"When did my departure from evangelicalism begin? On the day the war in Iraq began"

Thanks to Carlos over at Jesus Politics (as usual) for this great link to a really, really first rate post. This is so close to my experience. Anyway, I hope she doesn't mind this long quote.

Christians and Terrorism

When did my departure from evangelicalism begin? On the day the war in Iraq began. Nearly each Sunday was a sorrow; each Thursday Bible study worse.

It wasn't that war was preached from the pulpit. It usually wasn't. It's that there seemed to be utter unanymity among my fellow church members that the war was right and just, beyond question or biblical challenge.

Every Sunday I opened the church bulletin to see a call to pray for our soldiers, who were 'defending our freedom.' Never once was there a call in print or aloud to pray for the people of Iraq.

When we would visit other churches when we were traveling it was far worse. Once I walked out in protest of the pro-war rally that the Sunday service had become.

I had stopped listening to Christian radio long before--just after September 11, when suddenly people for whom Christ died were 'monsters' who deserved our deepest revenge.

Never talk of peace, never a mention of answering a curse with blessing, never a word about forgiveness or reconciliation, never a prayer for our nation's enemies.

But always unquestioning support of war and the war president.

In church. On Christian radio. Week in. Week out.

No, we're not told that we achieve eternal paradise by killing our enemies. But in every town and every city, the people living in expectation of eternal paradise with Christ are receiving and passing on the message that killing our enemies is a blessed act.

And I grieve for the people of London. Untimely death is untimely death no matter the shade of skin, texture of hair, first language, or religion of the victims and perpetrators.

What would Jesus do?