11 Questions for Christians and Churches Celebrating Memorial Day Today

1. How does violence beget peace, especially lasting peace? When has that ever been the case in human history?
2. Why have we so closely associated love of country with love for God?
3. How can we claim that our country is always fighting for the right, when it has wrought so much destruction?
4. What do patriotic celebrations teach non-Americans about our view of the gospel?
5. How does a remembrance of violence fit into a Sunday telling of the gospel story?
6. Are the lives we’ve lost somehow more valuable than those we’ve taken?
7. Can an innocent human life taken in military conquest ever be considered “collateral damage?”
8. How can the church extend love and care to those affected by the ravages of war without baptizing our military action as an honorable service to God?
9. Is our commitment to calling fallen soldiers “heroes” in the “fight for freedom” preventing us from acknowledging the true horror of war?
10. Can one “lay down his life for his friends” in a mission to take the lives of other people’s friends?
11. Is it even possible to pray for the military success of the United States without our silent prayer taking on a more sinister, duplicitous tone, brilliantly put into words by Mark Twain:

Photo:
Flickr, creative commons 2.0