Being an American, or being of the Kingdom...
please, read this short news story about the reaction of muslims in Tanzania to the now confirmed desecration of the Koran by interrogators in Gitmo...
Tanzanian Muslims condemn reported US desecration of Koran
Here is my conflict: I am an American. When we are in Africa, we will still have family in America, will draw support from Americans, and will remain American citizens. I don't want terrorists to attack America for many reasons. I benefit in many ways from the government's war on terrorism.
But...
These thousands of Tanzanian youth are people with faces and names, people we hope to impact with the gospel of Christ. We will try to be Jesus to those who Jesus dearly loves. Will they ever see us as more than Americans? Will the news stories of abuses in Iraq, Cuba, and elsewhere completely bias them against our message?
When American pastors and politicians claim so boldly that America is a Christian nation, much of the world sees our fighter jets, cruise missiles, and worldwide military presence as definitive of Christianity as the scriptures. And as everyone who took Communication 101 should know, perception is reality to the perceiver.
So I am internally conflicted. But my conclusion is this: If Jesus is truly Lord, and if his Kingdom is the only Kingdom of lasting significance, then I would rather run the risk of another 9/11 type attack than provide stumbling block after stumbling block for the unbeliever. Or at least the Christian community could make it clear that the Kingdom of America is not our Kingdom after all.
please share your thoughts.
please, read this short news story about the reaction of muslims in Tanzania to the now confirmed desecration of the Koran by interrogators in Gitmo...
Tanzanian Muslims condemn reported US desecration of Koran
Here is my conflict: I am an American. When we are in Africa, we will still have family in America, will draw support from Americans, and will remain American citizens. I don't want terrorists to attack America for many reasons. I benefit in many ways from the government's war on terrorism.
But...
These thousands of Tanzanian youth are people with faces and names, people we hope to impact with the gospel of Christ. We will try to be Jesus to those who Jesus dearly loves. Will they ever see us as more than Americans? Will the news stories of abuses in Iraq, Cuba, and elsewhere completely bias them against our message?
When American pastors and politicians claim so boldly that America is a Christian nation, much of the world sees our fighter jets, cruise missiles, and worldwide military presence as definitive of Christianity as the scriptures. And as everyone who took Communication 101 should know, perception is reality to the perceiver.
So I am internally conflicted. But my conclusion is this: If Jesus is truly Lord, and if his Kingdom is the only Kingdom of lasting significance, then I would rather run the risk of another 9/11 type attack than provide stumbling block after stumbling block for the unbeliever. Or at least the Christian community could make it clear that the Kingdom of America is not our Kingdom after all.
please share your thoughts.
posted by Kevin at 1:10 PM
1 Comments:
We have to decide where our citizenship lies - and I think you are headed in the right direction.
Security is an humanistic illusion when it is based on military technology and prowess.
It is difficult to be an American missionary. We went to Mwanza during the air campaign of the first Gulf War - and the Tanzanian border customs official asked me if I agreed with what America was doing. I told him that I didn't agree with everything my country does - without getting into a discussion of the pro's and con's of that event.
American foreign policy looks different when viewed from other soil, and from the perspectives of those exploited by the industrialized countries.
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