Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Evangelical
No Syrian Intervention

No Syrian Intervention

Last updated on: September 3, 2013 at 10:38 pm by John Mark N. Reynolds

No Syrian Intervention 2013-09-03T22:38:25-04:00 John Mark N. Reynolds

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Syrian intervention is wrong. God help me I cannot support it.

Our President sets our foreign policy and has information citizens do not have. Constitutional government has evolved to give the President broad powers to strike militarily. As a result, patriotic Christians tend to support the President when he requests military action.

I have done so with this President.

Why?

Most Christians are not pacifists. We do not like war, but we know war and violence sometimes are necessary in a broken world. From Saint Duke Wenceslas to Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Christians with the power have chosen to fight.

If the President strikes Syria, as a loyal American I will support our troops and their Commander in Chief, but if asked I would beg the President and Congress not to go into Syria. The President has told us why we must go, the use of chemical weapons, but not what will happen if we do go.

The government of Syria is bad, but there is no evidence that it is worse than what will follow and some evidence that, God help the Syrians, it might be better. In Egypt, we let the government go and now chaos reigns.

If Assad falls due to United States force, what do we know will happen?

Christians will die in Syria.

Christians feed and help all religious groups in Syria. The Assad regime protects religious minorities, surely for selfish reasons, but when this protection is lifted the “rebels” will kill. They already are.

Terrorists will get safe havens in Syria beyond what they have already. The opposition to Assad is divided and history demonstrates that the most extreme will triumph in a chaotic, revolutionary situation.

Can’t we learn that overthrowing an inept tyrant without any further intervention leads to a worse tyrant?

The opposition in Syria contains good people, but those people are unlikely to triumph in Damascus when Assad falls. Those parties willing to tell the biggest lies will triumph as Syrians learn to doubt all the old verities.

The simple platform of the extremists will appeal in chaos. There is a great danger that we will act as Al Quaeda’s air force. Americans should not precipitate the horrors of ethnic cleansing to prevent the use of chemical weapons. Will we let “our” rebels kill Christians, Druze, and Alawites so that Assad cannot use chemical weapons?

The death of a thousand by chemical weapons makes a horrific YouTube, but will the quiet death of entire communities one bullet or beheading at a time bring any outcry?

We know it will not.

And we do not intervene in every crisis, even horrific tragedies. Thousands die or are enslaved in the Sudan, but nobody cares or intervenes.

We will kill Syrians, but have no plan to help Syria. At least George W. Bush invaded Iraq and attempted to rebuild what we destroyed. Billions were spent to help Iraq. In Syria, in the best case, we will bring instability to Syria with no plan to help the Syrians.

We will not kill Assad or those who ordered the chemical attacks, but Syrians who support the regime. Religious minorities in Syria support Assad, because they are being murdered by the opposition.

Chemical weapons should never be used and the evidence is sufficient that Assad has used chemical weapons, but the opponents of Assad have used torture, terror, and murdered religious leaders. These things should never been done either. Why punish the one and not the other?

Will we bomb the terrorists that killed or kidnapped Christian bishops in Syria?

We are going to contribute to Syrian instability, but have no idea what will happen next. I have lost faith in the competence and capacity of this President having a coherent and rational foreign policy.

This is not a good war. God help save this Republic and God save the President of the United States.

Spiritual Reflections

Previous Post

August 12, 2013

Can't Wait to Teach

Next Post

September 4, 2013 How many dead Christians?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Apologetics Art Culture Education On Books On Education Philosophy Politics Pop Culture Spiritual Reflections Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 July 2025 June 2025 September 2024 July 2024 June 2024 December 2023 June 2023 September 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

True or False: The Sermon on the Mount includes the Lord's Prayer.

Select your answer to see how you score.

FALSE TRUE

Books by This Author John Mark Reynolds

See All Titles »