"Seven hundred thousand out of a total Lebanese population of 3.5 million, 20 percent of the population, mostly Shiites, are now being cared for and given refuge by mostly Christian schools, churches, and other humanitarian organizations. This is the story of the Good Samaritan at a mega scale! And to think that this is the outcome of a strategy that meant to rouse anti-Hezbollah feelings among the Lebanese population and government. Talk about a failed strategy! Of course, this has happened so many times before that any thoughtful tactician would have learned the lesson by now, but military muscle is always too hedonistic and narcissistic to listen to the voice of reason and history."- Dr. Martin Accad, academic dean of the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary of Lebanon. Source: Christianity Today posted by Sojourners
6 comments:
To set the record straight. A few weeks before the first shot was fired, Nasrallah planned the kidnapping of the two Israeli soldiers with tacit approval of Lebanese government officials in order to garner a prisoner exchange.
Hezbollah once again is to blame for the deaths incurred in Lebanon by the efforts of Israel to get their "sons" back. To blame Israel for the death wholesale deaths of the Lebanese people is pure idiocy. And Hezbollah has no qualms about murdering innocent Israeli and Arabl citizens in the north of Israel. Excuse me, where is the condemnation of Hezbollah for their deaths and relentless attacks on Israel?
Lebanon has been in violation of UN Resolution 1559 for years now. Israel kept their part of the resolution. Lebanon did not and allowed Hezbollah to effectively terrorize the very nation it is alledgedly there to help. Nasrallah and the rest of his ilk are on another of many deadly ego trips. So please...give me a break on the ridiculous condemnation of Israel, its people, both Jews and Arabs.
"military muscle ... too hedonistic and narcissistic to listen to the voice of reason and history" crosses all cultures and creeds and Israel is clearly not solely responsible for the escalation of violence ... there is blame aplenty to heap on all parties in this increasingly desperate scenario. But, as the posted quote says, the strategy has not worked and yet the bombing continues ... dozens more women and children killed today. And I agree with what I hear Jeff saying: American foreign policy has done nothing but DE-stablize the already on-the-verge tensions in the Middle East. A sad, sad summer indeed.
Catherine-
it is nice to find something we agree on! :o) A few weeks ago, one of our priests in his sermon pointed out the results of those who seek to destroy Isreal...eventually they are always destroyed themselves. Isreal has the right to defend themselves, and when the other side has no care or concern for civilians and put their lives in danger, their deaths are on their shoulders.
Although I appreciate the "irony" that the violent actions of the Hezbollists might have lead to a "good" result in that the "enemies" were able to provide shelter for the refugees, it is important not to focus so much on the irony that we forget what is the "root cause" of the positive actions of these persons. Simply, it was not to provide an "ironic" twist to the Hezbollist's intentions but to live the central message of the Gospel---to practice love and compassion for friends, family, enemies, strangers without distinction. Unless we make this specific and noticeable we come close to the erroneous way of thinking that "good" may come of evil and violent actions. Any "good" that comes is through an oppositional effect that is "anti" violence, not a supportive one looking to get good from ill.
If we are ever to find our way out of this cycle of war and violence, we need to hold to the center of who/what we are or at least should be in terms of really practicing what we preach. We must try to get beyond blame/fault and start practicing and living kindness/compassion and love. We must be the good Samaritans to the best extent that we can be. As others have commented, our government's actions in the Middle East have been far from successful. I truly believe that this is our fault as a nation with the deepest roots in our own negative feelings and beliefs. Even the smallest "blame-filled" angry thought that I might have right here at my computer can continue to fuel the fires of hatred. Even a violent thought does real harm to our neighbor.
Sorry, I didn't mean to preach again...
Jeffrey Shy
Mesa, Arizona
atheistepiscopal.blogspot.com
Thank you Susan for listening and your comment. I have to also think that if Hezbollah, Hamas and Al-Q___da didn't exist, how much more peaceful and easier it would be to talk with all the parties concerned and reach resolution on their own.
And yes, the US is not helping the situation.
Laura, thank you. I may not believe in what the reasserters are trying to do in our Church but in the broader scheme of things, there is obviously some things we do agree on.
If you are interested in some good info on this subject, check out the http://lobsterhouse.blogspot.com/
(catherine- I thought especially of you! :o) )
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