WOT More?

George Bush sees the War on Terror as part of a Struggle for Civilisation. I suggest that he does not understand war or civilisation.

Civilisation is expanded by communication, sharing ideas, trade, tourism, education. Christian civilisation is spread by people sharing the gospel. More important, it is spread by Christians live the gospel in hostile environments, demonstrating the superiority of the Christian way. War cannot spread the gospel and it cannot spread civilisation.

We need to understand what war does. The weapons of war kill people and destroy building and bridges. The military mind says, “If you hit me, I will thump you harder!” What George W does not seem to understand is that you cannot advance civilisation by "thumping people".

People who are trained at "thumping people", often forget to do good, and slip into evil. This evil undermines civilisation, rather than building it up. Abu Ghraib and the Marine rapes in Iraq are examples. This is what Paul meant when he said that evil cannot be overcome by evil (Rom 12:31). Evil can only be over come by good; and war is rarely good.

War can take control of territory, but it cannot change the way people think. The military can take control of government institutions, but they can only change attitudes and values, if people allow it. War cannot establish civilisation. The irony is that the war in Iraq is currently destroying many of the better aspects of Iraqi civilisation.

War cannot defend civilisation either. War can be used to defend territory. Military force can stop enemies from entering a country to kill people and destroy building, but that is not the same as defending civilisation.

Another irony is that terrorism is not a threat to American civilisation. Terrorism cannot destroy a strong culture. The events of 9/11 did not weaken American civilisation; they probably strengthened it. Even if Al Qaida had completely destroyed the White House, Congress and the Pentagon, American civilisation would not have been destroyed. If American civilisation is destroyed, it will be destroyed from within and not by external attack.

Just as conquering a civilisation by military power is very difficult, destroying a civilisation by warfare is almost impossible. Civilisation is rooted in the minds of the people. As long as Americans continue to believe in peace, freedom and justice, their civilisation will be hard to destroy.

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