Harmeet Singh Sooden, Jim Loney and Norman Kember were rescued today by U.S., British and Canadian forces. A rescue made possible by the interrogation of a captured insurgent. One wonders if he was 'tortured' before divulging the information that led to their freedom.
You know what's meant today by torture of course... being made to wear underwear on one's head or participate in a naked pyramid or listen to Christine Aguilera music or having one's face shaved or being made to stand while the U.S. national anthem is played or being poked in the chest or God forbid, being pushed lightly.
But I digress.
What I thought was most... telling... was the statement released by the Christian Peacemaker Team organization to which the the freed belong. Dripping with... something other than gratitude... for the rescuers:
“Harmeet, Jim and Norman and Tom were in Iraq to learn of the struggles facing the people in that country. They went, motivated by a passion for justice and peace to live out a nonviolent alternative in a nation wracked by armed conflict.
"They knew that their only protection was in the power of the love of God and of their Iraqi and international co-workers.
"We believe that the illegal occupation of Iraq by Multinational Forces is the root cause of the insecurity which led to this kidnapping and so much pain and suffering in Iraq. The occupation must end.
“Today, in the face of this joyful news, our faith compels us to love our enemies even when they have committed acts which caused great hardship to our friends and sorrow to their families.
"In the spirit of the prophetic nonviolence that motivated Jim, Norman, Harmeet and Tom to go to Iraq, we refuse to yield to a spirit of vengeance.
“We give thanks for the compassionate God who granted our friends courage and who sustained their spirits over the past months.
"We pray for strength and courage for ourselves so that, together, we can continue the nonviolent struggle for justice and peace.
“Throughout these difficult months, we have been heartened by messages of concern for our four colleagues from all over the world. We have been especially moved by the gracious outpouring of support from Muslim brothers and sisters in the Middle East, Europe, and North America.
"That support continues to come to us day after day.
“We pray that Christians throughout the world will, in the same spirit, call for justice and for respect for the human rights of the thousands of Iraqis who are being detained illegally by the U.S. and British forces occupying Iraq.
“During these past months, we have tasted of the pain that has been the daily bread of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis. Why have our loved ones been taken? Where are they being held? Under what conditions? How are they? Will they be released? When?
“With Tom’s death, we felt the grief of losing a beloved friend. Today, we rejoice in the release of our friends Harmeet, Jim and Norman. We continue to pray for a swift and joyful homecoming for the many Iraqis and internationals who long to be reunited with their families.
"We renew our commitment to work for an end to the war and the occupation of Iraq as a way to continue the witness of Tom Fox. We trust in God’s compassionate love to show us the way.
“Living through the many emotions of this day, we remain committed to the words of Jim Loney, who wrote:
"With God’s abiding kindness, we will love even our enemies.
With the love of Christ, we will resist all evil.
With God’s unending faithfulness, we will work to build the beloved community."
I find it all simply amazing (especially that which I've bolded) but I shouldn't be surprised.
The chutzpah on display, the ignorance, the haughtiness, the moral equivalence and the passive agressive hostility toward the very people responsible for freeing their cohorts is, for me, evidence for an all time low reached by members of the religious left.
It is ironic that those who see the religious right as the greatest threat to freedom fail to see the dangers of the mindset displayed today by the CPT and their like-minded loons.
Disgraceful. Despicable. Deceitful.
Disgusting. Depraved.
Damnable.
A pox on these zealots.
UPDATED: Michelle has much more with links worth reading. The title of her post says it all.
Well, it all sound nice, but what Christian would call the Muslim a brother, unless both were worshiping the same sun god?
Both humans? Yes, brothers in that respect. But he was referring to the man's Muslim religion, not his Arab bloodline.
Posted by: ^_^ | Thursday, March 23, 2006 at 09:57 PM
One day...perhaps one day...these deluded, finger pointing, arrogant, self-righteous souls will wake up and realize that They Killed Tom. For them to think that they can embrace insanity, feed it, nurture it, love it, and somehow make it something more than what it is...is insanity. Just look at Tom, the very ones he was deluded into trying to "help" killed him.
It's just the physcho-babble of the day. Do what you 'feel' like doing...and by golly if it turns out with a bad result it is someone elses fault! For goodness sake...we are all gods aren't we?!
I truly feel sorry for Tom's family, seriously! He was led to the slaughter by a bunch of idiots...those idiots not being the ones who actually pulled the triggers!
Perhaps one day folks will discover that when you embrace insanity you always become insane...not vice-versa. It's the whole co-dependent thing. The so called "Christian Peacemaker Team" has made themselves co-dependent on a bunch of terrorists and the terrorists in turn will punish them for their efforts. It's what always happens with co-dependency. To try to help people see the error of co-dependency is like trying to explain what the colors of a sunrise look like to a person who is blind and has never seen the light of day. Very few blind will be able to see what they can hear. So it is with the "Christian Peacemaker Team".
Truly heart breaking. Blind leaders of the blind.
XtnYoda Shalomed
Posted by: XtnYoda | Friday, March 24, 2006 at 08:31 AM
They claim to love their enemies, yet express no love for their enemy the U.S. Army. They hate the one who protects them, and profess to love, but simply hate.
Actually liberal christians have much in common with moslems.
Both do not believe Jesus died on the cross.
Both think of him as a teacher/prophet, not Son of God.
Neither calls Jesus Lord.
Both seem to give Him honor, but do not know Him.
Islam and liberal christianity are both heresies.
Posted by: Presbypoet | Friday, March 24, 2006 at 07:32 PM
Where did they express hatred for the US Army? Did I miss something? Are you incorrectly equating opposition to the war with hatred of our soldiers? That is completely illogical.
And why can't these people (1) be thankful that they were rescued, (2) express empathy for the Iraqi people, and yet (3) still oppose the US war and occupation? Again, illogical.
And where did they express 'liberal' views of the cross, salvation, etc.? Again, did I miss something, or are you just making assumptions and (once again) applying convenient labels to people who disagree?
These people are pacifists to such a degree that they went into a war zone unarmed to show solidarity with people they view as victims. You can take issue with their pacifism, with their judgment call on who is the victim, etc., but I respect their courage. And it is courage. More courage than we armchair quarterbacks have.
Frankly, unless you can show me where they have denied the cross, I would assume they have a far greater understanding of it than we do. They've faced death for their christian beliefs. Those beliefs, as mind, are not perfect; but at least they put them on the line.
Posted by: Zossima | Saturday, March 25, 2006 at 12:00 PM
Zos,
Your self described position as a conservative (or even a moderate) are in serious jeopardy if you are unable to see the problem here with the CPT perspective...
Redeem yourself here for God's sake...
Posted by: Rick | Monday, March 27, 2006 at 08:46 PM