The Fire This Time

My first thought, after 9/11, was that America should turn the other cheek and refuse to be pulled into an endless cycle of violence.

But when we bombed Afghanistan and sent Osma bin Ladin running for the hills, I admit that I felt a sort of primal satisfaction. I even allowed myself to be convinced (by Tony Blair and Colin Powell) that invading Iraq was a necessary evil.

Now I feel like a fool.

I'm reminded that, as the Messiah, Jesus was expected to be a great military leader who would drive the Romans out of Palestine. But he rejected that role and allowed himself to be killed, even though, if you believe the Gospels, he had the power to summon an army of angels.

It's hard to imagine a more thorough repudiation of war than that.

Was Jesus a fool?

Whatever you think of him, this much is true: In the long run, he brought the Romans to their knees.