I just read an essay, written by a Mennonite Christian university student about World War 2. The essay outlines the reasons the Allied nations went to war, and why these reasons were wrong according to Christian faith.

Now, I may be biased, because I'm not religious. At all. But I don't think it requires a lack of belief to come to my conclusion here. Instead, I'd say all that's required is a little bit of, shall we say: logic?

Ok, this isn't going to be lengthy. I have to be getting up in 7 hours for work, and I haven't really had time to completely digest and somehow absorb what I've read.

The argument the essay is based around is basically that Christians shouldn't have intervened in World War 2. Or let me clarify, shouldn't have intervened in any violent fashion. Instead, the essay argues that "peaceable witness" is and should have been the only proper course. By peaceable witness, we mean accept the actions of Nazi Germany as evil, but instead of fighting to stop it, watch - and accept that God will judge. The example set by Jesus must be remembered and adhered to. Jesus made his point by loving his enemies, by accepting his fate. By dying.

Here's the problem. This is not one person we are talking about. This is an entire society, an entire culture. The essay writer is proposing that good Christians should have sat back and watched the annihilation of an entire ethnicity with love in their hearts. Why? Because God will judge them. Because we are spreading the truth of the Kiingdom with our love.

It sounds a lot like the apathy and pacifism I've been arguing so strongly against recently, doesn't it? Except it's quite possibly worse. This train of thought thinks that it is doing good, by doing evil. (Although not understanding that it is doing evil.)

(Examples: Imagine NATO didn't stop the Ethnic Cleaning in Kosovo, but instead watched with love the slaughter of the ethnic Albanians by the Serbs, or The Hutu genocide of the Tutsi's in Rwanda, or the Jews in WW2, imagine it didn't stop at 6+million, imagine if the Nazi's were allowed to continue, and complete their quest of eradicating the Jews from the face of the earth, there's more: basically imagine the worst chapters of human history - except don't learn anything from it, think about it with love in your heart, think about God's (apparent) will for you to let people die.)

By evil, I mean this: Willingly allowing an entire people (numbering in the millions) be destroyed, when it should be our moral imperative to protect the lives of our brothers and sisters. What kind of statement does this send to the ruthless murderers? It basically amounts to encouragement. The perpetrators become assured that their actions won't invoke response, and thus continue to do so with impunity. When the time comes, there will be no hesitation upon the decision to dispose of even more peoples. They may think: Why stop with the Jews? The Christians sure don't seem to care.

Oh, but they do care. Care enough to stand back and do nothing. It must be hard, believing in something so strongly that one would be willing to let so many die to validate those beliefs. I should count myself lucky that I face no such moral conflict. I believe that this life is all there is for us. I believe that we should be taking advantage of it. I believe that the loss of a life is the ultimate price, for there is no afterlife (in my belief structure). Perhaps that's why I found this essay particularly disturbing. Perhaps that's why I find it even more meaningless to accept millions, and millions of deaths, than otherwise simple logic dictates. (By this I'm referring to the common phrase used to comfort those who have just lost someone imporant in their lives "They've gone to a better place")

I just can't say it enough, I guess. Apathy is the path to Anarchy. History has shown us this simple truth, Life has shown us this truth. Apathy is not the path to some type of foolish enlightenment.

Lastly, I should point out something important. I'm not trying to insult my Christian friends or their beliefs. The essayist is a Mennonite Christian - arguing that all Christians should interpret scripture the way he does. I don't believe all Christians are party to that same interpretation. I'm arguing only against that particular viewpoint. As it happens, I feel very, very strongly against that viewpoint.

I imagine that if I took more time, allowed the red rage to clear from my mind, I would be able to form a better response. A longer one, as well. But, time is of the essense, and as it happens, I should be getting to sleep.