Praying for the troops

[alexwylde]

I think that praying for success over a tyrannical government is right; I think praying for the defeat of Islamism is right because Islamism is fundamentally a perversion of God's laws. I will not get into Mohammed on the topic but I could if you wanted me to.

Let's say that if we go to war on "Islam" (oversimplification, I know, but just bear with me for the sake of argument), and this war will eradicate Islam in the world, but in the process kills 50 million people on both sides of the war. Do you think God would be behind this cause? Because I certainly don't. People in Islamic countries are not going to convert to Christianity if we come in with our tanks and soldiers and set them up a new government. The Middle East has NEVER been open to outside influence and it probably never will. But it's not okay to go kill them because they're stubborn.

I pray for victory of the Coalition Forces and the establishment of a just government.

I hope the troops are protected but I realize that many will die and that is fine. People die. They go to the place they belong, then, as no one essentially belongs to this world -- and to said to be 'of the world' is equivalent to being said to be sinful.

"People die--that's fine" ? Sure people die, but the only way I can think of a "fine" way of this happening to people is through natural causes. And I sure don't think it's "fine" for (1) (thousands of) our soldiers to die for a cause that is unjust, and will have no lasting impact, or (2) for (hundreds of thousands) Iraqis/Afghanis to die as a result of our imperial aggression.

<<Tangent: It really bothers me when people refer to our cause in the Middle East as "fighting for/protecting our freedoms in America". Our freedoms have nothing to do with what type of government Iraq has. It's nothing like communism, where Communists were ACTIVELY spreading their influence throughout the world.>> (Not that you did this jmverville, but this thought just came to me as I was responding.)

I think in a very real sense we have the obligation to help alleviate pain and suffering all around the world -- and this is not because of God but because it is morally correct.

And if the people of the Middle East don't want US to alleviate their pain and suffering, then what? We impose our help on them? At the cost of thousands of human lives? What kind of alleviation is that?

Also, do you not get your sense of moral correctness BECAUSE of God? I'm pretty sure that it was C.S. Lewis' stance that because we HAVE moral correctness, there must be a source for it (i.e., a deity). I don't see how you can separate the two. But that's just my opinion.


Sorry, I don't mean to turn this in to a debate on the wars in the Middle East. So, if I haven't derailed us too far, I would like to keep this thread about prayers and their why we pray for our soldiers to kill other people. I guess I brought up these politics about the war because it seems that the people who do pray for "our soldiers" get their sense that the cause our soldiers are fighting for is just and God's will. I know if I was living in Iraq, I would not think it was God's will for America to come in and start a war. WWJD?

 

[FrederickM]

I pray for world peace and pray those who destroys the peace will be learn of the word of God,regardless of who they are.

 

[invisible trousers]

http://christianforums.com/showthread.php?t=7282598

Bumping because the War Prayer ties in perfectly with this thread.