| akuma587 said: Anyone who uses the name of God to justify a war is claiming to know the will of God, which is in itself pretty heretical. I don't think God wants anyone to die if it can be avoided, unless you are talking about the Old Testament. And most of the instances of violence promoted in the New Testament have to do with the Christians being a minority oppressed by the authorities. Jesus broke away from many of the tendencies in the Old Testament, including adopting a pacifistic approach rather than a "chosen race" attitude the Israelites used to conquer other nations. You want to wage a war, fine, but don't claim that God has given you permission to do so. You are asking for a one-way ticket to hell otherwise. |
The phrase "for God and Country" has traditionally been used for soldiers going off to war. It's not a religious statement calling for a holy war, nor is it suggesting that the war itself is ordained by God. The suggestion here is that the soldiers are doing good (if you believe that selflessly risking your own safety protecting the Iraqi people, liberating them, etc is good, this makes sense), and that doing good in this case is God's will. It's more about the decision of the individual soldier to selflessly serve his country than anything else. This statement is being blown way out of proportion. If she'd have said it on the campaign trail, then it would be crazy. In a church or prayer setting, however, it's about the individual soldiers, not the overall war effort.
