aliens among us

Subtitle: strange fruit

There’s an urban legend online that goes like this: Katie Couric while interviewing a Marine sniper “What do you feel……when you shoot a Terrorist?” The above is supposed to be his response. After which he turned and walked away. The picture that goes along with this is to produce a visceral reaction. I’m big on those too.

According to Snopes, this story has roots in the Vietnam era, and wasn’t asked by Ms. Couric. So neat as it is, it’s not true to fact. Any of them. I like the addition of the words “A Slight” to it. It gives it depth. The original response was supposed to be just the one word “recoil”.

It is difficult as a liberal to discuss my dislike for the wars we are in without it being labeled as a dislike for those fighting the wars. I think it’s because of our expectations of war. We expect violence to produce peace. We expect our children to be peacemakers, not specialized, highly trained, soldiers. Much as we might need them to be from time to time.

You can blame this post on Scott Williams, pastor of an LC campus and author of Big Is The New Small. He’s started the new year off with an interesting two posts that might be a series: Church Diversity Sucks! & Christians Make Me Sick.

The theme seems to be tolerance verses acceptance in the church. I’ve written on this topic before myself, and I don’t know the answer either. To this question, or about the wars and what position we are all supposed to have about them now. For, against, tolerate, accept.

I’ve felt for awhile now that the lines between “us” and “them” are blurring from their old definitions and positions. But the desire to hold to them faithfully is something we inherit in some degree from our parents and their parents, and so forth and so on. To the seventh generation, if you want to get biblical about it.

So why am I tying the war against terror and tolerance verses acceptance within the church together? Well, it’s what I do. (grin)

I think about these things, and I use to spend a lot of time trying to wrap up my answers in neat, pretty and interesting posts on here. But the more I attend this weird, non-neighborhood, accidentally missional church, the more I wonder how secure I am in my own tolerances.

All I know for certain is that strange fruit will produce a bitter crop. What form that crop will take next, well, that’s where I’m guessing, just like the rest of you.

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What’s your guess?