Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Recently, the news has been a-flurry with the question of torture-- what constitutes torture, and specifically, is the practice of waterboarding, a technique which involves a person being strapped to a table (laying down) and having water poured on their face. There are various methods to waterboarding, but the general theme is that through the simulation of drowning, the person believes they are near death (and they are...), and are thus more likely to give up information. Now, despite the fact that the United States signed the Geneva Convention which prohibits the use of torture (among other things), the topic of waterboarding is still on the table. However, perhaps more disturbing is the attitude that is just under the surface-- a sense that "of course we torture-- but we can say we don't...". It is alarming that despite the US arrogant claim to be the most progressive and morally upright society in the world- the country/government continues to permit violence perpetrated against other human beings.

Even more interesting, is the fact in many cases, the strongest proponents for military action and/or strong aggressive responses to our neighbors throughout the war, are the religious right. Despite Jesus admonition that "those who live by the sword die by the sword" (Matthew 26:52), there are many who continue to act as though the war against terror is divinely inspired.

And how can one be surprised? In one of the largest grossing movies ever, Mel Gibson portrays the passion of Christ in such gruesome detail that anyone who accepts his portrayal of the gospel could hardly know any other type of Christianity. So absent in this movie is the focus on the life of Jesus, that one might think that Jesus life consisted only of torture. It is interesting to consider that most Christians hold the symbol of Jesus' torture, the cross, as the ultimate symbol of suffering and redemption. And yet, if they were to truly take this symbol to its ultimate and serious end, they might see the irony in their insistence upon the torture of prisoners of war. If the Christian symbol is one of sacrifice for a cause at the hands of an imperial power... then what does this say of our decision to torture, and what does this say in regards to those we torture?

I believe that what it says is that the imperials powers have once again found their voice (it was never really lost), and then as we torture individuals, we crucify Jesus once again. It seems to me that Mel Gibson's movie was designed to inspire guilt... if something positive would come out of the Mel Gibson movie (dare to dream...) then it would be a remarkable shaming of our country-- that despite the fact that we claim to be a "Christian" nation-- we have clearly not learned the lesson from our Savior: That the power of Jesus' message is that the imperialist ultimately has no power over the oppressed... that you may try and kill the messenger, but this will not kill the message. While torture may get information from a prisoner, what it ultimately shows is a nation who has purged itself of its soul...