Tuesday 21 April 2009

Waterboarding Jesus


Tonight I met with a small group of Muslims, Jews and Christians who get together every 6 weeks or so to reflect on a given scripture and how it impacts on our lives. Tonight the Christians were thinking about 'Be Alert for you do not know the hour ... which led to comments on our experience of Easter. As one person spoke of their Good Frdiay feelings, of the suffering of Jesus being tortured on a cross for our sin I had one of those spiritual collisions that might in time become an epiphany.

Because today Former US Vice-President Dick Cheney has urged the CIA to release memos which he says show harsh interrogation techniques such as water-boarding work. In other words the violence is justifed because it gets the desired result.

It suddenly struck me that that is many a Christian's view of the violence on the cross.
It's ok for God to pour out his wrath upon the Son
because in the end, the plan works.

Can it be that what we would condemn in Guantanamo Bay we would celebrate at Calvary's Hill?

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