you be worthy of hate from the people of the other country?

Most of the people involved would rather not be. I just feel sad for everyone who has been drawn into yet another war.

Answer 7

The Bible also say to get angry and sin not. I understand the hate I battle with it all the time. I'm in the US and we get beat over the head with how many of our soldiers get killed every day. What people seem to forget is that American soldiers have been dying over there ever since the Bimini coast in the 1800's. They Kill Americans and call it just, but when they get killed they called it an atrocity. I am a Christian But some days I just want to say nuke them all. Pull our soldiers back from every country around the world and nuke then all.

Answer 8

One - people scream about getting out of there because they are fed the lies of the media. All the media ever shows is how we are losing, about how many we lost. The media can actually make us lose a war. Look at Vietnam. We won every battle over there, yet it was the media that declared we had lost. School children now actually beleive that we never won anything in all the years over there, all because of the media. Wonderful, isn't it.

Two - it has to do with absolute love, from a Christian perspective. Do you think G-d truly hates these people? Or despises and is repulsed by their actions? They are still a creation of his hands, no? They still come from him. They are still loved by G-d, no matter how they chose to live their lives.

The same goes for us, including Christians. We are not to approve of their actions, to support them or to tolerant them. But that does not mean that we hate them. We have to see past the actions and see the actual person.

The only way hate can thrive is by seeing actions alone. If we see someone as a murderer then it is easy to hate. But if we strip them down to their core and see the human being, the soul created by G-d, then it is much harder to muster up that level of hate we once had.

G-d sees people at the level of their souls. We also must strive to do the same. To see past their actions, no matter how horrorific, and see the person.

Answer 9

Afghanistan did not attack us. In fact, most of the terrorists were from Saudi Arabia. Regardless, we were not attacked by Afghanistan, anyone representing Afghanistan or anyone feigning to be acting on the behalf of the country or it's government. Afghanistan is not our enemy -- well, it wasn't before we invaded and reeked havoc in a country already damaged by years of civil war and conflicts with Russia.

That said, I don't believe we need to love our enemies because of anything in the bible, but we need to have compassion. We need to try and understand the actual reason people commit such desperate acts. I'm not talking about the statements of propaganda spewed by provincial people. I'm talking about understanding the desperation of people who are under the thumb of a hyper-consumptive country. This same country has no respect or acknowledgment of other cultures, beliefs, world views, etc. Think how the US would react if another country was out there diminishing our way of life or acting in ways we found to be a threat to our way of life. If you can't imagine that, maybe I can help. Think about Korea, or Vietnam. That's how we handled our fears. Of course we were a country with vast resources, not a terrorist cell without legitimacy or recognized power. I'm not condoning the actions of terrorists. I'm just trying to give you a point of reference that can help you understand how our actions -- as a country -- can affect others. Hopefully this will help you with your lack of compassion.

Answer 10

The bible says a lot of things. Personally, I don't LOVE my enemies. In fact, I just move on without them. It's like this. If my son hits my daughter and then my daughter belts him back and he starts whooping on her and she begins kicking him in the head when does someone just quit?? Really, someone just needs to quit. Unfortunately, there will always be some twisted evil-doer to start all over. In a perfect world, they would make the choice for peace instead.

Answer 11

I can't understand how anyone that believes in the teachings of Jesus can justify war.We are suppose to stand up for whats right and just, but war cannot be the answer or what Jesus would condone.Never did Jesus advocate violence or killing. Just once I'd like to hear world leaders declare they're going to wage peace on a nation or that they're preparing to go to peace.