The Battle for Human Rights

Friends,

The battle for human rights is part and parcel of the "War on Terror." I know a scholar (St. Thomas Aquinas expert) who once said that "when we engage someone in battle we take on their characteristics . . . so, in other words, 'be CAREFUL who you pick as an enemy!").

This Thomas Aquinas scholar was obviously speaking about the genteel battles of academia, far removed from the 'real world' of sweat & blood places such as Iraq, Afghanistan, etc.

BUT (and an important but!), what my friend and colleague said is TRUE!

If we 'play dirty' (whether it is basketball, football, or yes, even the War on Terror . . .) then we are literally 'sinking to the level' of our enemies.

Maybe this is why Jesus Christ said to PRAY FOR YOUR ENEMIES. Do GOOD to those who abuse you . . .

This is a GOOD tactic and something that should be highlighted in the new 2008 and beyond WORLD geo-political system!

Politically, what would it look like if the Religious Right PRAYED for (and with!) the secular left???

OR, what would it look like if the largely Christian African American part of the Democratic Party PRAYED FOR and WITH those members of the political right who are RACIST, xenophobic, etc.

In South Africa, men like Bishop Desmond Tutu (himself, African) PRAYED for RECONCILIATION and the end result is that South Africa peacefully overthrew the evil shackles of apartheid!

In the United States, men like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. PEACEFULLY brought to light the segregationist racist paranoia of the South!

Maybe, as we fight our "War on Terror," and although POLICE ACTION is ALWAYS necessary, maybe we should PRAY for those terror groups who are trying to kill we Americans, the Israelis, etc. PRAY for OUR NATIONAL ENEMIES!!! Jesus Christ, God Incarnate said this, and so let it be done!

ONLY through such Christ-centered praying for our enemies can the battle for human rights produce LASTING FRUIT!

Let's give it a try! It worked for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It worked for Desmond Tutu.

Love in Christ Jesus our LORD and Savior,
Rob