Assassination and the law

As I understand it the assassination of Iran's General Qasem Soleimani is at first sight something that must surely be regarded as a violation of international law and by this act of aggression confers upon those who commissioned and delivered the act, the label 'terrorists!'.

Even though I am assured, and quite confident, that General Soleimani had indeed planned and commissioned acts of aggression in Syria and Iraq (and other places too perhaps) the action in which Soleimnai was killed can not be justified on the grounds of his tyranny and as no state of war exists and the General was on foreign soil and effectively hors de combat this is both a wrong and dangerous action to have taken. For as General in Chief, surely the President has set aside diplomacy and publicly placed on the table state sponsored acts of aggression.

Now I am of the mind that this has been the case in the actions of the Iranian sponsored involvements in Syria, where nationals who oppose the current regime have been killed, and also feel that there is enough suspicion to support the claims that Iranian involvement in Iraq has resulted in the loss of coalition life. That this is covert does not remove the warrant of international law or God's law. There is the case that 'tyranny' can be used as a just cause for such acts, I don't think that this applies here. Neither do I think the action can be considered to be 'preemptive or anticipatory self-defence' (unless the US can provide evidence that by removing this man from power as act of aggression (or terrorism) was prevented.

Some might say that there is evidence of belligerency (that is warlike or aggressive behaviour) on the part of Iran and so the act of assassination cannot be considered the be terrorism. The problem here is that so many motion pictures, historical books and first-hand accounts can lay the same charges as those Gen Soleimani was accused of at the door of US armed forces or agencies. If we take this as the case, what not precludes Iran for engaging in 'tit for tat' responses?

As a final thought, what of 'protected persons'? The European Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism brings into view the fact that"a serious offence involving an attack against the life, physical integrity or liberty of internationally protected persons, including diplomatic agents; by means of bombs, grenades, rockets, automatic firearm or letter or parcel bomb is an act of terrorism.

As one who is concerned with maintaining the rule of law (something British forces do by abiding by the Law of Armed Conflict [LOAC] and keeping within the Rules of Engagement [RoE] and operating within the Geneva and other conventions and treaties) I am struggling with today's actions. Coupled with the jingoistic Tweeting of an American Flag by the President of the United States and the baying masses who champion acts that appear to be wrong, we find ourselves in a difficult moral situation today. The Bible offers us this thought in Exodus 20.13: "You shall not commit murder!" Taking a life in combat is to kill another person: A combatant. We, the British forces are taught that we are Lawful, Professional and always act Appropriately in all situations (Thats what LOAC, RoE, and the various conventions and treaties challenge us to be and do. Anything outside to that is the felonious taking of life and any act of murder removes from us any higher moral ground and removes from us our moral compass.

Even if this does not promulgate state-sponsored action, the potential for this to ignite a response from members of the Islamic faith against what is (erroneously in my opinion) labelled as Christian is great. It is an act that is in many ways the same as striking a tinderbox in a gunpowder store (which didn't work for Guy Fawkes and his covert strike team but might for others in today's context.

We should be circumspect when the conditions so dictate such action. Anything else is a recipe for something tragic and costly in terms of lives and the potential for peace. Dialogue rather than military engagement is always the preferred path, and when this fails is the time when I and those who wear uniforms are called upon to fix the mess politicians have made.

Please pray for the players in this tragic and sorry episode.

Please do not cheer at the demise of a life which appears to have been taken wrongly, for their is no victory for anything but the forces of darkness and the rule of stupidity.

Please reflect and, if I am wrong, offer me correction, and if not - work to bring about peaceful results from this sad and sorry situation. I will hopefully revisit and where necessary add sources - but in this splurge from somewhere in my head, I have not had the memory or time to do so.

Pax

Measured and balanced responses

It seems to me, albeit hampered by my limited wit, that one of the perennial issues is that of responding to stuff we consider to be wrong with Church stuff and letting ourselves loose on a path that will:

a. take us back to the time when Jesus walked the earth, or

b. take us back to be what the New Testament Church was before the patristic errors, politics and power corrupted it, or

c. take us forward to something orthodox and enabling that speaks into today's realities, and

d. scrub everything and just live out what the New Testament tells us as if we were living in the days when we had only the Eucharist and the fellowship of other believers.

The problem for me is that I have proclaimed some of the above and sought the others from the pulpit, from my knees and in the sacred space that is both prayer and praise.

Many years back I can recall being in the company of a group of Christians who decided that they had no need of theology. All that was necessary to be a 'good Christian' was to read the Bible and live it - the input of those who might write on its contents being nothing other than a call to error and putting their own spin onto what was obvious without it.

Being someone who had just started studying at Bible College I sat back (quietly) and watched at whatever was about to happen in this group. It sounded good and yet, as time progressed, the reality looked awful! As they read, interpreted and applied the words of the Bible taken from one place they denied the words that resided elsewhere. Not only that but the core values that are:

i. The ten commandments (Exodus 20)

ii. The call of the shema* (Deuteronomy 6.4) to,  'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might', and

c. The words of Leviticus 19.18 which explicitly says, 'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbour as yourself. I am the Lord!'

Sad to say that the last time I heard of any of those in the original group they had all binned Christianity as 'something that didn't work' and were doing their own stuff and living quite joyless, but self-serving lives. This brings me to consider many things in terms of lifestyle, attitudes, fruit and joy because I'd like to think that getting it right with God ticks all the positive boxes - but does it I wonder?

And I'm open to those who find freedom away from Christ - but would add that it might be freed from Christians rather than the Boss Himself (surely not, Christians are all lovely, aren't they?)

So I'm about to embark upon some thinking about the patristic errors, the desire to go back and the ways that some have gone into new territory (they haven't really by the way - they just think they have but indeed there is 'nothing new under the sun!

So come along with me and put your views, correct me, shout me down, lift me up and take us forward and let's have a look at Christianity in the now as something that doesn't deny the 'then' or corrupt it for the approbation of those outside the Church.

Let's get it on!

* shema (Shem aah) - the Hebrew word for 'Hear' - taken from 'hear, o Israel, the LORD . . '

Morning Prayer - May 6

Psalm 98
Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvellous things. His own right hand and his holy arm have won for him the victory.

The Lord has made known his salvation; his deliverance has he openly shown in the sight of the nations. He has remembered his mercy and faithfulness towards the house of Israel, and all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Sound praises to the Lord, all the earth; break into singing and make music. Make music to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the voice of melody. With trumpets and the sound of the horn sound praises before the Lord, the King.

Let the sea thunder and all that fills it, the world and all that dwell upon it.
Let the rivers clap their hands and let the hills ring out together before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. In righteousness shall he judge the world and the peoples with equity.

Psalm 99
The Lord is king: let the peoples tremble; he is enthroned above the cherubim: let the earth shake.
The Lord is great in Zion and high above all peoples. Let them praise your name, which is great and awesome; the Lord our God is holy.

Mighty king, who loves justice, you have established equity; you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.
Exalt the Lord our God; bow down before his footstool, for he is holy.

Moses and Aaron among his priests and Samuel among those who call upon his name, they called upon the Lord and he answered them.
He spoke to them out of the pillar of cloud; they kept his testimonies and the law that he gave them.
You answered them, O Lord our God; you were a God who forgave them and pardoned them for their offences.
Exalt the Lord our God and worship him upon his holy hill, for the Lord our God is holy.

Psalm 100
O be joyful in the Lord, all the earth; serve the Lord with gladness and come before his presence with a song.
Know that the Lord is God; it is he that has made us and we are his; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and bless his name. For the Lord is gracious; his steadfast love is everlasting, and his faithfulness endures from generation to generation.

Exodus 20.1-21
Then God spoke all these words:

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.

You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.

You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.

Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. For six days you shall labour and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.

Honour your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

You shall not murder.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.

You shall not covet your neighbour’s house; you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour.

When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking, they were afraid and trembled and stood at a distance, and said to Moses, ‘You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, or we will die.’ Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid; for God has come only to test you and to put the fear of him upon you so that you do not sin.’ Then the people stood at a distance, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.

Luke 1.26-38
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.’ But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’ The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.’ Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ Then the angel departed from her.

The Collect
Almighty Father,
who in your great mercy gladdened the disciples with the sight of the risen Lord:
give us such knowledge of his presence with us,
that we may be strengthened and sustained by his risen life and serve you continually in righteousness and truth;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Tolerance: How do you do yours?

It doesn't matter who you are, or who you talk to, the reality is that everyone claims to be tolerant and yet tolerance for many is not a constant but a variable.

One of the fun things with tolerance us that it carries with it the potential for us to be more intolerant than those we might otherwise consider to be intolerant bigots. The reality is that those who who claim to be open-minded are, more often than not, more dogmatic and prescriptive than those they label as closed!

Try telling someone that they are behaving wrongly or have a flawed mindset and you will find yourself criticised and more likely than not, lectured, vilified and acted against - even if its done in a Christian rather than secular setting.

Oddly, remaining in a Church setting, using the Bible as the reason for your position, you will find yourself labelled as judgemental and 'narrow minded' and should you dare to use the word 'sin' then the gauntlet is well and truly laid down. Lob in salvation, new creation, different lifestyle and standards and that's a declaration of war (don't forget we're still talking about Church).

Tolerance, is an inconsistent state of being in that drawing line require consistent measurements and yet the traditional measure in this, our Judeo-Christian society, has of course been the Bible and removing this leaves us with what? I'm a Christian and so, perhaps surprisingly, I continue to take the Bible as my measure or yardstick (after all, that's what Canon means) but where do others turn for an authoritative and consistent constant?

It seems that many would have us work along a basis of consensus, that is keeping the majority happy, but what of those who are not happy or are perhaps acted against or dealt with unfairly because it pleases the masses?

What about those who support 'natural justice' where people 'get what they deserve' and where law is a movable feast to ensure that revenge (rather than justice) and desired outcomes (rather than fair play) are the rule?

We don't have to look too far back into the history of the world to see what happens when a society eschews rigid, and perhaps dogmatic, laws and takes up attitudes which support the masses or marginalises some parts of the community. Law has to be consistent and public attitude needs to support what is right rather that demand what is, for that moment at least, desirable.

Perhaps we should leave justice and tolerance to the press - but if we do what happens to those who are marginalised, vilified and generally belittled in newspapers like the Daily Fascist; those people who are benefit scroungers, career single-Mums, immigrants and the like? Look at the red tops and take five minutes to read them from cover to cover - do you find consistency, fair play and justice? No of course you don't - what you find is cries for vengeance and a stirring of the pot against whosoever they choice to act against (not always wrongly, just often) and the tub-thumping about rights and expectations (often dashed).

No, it's obvious that there's too much spin and inconsistency to trust the newspapers.

So what's left? Perhaps we need to look at 'family values and traditions' (as one politician recently put it. The problem being that we come full circle to find that these are embodied, and lived out, in the Bible. You see, the need for a consistent and coherent measure is essential and for some two thousand years, that has for our Western mindset be found in the Bible.

But the commandments - who has the right to 'command' anyone about anything - are not popular. After all, stealing is wrong if someone does it from you but isn't always wrong when you do it yourself ( a direct quote ladies and gentlemen - I jest not!). Not only that but there are times when stealing is OK because it's 'victimless' (after all, no one really suffers if you nick something from a shop or falsify stuff to get a little extra). It's not wrong to do stuff unless you get caught and that's perhaps the first consistent guideline of our society today: Don't get caught!

The next constant is that we have developed the attitude that says that as long as what we are doing makes us happy and gives us what we want, then that's alright. Everyone has the right to be happy and do what they want - unless of course they don't agree with your attitude and then they are wrong. But let's note the second constant: Being happy is a right!

The third constant is that no one has the right to tell other people what to do (unless of course it's us telling other people that is) and if they do then they are, quite legitimately, open to attack, and even more so should they impose their old traditional Bible stuff.  So constant the third: You're not the boss of me!

Starting to feel like I should be hitting piece of stone with a chisel as we move on the fact that our new tolerant society is happy for people to do what they want without any criticism or comeback, unless of course you decide that an attitude or lifestyle doesn't suit you. When this happens, even though they might not act against others who think or live as they choose not too, they are wrong because you have to agree. So the fourth constant is: Everyone has the right to think and act as they wish unless it goes against what I think, in which case they are wrong!

I hope that the above shows you why I opt for a consistent and just approach to tolerance - embracing the demands of Micah 6: 6-8 which calls for:
Justice - that means treating everyone the same, applying the rules consistently regardless of who or what.
Mercy - that means not looking for revenge but restoration. I want people to live differently and stop doing what is wrong and this underpins the application of the law.
Humility - I don't think of myself as being more worthy or valid than others and even thought I might not agree with what people choose to do, I accept their right to live as they choose (just as I have that right).

And of course, my fourth constant is to be found in the commandments which establish, and maintain, some consistent boundaries (even if you leave the God and Sabbath bits out!), namely,

Don't take murder (or even hurt) people,
Don't nick stuff,
Don't tell lies,
Don't swear - there are much better words open to you that expletives,
Be nice to your parents (nuclear families have lots going for them)
Be faithful in your marital/cohabitational relationships
Be happy with what you have - stop looking at others and let envy eat you away.

A nice set of rules that makes life good and relationship easier - what could be wrong with that?

Have nice day :-)

Sunday Radio - frustration and dismay

I'm listening to an advocate for folk religion and a member of a pseudo-Christian group discuss justice and forgiveness, "There are so many things that cannot be forgiven," cries one (wonderfully misquoting the Bible) and my toes and fingers tense and begin to ache.

"We cannot lock people up for life even when it is done to 'protect society'," says the other and, thankfully, leaving out God (for after all there are many in the group they represent who do) and Bible talk about things as if they are an authority.

Oddly, the one authority that matters didn't really get a true perspective or voice today and justice (restorative or harsh) was the victim.

There is but one 'unforgiveable' sin as I understand it and I don't know what it is but, to quote a wise old teacher, "The day you care whether you've committed is is probably the day that you have!"

As we start our Advent journey - that cleaning of the house that is ourselves in preparation for the visitor that is to come, born in a stable, and be celebrated we need to examine ourselves and ensure that we have no unconfessed sin and no unforgiven acts.

As we consider the bringer of Peace to this world - we need to remember that whilst He beings Peace, we need to take that Peace from Him and use it; pass it around; live it ourselves - otherwise it site, impotent and useless on the shelf.

God calls us in Exodus 20 to neither commit murder (nor bring about death by misadventure, poor workmanship or folly).  He calls us to exercise justice and mercy (with humility) in Micah 6.

In Luke 6 we are told this:

“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.
Do to others as you would have them do to you."

This is the path to taking the gift of peace that Jesus brings and making it real for us, those around us and, if we all embrace it, the world.

Almighty God,
give us grace to cast away the works of darkness and to put on the armour of light,
now in the time of this mortal life, 
in which your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility; 
that on the last day, 
when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge the living and the dead, 
we may rise to the life immortal; 
through him who is alive and reigns with you, 
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, 
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

A bless´ed, peaceful and joyous Adventide to us all