Some Thoughts From a CPT Hostage

    Some of you probably read the outrageous comments of Rush Limbaugh with regard to the capture of the CPT workers.  He suggested this might be a good thing, since it would give these "naive" folks a "view of reality."  Well, here is a reflection written by one of the hostages before captured; it seems to me he had a pretty realistic idea of what was going on.  Judge for yourself:

IRAQ: Most recent reflection by Tom Fox, "Why are we here?"

[Note: The following reflection was written by Tom Fox the day before he was abducted.]

The Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) Iraq team went through a discernment process, seeking to identify aspects of our work here in Iraq that are compelling enough to continue the project and comparing them with the costs (financial, psychological, physical) that are also aspects of the project.  It was a healthy exercise, but it led me to a somewhat larger question: Why are we here?

If I understand the message of God, his response to that question is that we are to take part in the creation of the Peaceable Realm of God. Again,if I understand the message of God, how we take part in the creation of this realm is to love God with all our heart, our mind and our strength and to love our neighbors and enemies as we love God and ourselves. In its essential form, different aspects of love bring about the creation of the realm.

I have read that the word in the Greek Bible that is translated as "love" is the word "agape." Again, I have read that this word is best expressed as a profound respect for all human beings simply for the fact that they are all God's children. I would state that idea in a somewhat different way, as "never thinking or doing anything that would dehumanize one of my fellow human beings."

As I survey the landscape here in Iraq, dehumanization seems to be the operative means of relating to each other. U.S. forces in their quest to hunt down and kill "terrorists" are,  as a result of this dehumanizing word, not only killing "terrorists," but also killing innocent Iraqis: men, women and children in the various towns and villages.

It seems as if the first step down the road to violence is taken when I dehumanize a person. That violence might stay within my thoughts or find its way into the outer world and become expressed verbally, psychologically, structurally or physically. As soon as I rob a fellow human being of his or her humanity by sticking a dehumanizing label on them, I begin the process that can have, as an end result, torture, injury and death.

"Why are we here?" We are here to root out all aspects of dehumanization that exist within us. We are here to stand with those being dehumanized by oppressors and stand firm against that dehumanization. We are here to stop people, including ourselves, from dehumanizing any of God's children, no matter how much they dehumanize their own souls.

Comments

[zero]

without disrespect, how did these guys plan to root out dehumanization? (hopefully they will be safe).

[chuck]

They do not mean they will succeed by themselves, but that they are sowing the seeds and changing their little part of the world by engaging these folks with the love of Christ and not dehumanization.

[zero]

that's what i thought.
i don't really know what to think about this. it's not good that they are hostages and i pray they come home safely. i just don't know if i think this action is a good idea, regardless of intention.

[Kate]

Which act zero?

[zero]

the action of dehumanization. in that chaos there, it seems like it's dipping the ocean with a thimble. that the four are doing (or were trying to do) is amazing. i hope their efforts aren't in vain. and with what i think about this situation, i'm not sure i really know how to express the conflicts i feel. should they have gone at all? is it better that they did? did they just become more fodder for the bad guys? will their gesture have a positive impact?

[chuck]

Who knows? The question, it seems to me, is did God call them to bear witness in this way? If so, they are doing the right thing. They are fighting the right battle, and for that, I honor them.

[Kate]

I think it is more in the way of something that they felt they had to do.

[zero]

both of those resposes are acceptable.
good enough, then.
maybe our prayers will return them safely home.

[Kirk Wattles]

Kate asks, "Will their gesture have a positive impact?"

It's easier at this moment, not knowing the immediate outcome, to say that their gesture has already had massive positive impact. Consider the many who found themselves at war, supporting and carrying out a war against an "enemy," who are now pleading for the release of the captives, for a momentary end to the bloodshed. The captives have already won a moment of peace in the hearts of so many in that bloody land, and elsewhere. The cost is so much, so much! Each life is precious. But we may pray that something has been gained.

[chuck]

Hey, Kirk, welcome! and thanks for your comment. I think you've pointed out something easily overlooked, but very important.