American Churches Give Propaganda Victory To The Evil Doers

In a statement that will surely encourage our enemies, a coalition of U.S. churches has denounced the war in Iraq and claims that the U.S. is "raining down terror" and entering into imperial projects that seek to dominate and control for the sake of our own national interests.

The churches' propaganda statement was disguised as a letter from the US Conference for the World Council of Churches to the 9th Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Porto Alegre, Brazil:

Yet we acknowledge as well that we are citizens of a nation that has done much in these years to endanger the human family and to abuse the creation. [. . . .] But our country responded by seeking to reclaim a privileged and secure place in the world, raining down terror on the truly vulnerable among our global neighbors. Our leaders turned a deaf ear to the voices of church leaders throughout our nation and the world, entering into imperial projects that seek to dominate and control for the sake of our own national interests. Nations have been demonized and God has been enlisted in national agendas that are nothing short of idolatrous. We lament with special anguish the war in Iraq, launched in deception and violating global norms of justice and human rights. We mourn all who have died or been injured in this war; we acknowledge with shame abuses carried out in our name; we confess that we have failed to raise a prophetic voice loud enough and persistent enough to deter our leaders from this path of preemptive war. Lord, have mercy.

The propaganda piece goes on, also criticizing the U.S. for climate change, racism and poverty.

The entire "letter" is available here.

Al-Qaeda's propagandists could not have imagined a document more helpful to their cause. Aljazeera, the most popular Arab news source, headlines the story "U.S. churches denounce Iraq war, 'American terror.'"

Al-Qaeda doesn't have to denigrate the liberation of 50 million people from the horrors of two of the worlds most tyrannical and fascist regimes, our churches do it for them. This letter is an unfortunate piece of evidence supporting Defense Secretary Rumsfeld's position that the US is losing the propaganda war against al-Qaeda and other enemies.

It angers me that this looney left propaganda, which is completely unsupported by facts, will now appear to be the position of the World Council of Churches, which includes more than 350 mainstream Protestant, Anglican and Orthodox denominations. The U.S. denominations in the World Council of Churches includes the Episcopal Church, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the United Methodist Church, several Orthodox churches and Baptist denominations, and my family's own denomination for generations - the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

The Rev. Sharon Watkins, president of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), worried that some may interpret the statement as undermining U.S. troops in Iraq:

"We honor their courage and sense of duty, but ... we, as people of faith, have to say to our brothers and sisters, `We are so profoundly sorry,'" Watkins said.

Sadly, the Reverend Watkins just doesn't get it. She shouldn't be worried that some may interpret the statement as undermining U.S. troops in Iraq. No, she should pray for forgiveness for the additional deaths of U.S. soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan and other locations where the U.S. is fighting the War Against Terror, that our enemies, encouraged by this so-called letter, will cause.

Almost as bad as the negative consequences this propaganda will have on our efforts in the War Against Terror is the fact that the propaganda piece, while supported by church leaders is does not necessarily represent the view of church members:

The Very Rev. Leonid Kishkovsky, the moderator for the U.S. group of WCC members, said the letter was backed by the leaders of the churches but was not cleared by lower-level bodies. He predicted friction within congregations about the tone of the message.

Lord, have mercy indeed.

Comments

[Büyüler]

Sorry, but I think the letter is right on. If you haven't read Jim Wallis's book "God's Politics" I recommend it. MANY Christians in this country disagree with the right-wing agenda, including me.

I don't see this as propaganda. It's based on facts that Bush administration apologists are unable to refute except through lies and cautions that our honesty is helping our enemies. I don't particularly care for the "high-churchy" wording, but that's a style issue, not content.

People who try to hush dissent on the basis that it will aid and abet the enemy don't understand the chilling effect such suppression has on democracy. The true patriots are the ones unafraid to say, "We're wrong, and we need to alter our course before it leads to disaster."

I won't hold my breath waiting for you to post this, by the way. In my experience with right-wing blogs, you publish only those comments that support your viewpoint, or selectively pick the worst of the opposition, that which sounds the most strident and least rational. Oh well, at least I've had my vent for the day, so I thank you for that. I found you, by the way, through The Moderate Voice.

[Maggie]

The World Council of Churches is THE MOST LIBERAL ORGANIZATION in the Christian world...and it has been for years. The mind think out of those people has always been over the top!

I worked in the building where they had their headquarters and knew them well...guess it has only gotten worse.

[Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout]

Dear Salvage,

Two questions:
1) Given your prayers and support of the troops and their defense of freedom, identify exactly what about Iraq threatened our freedom, making sending our children out to dodge bullets necessary? Warning - do not make a 9/11, Iraq, terrorism equation without evidence.

2) Since you, yourself say there is no way to determine the effect of dissent on the troops lives, what evidence (other than you're certain it's true) do you have that Kerry and Fonda actually had thousands of troops killed? Warning - if you really want me to follow your logic, walk me through the evidence. Don't just say "C'mon, how could it NOT be true?"

[Kolchak]

Best. Satire. Ever.

Seriously? Some advice from someone who used to do propaganda for a living: If you don't want al-Qaeda to be able to use our religious leaders' comments as propaganda, that's fine. But that is far from the biggest problem we face in this regard. First, I'd worry about their using the U.S.'s illegal unilateral invasion of a sovereign nation, looting of Iraqi oil revenue and torture of prisoners as propaganda. That stuff is going to stick with the people whose hearts and minds we're trying to win long after some pronouncement by a group of churches -- or, for that matter, anything Michael Moore has said or done -- has vanished into the mists of history.

Priorities, man. Priorities.

[salvage]

Hahahahahahah!

Stupid church thinking it's wrong to make up reasons to go to war, kill and torture people, it's like they've never read a thing that Jesus said!

Dude, you're a chimp.

[Pagar]

We go thru this over and over in America.
In the late 1960's and early 1970's, It was Jane Fonda and John Kerry and the anti-war crowd; Now it's Michael Moore, the leaders of the Democratic Party, the letter writers of the US conference of the world council of Churches and anyone they can get to believe that it's wrong to support America. American soldiers don't just
show up some place and start taking action on their own. They are sent, by an elected government. But they are killed by an enemy enboldened by the support of American people who
think that the way to defeat the elected American government is to support the people who
are killing American soldiers. There is no way of knowing how many American soldiers died because Jane Fonda and John Kerry betrayed them.
There is no way of knowing how many American soldiers have died and will die, in Iraq and elsewhere because of Americans who are supporting those who are fighting against America.
The deaths of American soldiers are not the only deaths occurring because of the actions of
Americans who do not believe in defending their own nation or members of their own faith. Today's blogs are filled with stories of Christians thru out the world being killed in the most horrible ways by America's enemies, aided and abetted by Americans who do not support America.
I have no idea how Jane Fonda, John Kerry and their kind can sleep at night, knowing that thousands of American's names are on the Vietnam
Wall because of them. I have no idea how any American alive today could make a decision to support America's enemies and make themselves responsible for the death of any American soldier
or Christians of whatever nationality, by their actions.
May God bless every American soldier and every Christian everywhere, who is endangered by Americans supporting our enemies. For those who believe it's not important to defend your country or your faith; I thank God that we still have American soldiers who think that it is important to defend this nation, under God.

[California Yankee]

Cindy, It is regrettable that your experience has been that "right wing blogs" don't publish comments expressing different opinions. I don't think you will find that true of California Yankee.

Regardless of whether we agree with what the coalition of churches' letter said, the statement that the claims that the U.S. is "raining down terror" and entering into imperial projects will certainly find its way into al-Qaeda propaganda. That in turn will encourage those who are fighting against us.

I respectfully disagree with your assertion, "It's [the letter] based on facts that Bush administration apologists are unable to refute except through lies and cautions that our honesty is helping our enemies." Perhaps the debate would be more clear had I taken the time refute what I think are the erroneous statements in the letter. I think most of those issues were addressed in my A Discussion About Iraq post.html

[Cindy Ross]

Sorry, but I think the letter is right on. If you haven't read Jim Wallis's book "God's Politics" I recommend it. MANY Christians in this country disagree with the right-wing agenda, including me.

I don't see this as propaganda. It's based on facts that Bush administration apologists are unable to refute except through lies and cautions that our honesty is helping our enemies. I don't particularly care for the "high-churchy" wording, but that's a style issue, not content.

People who try to hush dissent on the basis that it will aid and abet the enemy don't understand the chilling effect such suppression has on democracy. The true patriots are the ones unafraid to say, "We're wrong, and we need to alter our course before it leads to disaster."

I won't hold my breath waiting for you to post this, by the way. In my experience with right-wing blogs, you publish only those comments that support your viewpoint, or selectively pick the worst of the opposition, that which sounds the most strident and least rational. Oh well, at least I've had my vent for the day, so I thank you for that. I found you, by the way, through The Moderate Voice.