I'm going to have to talk a little politics here, so sorry in advance to those I offend.The President's decision to invade Iraq was supported by many evangelicals who lauded Bush's goal of giving the gift of freedom to the Iraqi people as "the Christian thing to do."
But the scene now playing out in the newly liberated country is that of many Christians fleeing Iraq for fear of persecution. NPR did a report [as did the Chicago Tribune] about Christians celebrating this Christmas in Iraq and, apparently, Christians there felt more protected under Sadaam's regime. They claimed there used be tolerance toward Christianity whereas, now, the country's Muslim leadership [95% of Iraqis practice Islam] is suffocating them. Another reason for alarm is the newly established Iraqi government. All the nation's power is being divided between different Muslim sects, providing no voice for Iraqi Christians. The wisest thing to do is for Christians to flee to nearby Jordan.
As American Christians lined up to support the President's decision to invade Iraq, did they even consider the well-being of their Iraqi brothers and sisters? And was establishing an Iraqi democracy worth it, if it ends up being an Islamic dominated government? It seems no one bothered to ask these questions beforehand.
Now this isn't meant as an insult to our troops serving in Iraq; they have a job to do and are giving it their all. Nor do I propose an immediate withdrawal from Iraq; we made the mess, so we need to clean it up. And this isn't an endorsement of the Hussein regime; he was lunatic and a tyrant. I just find it ironic that the very people who contend that America was established by Christians and for Christians, those who decry separation of church and state, blindly supported the Iraqi War- a war fought to [re]establish a country for Islam by Islam where Christians would demand separation of church [mosque] and state. To invade or not to invade? Which decision was the Christian thing to do? Just asking . . .
This story just begs the question that should haunt followers of Jesus who live in America: to which kingdom do our loyalties lie?
We should never stop asking the tough questions.