With the declassification of the report on the interrogation of terror suspects there has been much said about the behavior of some CIA operatives, simulated drowning by waterboarding, simulated executions by threatening with guns and drills, even going as far as threatening to kill someones family if there was another attack on the United States. Many people have cried out and said that such behavior is un-American and not becoming of the way the United States should operate in the world. Others have said that these were necessary actions to help prevent further attacks to Americans and that while some of them may have pushed the envelope of acceptable practice they are justified if they save lives.
What do I make of all this? Simple, I'm deeply saddened but not surprised by it. As a pastor/theologian I understand the nature of humanity is the nature of humanity and is not dependent on someone's national identity. The prophet Jeremiah reminds us that in our fallen nature, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure." The apostle Paul reminds us that unless we have found freedom through Christ and live according to our new spirit-filled nature we are bound under the old sinful nature.
There is not a question in my mind that under certain circumstances people, all people, have the capacity to do great harm to others, particularly if they believe that in doing so a greater good will be served. History bears this out time and time again, where educated smart men and women, do awful things to others, the holocaust, Pol Pot in Cambodia, Rwanda, Darfur, Apartheid in South Africa, the Crusades... We could go on and on. Some might say, 'well we don't do those sorts of things in America.' Really, what about slavery and the native Americans, how long did it take to give women the right to vote? The truth is that all people have the capacity for great evil. We don't like to think of it like this we prefer to talk about the side of the coin that we have great capacity for good, which with God's help is indeed true but we can do evil all by ourselves.
And that's exactly what we have here, evil. Not necessarily evil people, certainly they are fallen people but then we all are and we all need redemption. It is evil actions we are talking about here, and yes there are consequences for such actions, and no they (either those who carried out and/or those who ordered these barbaric methods) should not simply be given amnesty because they were working for the government.
What makes these particular action un-American or un-civilized? The answer I believe is a theological one. It has to do with the rule of law. One of the understandings that the reformer John Calvin had of the law was that it served the purpose of ordering and restraining sinful creation. America is a nation built on the rule of law, it is what prevents us from slipping into anarchy, it is what allows us to have peaceful transitions in government, it is what allows us to repsect (even when we disagree) with court decisions. When we see the rule of law being undermined it makes us uneasy, and rightfully so, for it threatens to undo the stability that exists in our governmental structures.
Everyday I pray that God's name would be revered and that God's kingdom would come and will be done on earth in the same way it is being done in heaven. Then all this nonsensical violence all this evil will be gone. Until then I will continue to serve God and proclaim the peace that is our in Christ so we can become peacemakers in this world.
