Christianity and War

American troops did commit mass murder in the Philippines, not during WW2, but during the Filipino-American war.

It was in retaliation to the near-annihilation of American troops garrisoned in Balangiga (pronounced ba-lang-hi-ga, with the accent on the bolded syllable, pronounced as "hee" and lang pronounced as in "lan(g)-olin") by the townsfolk who were all part and supporters of the then ongoing revolution against the Americans.

In this case, the Americans were roundly defeated by an enemy that most of them held in contempt as being brown, flat-nosed, short, and whom they derisively called "flips".

Their commanding general, Jake "howling wilderness" Smith, equated one little town with an entire island province when he gave his junior officer the order to burn and raze and kill anyone (male or female) above the age of 10.

Now, I'm not on the side of the letter writer, who I think is wrong to compare American soldiers to serial killers. but unfortunately, what he said was true.

Here are a couple of links you can check out, if you want:

balangiga massacre 1

balangiga massacre 2

FWIW

 

But, those freedoms are not unbridled.
Or, are they ?

 

Yes, free speech is unbridled except for the legal terms of slander and libel. However, the wisdom of what one says or writes does have personal ramifications. Therefore, in exercising free speech one must also be willing to live with the consequences. In this instance the author must be willing to have some Christians drag his name through the mud in this thread as he dragged the name of our troops through the mud in his article.

The idea of not being able to yell "fire" in a crowded theatre is not a matter of free speech being restricted but of contractual obligation being followed and disturbing of the peace.

 

I'm a little surprised that you didn't also provide a link to the intentional killing of 100,000 Filipino civilians by retreating Japanese in 1944. This sort of dwarfs anything that the American National Guard troops did in 1899. Course, maybe the point is only to show US brutality?

As a matter of fact, US Senate investigated the events in Philippines (1902) and US General Jacob Smith was court-martialed and convicted. I'm pretty sure the Japanese commander was not similarly charged with anything by his own country.

 

What kind of a country do we want to be? One that lives by the rule of just laws and promotes freedom and democracy? That's what I want America to be. Not simply somewhat better than countries that commit whatever atrocities are convenient for them to get what they want.

 

I completely agree.

 

In the two examples referenced above, there was a vast difference in, not only the magnitude of the offense, but in the response by the respective governments.

Maybe you should move to Shangri La.

 

Our government incinerated over a hundred thousand civilians with the A-bomb at the end of WW2.

Our government's foreign policies have led directly or indirectly to close to a million deaths in Iraq--between the many years' worth of sanctions before the war and the results of the war itself. Over a million more have been displaced. We did not need to invade Iraq.

May you should consider the fact that our government's actions are not above criticism.

 

Estimates of deaths in Iraq since the war began vary wildly. That you would choose to use the 1 million number isn't surprising. Many of the actual, not theoretical, deaths were insurgents killed in battle. A large number of civilans were killed by the Islamic radicals. Displaced people are now returning. Many countries took part in the sanctions, not only the US. In fact, most anti-war groups were in favor of keeping the sanctions in place indefinately.

Never claimed that to be the case. Humans can do some very cruel and stupid things. The problem is that some people only seem to see and point out US wrongdoing.

 

I was merely pointing out that US troops DID commit the massacre in the PHilippines. If it is of any consolation to you, I have a kin whom the japanese threw into the air and caught with his bayonet.

And the Balangiga bell has NOT been returned to its rightful owners. And the Japanese commander was not similarly charged by his own country because they were under American occupation, and their war crimes were handled by the allies.

And the court-martial of General Smith did not bring back the lives of the innocents among those he massacred, neither were reparations, financial or otherwise, made to the victims' kin, as far as I know.

And, please, I love this country as much as you do, so don't act like I'm an enemy, I am not.

 

While the author was over the top on some points, he has the right to express them, just as others have the right to be outraged at them.

However, I do have an uneasy feeling myself when I go in some churches the Sunday before July 4th and patriotic songs with no mention of God or Christ are sung and US Flags are being saluted and colors posted. Just uncomfortable with that taking place during a regular worship service and I have seen more and more of it the last few years.

 

And a large number of civilians have been killed by "shock and awe" and other US bombings as well. As I recall, it was "shock and awe" that began this war and began the destabilization of Iraq. The thing is, had we not invaded and occupied Iraq, there would have been no insurgency against the occupation.

Doesn't make it right, despite the fact that Madeline Albright said the sanctions (and the resulting deaths) were "worth it".

And my point is there are some people who think--with their whole "us vs. them, good vs. evil" mentality and their adherence to the myth of American exceptionalism--think we can do no wrong.

We should be actually following the Constitution and the principles this nation was founded on and then leading by example. We should not be lecturing other countries (while seeking to undermine their governments when they aren't in the best interest of our elite), nor should we be trying to export "democracy" at gun point (as we are increasingly losing our freedoms here).

 

Me too. There is something surreal about watching the choir singing the Armed Forces Medley with pictures of bombs going off on the big screen behind them.

 

And let's not forget the thousands of Iraqi Christians that are now suffering by being murdered and displaced by these militiants that want the most radical form of Islam as a rule.

In XC
-

 

You are right. And there are Christians in other places suffering and many of the because of the US foreign policy ... in Palestine for instance. Yes, there are Christians there.

 

This is a flat out lie. You know better than this. They are suffering because of Hamas with the ad of the governments of Syria and Iran.

 

No kidding. Apart from arguably crossing the line to embrace a form of "militarism" that opposes the gospel, there is the additional problem of participating in the confusion of national values and Kingdom of God values, which are often at odds with one another. Our citizenship is in the Kingdom of God, first and foremost.

 

Oh my, such emotion. Have you ever talked with a Christian from Palestine? Did you even know there are Christians in Palestine?

Have you ever talked to a Christian from Lebanon and gotten their views?

Have you ever talked with an Arab Christian living in Israel and heard their views?

Or are you only speaking from your own emotions and have nothing else to back up your opinion?

The unfair policies of the US in our foreign policy have caused much hardship to many Christians in many places.

 

Not a whole lot of emotion. Just stating facts. And Hamas' tactics are quite effective.

 

Give me some facts.

An Arab Christian told us at chapel in Prague one morning why hamas is popular with so many of the people. If you were oppressed as the people there are you would welcome such an organization. How do I know? You have a Hamas type attitude when it comes to the US policies.

If you want I will tell you in another post the things he said about Hamas that make them popular in Palestine. Do you want to hear what those facts are?

I am not defending Hamas, but I did gain a deeper understanding through this Christian's talk.