Yes...but!

November 19 2007

Home > Columns >Yes...But! Year 8-2

We all believe in something. There is not a person without faith. Even being an agnostic or an atheist requires a certain conviction.

Jean Jacques Rousseau is a good example. He lived from 1712-1778, and doesn’t have a good reputation, was quite a womanizer, never went to church. Although he wrote no theological theories, he did insert a few pages on religious themes into his masterpiece, “Amile,” which he wrote at age 50. A few simple lines caused the book to be burned and Rousseau to spend the rest of his life on the run. Poor fellow. Fortunately times have changed, or I would be a subject of persecution as well.

What caused him to become ‘persona non grata’ in his world? It’s a short section in his “Amile” book, under the heading: “The Profession of Faith of the Savoyard Vicar,” in which Rousseau spoke of religion in terms of human needs. There he had this clergyman declare, “I believe all particular religions are good when one serves God usefully in them.” Yes, believe it or not, for that he was hounded by pious Christians.

Rousseau sang the praises of conscience, of charity, of fellow feeling, of virtue, of pious wonder in the face of God’s creation. What’s wrong with that? I believe that all who worship a monotheistic God, marvel at his creation and try to honor it as sacred and all creatures with it, find favor in God’s eyes. Yes, that includes Jews, Muslims and Buddhists.

Today religion is more popular than ever and also more secular than ever. For many, fighting evil is seen as the most important religious pursuit. Three days after the 9/11 attacks, President Bush declared that the United States had been called to a new worldwide mission: “to rid the world of evil.” Shortly thereafter he re-affirmed this by saying that the U.S. government is determined to “rid the world of evil-doers.”

Of course, the 9/11 attacks were evil, but ridding the world of evil is also what Hitler and Stalin were trying to do. Hitler wanted to make the earth pure for the Aryan race. In his “final solution” he was determined to exterminate not only all Jews but also the gypsies and homosexuals, people who, in his opinion, were contaminating the world. Stalin eliminated millions of Russian and Ukrainian peasants because they objected to the communist way of collective farms. Both Hitler and Stalin were trying to perfect the world by getting rid of its evil elements.

On the same day that Bush made his first pronouncement about ridding the world of evil, the Washington Postquoted Joshua Teitelbaum, a scholar who has studied the al-Qaeda movement: “Osama bin Laden looks at the world in very stark, black-and- white terms. For him, the U.S. represents the forces of evil that are bringing corruption and domination into the Islamic world.”

What is the difference between bin Laden’s view and Bush’s? They are opposites, of course — in fact, mirroropposites. Both George W. Bush and bin Laden look at the world in very stark, black-and-white terms. For Bush, al-Qaeda represents the forces of evil that are threatening the Western world, but what bin Laden sees as good — an Islamic ‘jihad’against a godless imperialism - Bush sees as evil. What Bush sees as good — America the defender of freedom and democracy - bin Laden sees as evil. That makes them two different versions of the same ‘holy war’ between ‘good and evil.’

For both of them there is no neutrality: you’re either with us or against us. If the world really is a battleground of good and evil forces – as is their opinion – all worldly evil must be fought and defeated by any means necessary. It makes life simple. Once evil has been pinpointed, the focus is on destroying it.

That’s what war in Iraq and Afghanistan - and, who knows with Iran as well - is all about. It makes war so attractive, especially to right-wing politicians. Wars cut through life’s petty problems and unite the good guys against the bad guys, who always are portrayed as ruthless and without remorse and must be killed.

Today it’s quite popular to ask: “What would Jesus do?” Strangely Jesus often gave ambiguous answers. Example: He said, “Those who are not with me are against me,” but he also said, “Those who are not against me are with me.” Figure that out. However He was quite straightforward about eradicating evil. He told us not to even try it. In “the parable of the Weeds” (Matthew 13) Jesus explicitly warned us not to get rid of evil – the weeds - lest we damage the good – the wheat.