"The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose. An evil soul producing holy witness Is like a villain with a smiling cheek."
Wm. Shakespeare (Merchant of Venice i. iii. 93)
As we now know, courtesy of GQ's Robert Draper, Donald Rumsfeld's Defense Dept. tricked up glossy (and glossed over) reports on the early stages of the invasion of Iraq. His top-secret briefings for President George W. Bush included a document known as the Worldwide Intelligence Update, according to Draper, "a daily digest of critical military intelligence so classified that it circulated among only a handful of Pentagon leaders and the president; Rumsfeld himself often delivered it, by hand, to the White House." On April 7, 2003, for instance, the cover sheet showed Saddam Hussein striking a dictatorial pose, under this passage from the First Epistle of Peter: "It is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men." This immediately made me think of the Crusades, that Christian effort to displace Muslims from the Holy Land, among other things.
Wm. Shakespeare (Merchant of Venice i. iii. 93)
As we now know, courtesy of GQ's Robert Draper, Donald Rumsfeld's Defense Dept. tricked up glossy (and glossed over) reports on the early stages of the invasion of Iraq. His top-secret briefings for President George W. Bush included a document known as the Worldwide Intelligence Update, according to Draper, "a daily digest of critical military intelligence so classified that it circulated among only a handful of Pentagon leaders and the president; Rumsfeld himself often delivered it, by hand, to the White House." On April 7, 2003, for instance, the cover sheet showed Saddam Hussein striking a dictatorial pose, under this passage from the First Epistle of Peter: "It is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men." This immediately made me think of the Crusades, that Christian effort to displace Muslims from the Holy Land, among other things.
The First Crusade was set in motion by Pope Urban II in 1095,
reportedly after having the idea proposed to him by Peter the Hermit,
whose pilgrimage to Palestine in 1093 was thwarted by the Muslims.
Peter was quite active for a hermit; he rode about the French
countryside on a mule whose face he was said to resemble, stirring up
enthusiasm for the Crusade. To chants of Deus vult! (God wishes it!), the crusaders set out and took Jerusalem in 1099.
The Crusades, as we now know, were disastrous for the Christian Crusaders (who attacked not only Muslims in the Holy Land but also Jews and Eastern Orthodox Christians) and for all future relations with the Muslim world. Each of the cover sheets presented an image accompanied by a line of Scripture. Although Rumsfeld is not know to have expressed his reliogious views openly, he clearly knew that George Bush, who had said he was being directed by God, took such things quite seriously.
These revelations constitute a stunning example of using the sacred for profane purposes, and there will no doubt be a special circle in Hell for those who engage in this kind of perfidy. Or at least in Purgatory: "Allah is merciful," as it says in the Quran. What do you think this says about the dangers of deliberately intermingling church and state? Did our Founders not know what shadows lurk in the hearts of those in government?
As the quote from Shakespeare with which I began this entry indicates, it's easy to twist Scripture for one's own purposes, as Satan is said to have done while trying to tempt Jesus as he prayed in the desert--a scene that is reminiscent of the Buddha being tempted by Mara, the Evil One, immediately following his enlightenment. As David Waters writes in the Washington Post about these biblical quotations:
"It's worth noting that none of the Pentagon's Bible verses (at least not the ones posted by GQ) were from the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, the only books that quote Jesus directly. It's not possible to make a case for earthly war by quoting Jesus, who said among other things:
"Put up again thy sword into its place: for all they that take the sword shall perish by the sword" (Matthew 26:52).
"Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." (Matthew 5:44).
"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth,' But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also" (Matthew 5:38-42).
These revelations constitute a stunning example of using the sacred for profane purposes, and there will no doubt be a special circle in Hell for those who engage in this kind of perfidy. Or at least in Purgatory: "Allah is merciful," as it says in the Quran. What do you think this says about the dangers of deliberately intermingling church and state? Did our Founders not know what shadows lurk in the hearts of those in government?
As the quote from Shakespeare with which I began this entry indicates, it's easy to twist Scripture for one's own purposes, as Satan is said to have done while trying to tempt Jesus as he prayed in the desert--a scene that is reminiscent of the Buddha being tempted by Mara, the Evil One, immediately following his enlightenment. As David Waters writes in the Washington Post about these biblical quotations:
"It's worth noting that none of the Pentagon's Bible verses (at least not the ones posted by GQ) were from the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, the only books that quote Jesus directly. It's not possible to make a case for earthly war by quoting Jesus, who said among other things:
"Put up again thy sword into its place: for all they that take the sword shall perish by the sword" (Matthew 26:52).
"Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." (Matthew 5:44).
"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth,' But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also" (Matthew 5:38-42).
Thanks for this important post, Peter.
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As the leader of a Veterans Service Organization, I direct those serving in our nation's armed forces to the following organization when they believe their 1st Amendment religious rights have been violated:
The Military Religious Freedom Foundation.
Their web site can be found here:
http://www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org/
I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who sees the craziness of mixing God and patriotism together.
We are all a spark of the divine, how should it make sense that we should destroy eachother.
Lily,
You're far from being the only one. Indeed, I think there are more of us than of the others, we just aren't as loud and obnoxious as the noise machines they manipulate. And even their definition of patriotism is questionable. Real patriots love their country and, as in parents showing tough love, know when to say no. The U.S. was founded by spiritual people who no doubt had their flaws and skewed values, but that legacy is worthy of our faithfulness. We are still fighting for real democracy and for the rights of humankind, but without bloodshed, as Gandhi and Martin showed the way.
Namaste,
Peter