http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Israeli-Army-T-Shirts-Mock-Killing-Palestinian-Women-And-Children-During-Gaza-Offensive/Article/200903315245946?lpos=World_News_Carousel_Region_2
what?
We mindlessly support these people why?
Oh right. Because the message of Jesus Christ tells us that never ending war is the way, that we shouldn't turn the other cheek, that we should take an eye for an eye. Yah, that's what I remember about the message of Christ. Oh wait. No it isn't.
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A young man's quest for answers.. and good sushi.
10 comments:
this just makes me sad
"A spokesman for the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) told Sky News Online, the t-shirts were printed on the private initiative of the soldiers and their designs "are not in accordance with IDF values and are simply tasteless. This type of humour is unacceptable and should be condemned"."
The article doesn't say how many of the shirts were printed and it looks like the Army itself has nothing to do with them. If individual soldiers hold a certain view that doesn't mean the entire military feels the same way. With free speech you'll always have douche bags doing stuff like this.
There's outrage over these shirts or when Israel retaliates against Hamas, but not a peep when rockets are fired into Israel or women and children are blown up by suicide bombers.
Title of article should read, "Israeli Army disapproves of T-Shirts Printed By Individual Soldiers Mocking Gaza Killings"
I'm just tired of ANY justification for war. Literally any. I'm trying to live completely within the principles of Jesus Christ and I believe that there is no justification for war.
No Nathan, maybe we shouldn't have retaliated, IF we're basing things on biblical principles.
BUT, where I'm having the issue is, evangelical supporters who are using RELIGION as a basis for supporting Israel but then saying that we shouldn't use RELIGION as a basis for supporting or stopping war. It makes absolutely no sense as to why Israel gets unwavering support from the evangelical right. This is also not to say that I support Hamas. The women and children on BOTH sides are the victims of a completely stupid cultural and religious war that they have no control over.
The reason why the shirts make me so mad, is that they don't necessarily give official Israeli position, but they definitely reveal the character and the racism of the soldiers wearing them. Granted, we don't know how many were printed, but that they were printed is the point. They don't care about stopping this war or obtaining peace, they want innocent civilian targets for their rifle practice. Disgusting.
Explain this to me and I'm all ears.
And, yes I agree we should have retaliated to Pearl Harbor, because countries SHOULD NOT create their foreign policy or any other policy based on anything except for what is best for the greatest number of people (generally). Japan would have done far more damage to the rest of the world to have ethically left them alone. The difference in being that RELIGION was completely NOT involved.
I'm just looking at the trend of many evangelicals to use biblical evidence to support the existence and support of Israel as having something to do with "the end times". If you support Israel for other reasons then we will have a completely separate argument another time. A lot of this stems from my anger at a large section of the Christian Right and not necessarily at you Nathan (or Andrew).
While I don't necessarily agree that Israel is the only side that supports peace and I disagree with the position you took up (at least to some extent) I am very happy that you don't support Israel for religious reasons.
As for that blog, he sums it up in a very neat little package that I would love to analyze in further detail, but the point is that Jesus advocated an overturning of the law which required "Eye for eye, tooth for tooth" to work; the very same mentality that is used in our current war strategies, and the same mentality that the people of Israel live under (they aren't bound by the new covenant). Simply put, I feel that in many cases Jesus IS a pacifist for the most part and that he would side MUCH more strongly with the true strength of those able to turn the other cheek to their opponents (Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., etc.). If you'd like to further debate THIS topic, I can make a separate post for it, I'd love to bring some of my biblical studies friends into this, and maybe the wisdom of some HIU professors, if you're willing to provide more "evidence" than the blogging opinion of one man.
i think niall's point regarding eye for an eye in war strategy was not"OUR current war strategy" but in reference to why Israel and Palestine both are in a constant battle. They attack each other because each believe themselves were invaded/attacked/persecuted/etc. first and are fulfilling their their law by "equal"response. The only way to get peace in that area is if the two groups (who are pretty much equally to blame) agree to live and let live. Neither side is the "better" side. The citizens of both Israel and Palestine are the true victims.
Yep, Cam summed it up for me.
Also, sorry if that "I'll get all of my friends" comment seemed snooty or anything like that. I didn't mean it to. I just really want like a giant two sided philosophical argument, simply because I enjoy arguing on these blogs. I know you do to Nathan! ;)
I get that you like stirring up debate, but you can do better than this.
I don't even want to address that Padfoot. Just because YOU can rationalize it so easily for the rest of us doesn't mean that in actuality the solution is so cut and dry. It's like when they KKK burns down a church in the south. Well not ALL Americans are in the KKK so it doesn't really matter that much. When a group of idiots does something discriminatory or hateful it shouldn't be rationalized away as a bunch of crazies, it should be looked at as a matter of necessary rehabilitation of those people and should serve as the catalyst that an outside group should use to determine if there are greater problems with the group as a whole. If a couple soldiers had the balls to make the shirts, then that's a couple of soldiers who don't care about anything more than killing innocent people. NO ONE should be ok with that.
To all: What will end war in the middle east?
Be serious.
But you did.
I never said I was okay with that. I never rationalized anything. However, YOU did take this stupid decision to blame two groups of people who probably don't support it at all! And I'm not okay with that.
Not everyone thinks through their decisions and ideas as we do Niall, and sometimes they don't want to. You can't rationalize with people like that.
The destruction of Israel would end the war. The surrounding Islamic nations have expressed that more than enough times. Is that the best way? Of course not! But unless either side finally reconciles themselves with the world, or the notion of peace, their stance isn't going to change.
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