Would Jesus Sanction Torture? Special

There's something unique about Christianity these days if the argument is whether or not Jesus would approve of torture. The fact is the religious right in America now debates that issue with one leader declaring the answer is “it depends"

Gary Bauer, who once ran for President of the United States, maintains under certain circumstances Jesus might approve of torture. These circumstances would include a terrorist who has relevant information that could save the lives of millions of people. Bauer doesn't believe waterboarding is torture. This is in opposition to Richard Land, so far the only member of the religious right to condemn waterboarding and the use of torture for interrogation. The debate on the use of torture for interrogation might seem unusual were not for the fact a recent poll conducted by the Pew Forum found evangelicals and Catholics believe in torture under certain circumstances. Indeed it was learned that the more often one goes to church the more apt that person is to approve of torture. Only a slight majority of mainstream Christians and nonbelievers do not condone torture. For years there has been an ongoing question often asked when trying to decide a moral issue. The question is: what would Jesus think. This question has been applied to everything from civil rights legislation to how we eat. Interestingly enough it was recently applied to hate crimes legislation. One News Now, a right-wing publication, not long ago had an article declaring the hate crimes bill to be a threat to biblical teaching. One might ask how a bill that legislates against hate crimes would oppose the teachings of Jesus that are said to emphasize love. Reverend Kuykendall, an evangelical minister in Gainesville, Georgia is inclined to believe that torture could be supported by Christians under certain circumstances. He says the New Testament in Romans 13:1-7 declares that Christians should submit themselves to the governing authorities “for there is no authority except that which God has established." This means, according to Kuykendall, that the New Testament gives the state the authority to punish wrongdoers. This removes the individual from the notion of vengeance and allows the state the right to punish instead. This notion the New Testament provides for torture when sanctioned by the state is debated by Chuck Colson. He is the evangelical pastor who once served as an aide to President Nixon. In an online discussion conducted by the Washington Post regarding torture, Colson said that whereas Christians must obey the law, there are times when they must respond to a higher law. The example he used was “ignoring a no passing sign in order to rescue a drowning man.” I interviewed Natchitoches Presbyterian minister Kathy Muder on the issue of torture recently. Muder maintains that some Christians excuse torture and twist the Bible's words to prove their points. She also says that if Christians believe they should get out of the torture issue and turn it over to the state, then why don't they get out of the abortion debate and prayer in public schools. She underlines the concerns about torture dramatically by asking the question: "How can Christians condone torture when Jesus was tortured to death?" Muder also reminds people that Jesus himself said people would say "Lord, Lord" and not mean it with their lives and behaviors. Fear, she tells us, is at the root of why people believe in torture. Christians maintain their fear of terrorists when belief in Jesus should be to reduce or eliminate fear. What do people in other countries believe? One blogger observed the Pew Forum was writing about Christians in the United States and Christians in other countries like the United Kingdom would have a different view. The blogger maintains UK Christians are against torture for whatever reason, but this is one man’s opinion. A writer with an atheist blog talks about the Faith in Public Life and Mercer University report that revealed 57% of white evangelicals in the United States support torture. Most of these are also Republicans, with considerably fewer Democrats expressing favor in torture. Furthermore many of these people are from the South according to both the Pew Forum and the previous study in 2008. In response to these assertions about torture a Canadian blogger observed: “I’m a Canadian and I think our current prime minister approves of torture, but wouldn’t say so. Most Canadians, I suspect, don’t.” He went on to point out that people will approve of waterboarding foreigners but respond differently when torture involves their own people. What do people of other religions believe about torture? Dr. Ingrid Mattson, President, The Islamic Society of North America (www.isna.net) and Director of the Macdonald Center for Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations, Hartford Seminary (www.hartsem.edu) answered some fundamental questions about issues like this for the Joint Religious Legislative Coalition of Minnesota’s “Day on the Hill,” February 3, 2009. She agrees with the notion those who approve torture don’t “see” those people in the same ways they do their neighbors. Mattson maintains that when we do “see” each other as brothers, we will be less inclined to allow poverty, hatred and other negative issues in our relationships. The fact Christians in America now debate whether or not Jesus would support torture reflects the disparate view that believers have of Christ. One must wonder how some Christians are able to denounce nonbelievers and people of other faiths who refuse to torture and recognize it as countering the message of love while they themselves view torture compatible with it.