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I was reminded of one of the things Gandhi said about Christians: "Everyone in the world knows that Jesus and his teachings were non-violent except Christians."
And the reason that regular churchgoers don't seem to know this is because the historical Jesus is not preached.
My guess is that those who go to church on Sunday expect a modicum of moral leadership. If the pastor is silent on torture, then torture must somehow be okay. How easy it is then to cede one's conscience to an American-flag-draped pulpit.
Jesus (and Luther) Didn't Really Mean It?
A progressive Lutheran pastor in Dallas asked me recently to give a talk to his parish on the issues I had been addressing in my writings. It struck me that since George W. Bush had moved into their neighborhood, I might ask the congregants how they thought they should relate to someone who had given written approval to torture.
I was too clever by half naïve, actually. I would show them the "smoking gun" memorandum signed by George W. Bush on Feb. 7, 2002, which the Senate Armed Forces Committee has determined "opened the door" to all manner of detainee abuse, and then I would challenge them by quoting Martin Luther who, after all, was one of their own.
I chose the following passage, which is cited by George Hunsinger in an essay he wrote in 1987 (appearing in his book Disruptive Grace):
"If," wrote Martin Luther, "I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of Gods except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at the moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing him. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved and to be steady on all the battlefield, except there, is mere flight and disgrace if one flinches at that point."
Hunsinger emphasizes that faithfulness to Jesus of Nazareth is always situational, that one can spout impeccably orthodox theological truths and still be "fatally disloyal." Genuine loyalty is proven where it counts in the pitch of battle, where it really costs something. Writing 22 years ago, Hunsinger was already addressing what he called "an overwhelming spiritual collapse, in which we have lost touch with even minimal standards of morality:"
"The prevailing sense seems to be that, if the demands of biblical morality contradict the dictates of national security, so much the worse for biblical morality. " Dungeons " torture, and death are described as belonging to the free world. " War criminals in high places we honor. " Acts of aggression we celebrate as noble deeds. " of preemptive self-defense. Orwell has become our destiny. "
"The passive acquiescence of a Christian community which has lost its moral conscience in matters of state contributes substantially " to misery and oppression. " "Seek your own welfare above all else' has become the maxim of the day."
Hunsinger has earned the right to criticize those who confess Jesus of Nazareth "from the safety of some remote enclave, where confession may be true but costs nothing." He is professor of systematic theology at Princeton Theological Seminary, but was so aghast at U.S. practice of torture that he devoted untold time and energy to founding the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT).
Luther Not Popular in Dallas
I suggested to the gathering of Lutherans that Dallas, where the "decider" on torture is now their neighbor, might be where the battle rages for them. I had very few takers.
"But he kept us safe " isn't it better to fight the terrorists over there than to fight them here?"
There was little appetite for listening to THAT Luther in that Lutheran church. The pastor shared with me later that he had encountered all manner of criticism for having invited someone "disrespectful" of George W. Bush.
