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9-11 REFLECTIONS
On September 11, 2007, we pause to mourn the 3000+ persons killed by
terrorists in New York City, Washington D.C., and in Pennsylvania. We also
grieve for the 3700+ U.S. military personnel killed in Iraq trying to
right the wrong of those September 11 deaths.
The Old Testament law forbid unlimited revenge. "Anyone who maims
another," Leviticus 24:19-20 states, "shall suffer the same
injury in return, fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; the
injury inflicted is the injury to be suffered." Jesus rejected this
as too harsh (Matthew 5:38-39).
And yet, in Iraq, to avenge the loss of an eye (3000+ American lives)
the U.S. has cut off the head (Saddam Hussein) and an arm (thousands of
Iraqi civilian deaths) of the enemy. In doing so, we have put out our own
remaining eye (3700+ military deaths and thousands more casualties).
No wonder the war strategy seems short-sighted. We have struck
ourselves blind!
12 Sept 2007 - mshr |