Untitled

OVERCOMING EVIL WITH GOOD

By Verne E. Arens

June 14, 2009

Little River United Church of Christ, Annandale, Virginia

It's official. The results are in. Bible-toting, church-going folks (like you and me!) support torture more than folks who have no religious affiliation. So says the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life based on a survey conducted mid-April.

Can you believe it? We who follow the Prince of Peace, the crucified Son of God, the One who counseled his followers to turn the other cheek are more likely than our religiously unaffiliated neighbors to defend the use of torture.

White evangelical Protestants take the lead with 62% indicating torture often or sometimes can be justified. White mainline Protestants that's many of us weigh in at 46%. Those who are unaffiliated weigh in at 40%.

How do we explain this? Are religious folks more likely to make a distinction between those who are good and those who are evil forgetting the teachings of our religion that evil is never just external, but is part of us all? Are religious folks more apt to be fearful even though we supposedly put our trust in a God who promises to be with us always? These are intriguing and challenging questions for a beautiful mid-June Sunday when we are tempted to immerse ourselves in lighter fare, but sometimes it's necessary to pursue what is important rather than what is easy.

Let's take a look at torture first from a distinctively Christian point of view, and then let's translate our religious convictions into more secular categories which will have more currency in the public marketplace of ideas and discourse.

When considering torture, an obvious starting point for any Christian is the crucifixion of Jesus: an act of torture as heinous as they come. As practiced by the Romans, the victim would be stripped naked and either tied or nailed to the cross in a very public place. (Humiliation played a very large role.) Death normally was slow and excruciating sometimes happening over a period of several days and resulted through some combination of shock, dehydration, exposure, and respiratory failure. Reserved for chronically defiant slaves and those who challenged Roman rule, crucifixion made a statement that was not soon forgotten. Nor should we as Christians soon forget that the one we follow died as the result of torture.

Saul of Tarsus, a citizen of Rome as well as a Jew, doubtless would have been a supporter of crucifixion. When we first meet Saul in the Book of Acts, he is (by his own admission) a violent persecutor of Christians and the church: trying to stamp them out (Gal 1:13). Then Saul made that fateful trip to Damascus where he experienced a life-changing vision and underwent a profound conversion experience, and Saul the persecutor was transformed into Paul the preacher and apostle of Jesus Christ.

In the latter role, St. Paul helped the early church understand the meaning of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. Drawing upon Jesus' Sermon On the Mount, Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans: Bless those who persecute you... live in harmony with one another... do not repay anyone evil for evil... Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. In other words, taking his cue from the crucified Christ, Paul no longer sought to inflict suffering upon others but, if necessary, was willing to accept suffering for the sake of others. Paul understood Jesus to be calling him and us all to a life that rejects violence as a means of solving conflict.

Given this basic foundation, on what grounds may a Christian oppose torture? What arguments, based on our faith, also have currency within the marketplace of ideas?

1. A beginning place for me is to acknowledge that torture violates the basic dignity of each person. According to Genesis, humanity is made in the image of God, with the result that each and every human being no matter how inappropriately they act is a child of God. To subject another human being to excruciating pain or suffering, to risk psychological damage due to prolonged deprivation, is to deny their basic dignity.

There are individuals who have caused or may be in the process of causing unimaginable evil and suffering. We learned of one such individual last Wednesday: the 88-year-old hate-filled man who murdered Officer Stephen Tyrone Johns at the Holocaust Memorial Museum. We need to be ever vigilant when it comes to such persons, doing what is morally and legally prudent to protect society from their hatred without lowering ourselves to their standards even though we may be placing ourselves at greater risk by refusing to use their extreme methods.

2. Second, torture violates the demands of justice. Our country is built on laws, and a standard of right behavior, which are enshrined in such documents as the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution (including the Bill of Rights), numerous treaties (such as the Geneva Conventions), and over two hundred years of administrative and legal decisions. The effect of this legacy is to shape this republic as dedicated to justice, as well as to protecting the dignity of its citizens.

An underlying principle in this quest for justice is that the end does not justify the means which is to say we must not violate our historic principles in order to protect our historic principles. If we lay claim to a higher morality, we must live by that higher morality. Torture is a deviation from this principle. Indeed, torture is a form of terrorism and a capitulation to the values of our enemies.

3. Third, torture dehumanizes the torturer so that, ultimately, both the tortured and the torturer are victims.

Mark Bowden, a military scholar who is best known as the author of Black Hawk Down, is someone who supports the use of torture under certain circumstances. Even so, Bowden has cautioned: "How does one allow [torture], yet still control it? ...sadism is deeply rooted in the human psyche (quoted by David Gushee, Christianity Today, 2/1/06)."

Yes, sadism is deeply rooted in the human psyche, but why stop there. Evil is deeply rooted in the human psyche which is why it is always dangerous to speak (as we do in times or war and conflict) of 'good guys' and 'bad guys,' which allows us to demonize our enemies while excusing all kinds of excesses on our part because, after all, we're doing it in the name of justice, or truth, or freedom, or whatever. A wise person always is aware that whenever we try to use evil for noble purposes, it has a way of taking on a life of its own and using us.

4. Just as torture dehumanizes the torturer, so does torture dehumanize the nation that tortures. Senator John McCain, who has distinguished himself for his consistent public stands against torture, (and who sees a clear link between opposing torture and the safety of our troops) once said: "[The use of torture] isn't about who they are. This is about who we are. These are the values that distinguish us from our enemies (David Gushee)."

In that same vein, Captain Ian Fishback, a West Point graduate writing to Senator McCain said, "Some argue that since our actions are not as horrifying as al-Qaeda's we should not be concerned. When did al-Qaeda become any type of standard by which we measure the morality of the United States (Kermit Johnson, Christian Century, 4/18/06)?

5. Fifth and finally (for our purposes) is the possibility that torture may not be as effective as we like to think. Indeed, it may be counterproductive for reasons which transcend the simple argument that at some point a person being tortured will tell you anything to get you to stop. The primary reason torture is counterproductive is that is loses the all-important battle for the hearts and minds of the people.

As explained by retired Army Chief of Chaplains Kermit Johnson, "insurgents cannot operate without the support of the people... Imagine, then, the consequences when people learn that U.S. forces have tortured and abused captives (Christian Century, 4/18/06)." At that point we lose the hearts and minds of the people, hand the insurgents a victory, and endanger our own troops should they be captured in combat.

This same Chaplain Johnson, writing in the Christian Century a few years ago said, "it is well to admit to the beauty of patriotism, the beauty of unselfishness and love of country . . . But this fabulous beauty makes us appreciate all the more what Reinhold Niebuhr called the 'ethical paradox in patriotism' . . . . when the critical attitude of the individual is squelched . . . . [thus permitting] the nation . . . to use 'power without moral constraint (Christian Century, 4/18/06).'"

As those whose faith is identified by the sign of the cross, we should never forget that the one who made God present among us most fully suffered death by torture without ever advocating torture himself, and without ever calling for revenge upon his enemies. To the contrary, we remember how in the midst of his crucifixion agony Jesus called upon God to forgive his enemies,

Indeed, through Jesus' life and teachings, and through the way of the cross, Christians are called more to the possibility of suffering for the well-being of others, than to the possibility of inflicting suffering for the well being of other. Or as Paul said so simply, we are called to overcome evil with good.

Personally, I think that leaves us as Christians little choice but to oppose torture in all its forms, no matter what the polls may say.