Over the past week, I have witnessed far too many Christians seek to justify the use of various forms of torture as a standard interrogation practice. A generation ago, there would have been no debate on the matter. Soon after 9/11, when the threat of attack seemed far greater than it had for many years, some started to question whether torture could be justified in extreme, ticking time bomb circumstances. It is instructive to see where the moral discourse has now shifted. Tragically, the United States not only tortured terrorists and criminals, we also tortured and killed completely innocent people. And even more tragically, many of our political leaders are now defending the torture of innocents, either because they refuse to or cannot come to terms with the gravity of their crimes. To be clear: Torture is a crime. From a Christian perspective, it is also moral barbarism, an abject affront to the God-given dignity of all human beings—yes, even those who attack others God-given dignity. Any nation that practices or tolerates torture sacrifices a tremendous amount of moral authority on all issues of human rights. The United States, like any country, is morally flawed. But the U.S. has also been uniquely positioned to advocate for critical values of human rights and dignity around the world for a very long time, and the world has benefited greatly from our moral leadership and example, imperfect as it has been. For Americans to condone such a profound rupture from the best of our past by tolerating torture now is, in effect, to throw away our moral authority on every issue of government-perpetrated injustice and indignity around the world. The moral authority of the United States is far too valuable and important to discard over fear, politics, and the worst impulses of our leaders and ourselves. For those of us who are Americans, we have an obligation to speak up and defend what is critical for our countrys flourishing. But as Christians, we have an even more weighty responsibility: not to let any allegiance, political or otherwise, take precedence over our allegiance to Christ. If you are a Christian and you tolerate the American governments use of torture, check yourself. Yes, we live in a messy, fallen world, and moral purism isnt an option for even the best of political leaders. But sanctioning torture today is the moral equivalent of unleashing a deadly disease that was long ago eradicated: appalling, destructive, and entirely unnecessary. Torture is a first-order moral issue, and if we as Christians choose not to speak up about it, then we will bear much of the blame if future American and world leaders choose to continue the practice. And that shame would stay with us and our descendants for generations to come. The United States is better than this. If the church is to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, we absolutely must be better than this, too. Christians must regard torture for what it is: a crime and a heinous sin, and a practice whose normalization should never be tolerated.
Posted on: Tue, 16 Dec 2014 17:02:32 +0000
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