"The Christian must discover in contemplation, and in the giving of his life, those symbolic actions which will ignite the people's faith to resist injustice with their whole lives, lives coming together as a united force of truth and thus releasing the liberating power of the God within them." - James Douglass, Contemplation and Resistance.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

The Power of Conscience




"An Israeli Apache helicopter pilot is refusing to take part in the ongoing onslaught against the civilians in the Gaza Strip.

Captain Orr, who has flown dozens of combat missions over Gaza the past few weeks, said Tuesday that he decided to abort missions to avoid killing civilians after seeing children near his intended targets.

He also expressed sorrow for civilian casualties, the people who were caught up in the bombardment by him and his colleagues, saying that the vast majority of damage and casualties in Gaza were caused by flying attack helicopters and jet fighters.

Since the start of 'Operation Cast Lead', Israeli forces have killed more than 1000 Palestinians and wounded over 4580 others -- most of whom are women and children."

For those of us whose sight is clear, the attack on Gaza is simply the fulfillment of the plan which Israel has adhered to with religious consistency since 1948 - the elimination of the Palestinian people from Greater Israel.

Israel today reigns high in the heavenly Olympus of today's domination system. In the religious system of modern capital, Israel embodies the eternal David fighting the Goliath of "terrorism", while Palestinians are the Canaanites who must be eliminated for God's plan to triumph. To question this is to question God. The relevant verse:

"Joshua said, 'By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will assuredly dispossess from before you the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Hivite, the Perizzite, the Girgashite, the Amorite, and the Jebusite.'" Joshua 3:10

The settlers reach ecstatic frenzies of violence against those who inhabit the promised land, the land given to them by a "God" who cares only for the elect among nations and treats other nations as mere chattels to serve the chosen. But who is this God?

A Palestinian, confronted by the power of this "God of Israel", has the choice of submission, which means the annihilation of the truth of his humanity, or resistance in the face of overwhelming military power. From every media mouthpiece of the domination system the command rings out: "Liberation is found only through submission to power."

If only the Palestinians would submit their own annihilation, then there would be "peace". Such is the bargain that power always makes with its victims. But another God is united with the Palestinian people and this God will not permit consent to annihilation.

It is the same God that Christians who resist the force of idolatry worship in solidarity with those who bear the face of Christ in his crucifixion. Those of us who fail to worship the spirit of power, the spirit of money, live in irreconcilable opposition to the "God of Israel" who massacres women and children. Instead we worship the God of Jesus Christ, not the God who consoles us for the "collateral damage" which our idolatry inflicts.

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