a prophetic statement regarding the Iraq war

In October 2002, as the U.S. drive for war in Iraq was building, the organization Sojourners put together a joint statement by church leaders from the U.S. and the U.K. In it, there was noted that 'To initiate a major war in an area of the world already in great turmoil could destabilize governments and increase political extremism.... It would add fuel to the fires of violence that are already consuming the region. It would exacerbate anti-American hatred and produce new recruits for terror attacks against the United States....'

Yesterday, two and a half years later, The New York Times reported on a new assessment by the CIA that '...Iraq may prove to be an even more effective training ground for Islamic extremists than Afghanistan was in al Qaeda's early days, because it is serving as a real-world laboratory for urban combat.' The report went on to note that since the American invasion, Iraq has become 'a magnet and a proving ground for Islamic extremists' and is 'helping combatants learn how to carry out assassinations, kidnappings, car bombings, and other kinds of attacks....' Sojourner's words have rarely seemed more prophetic. "

The gospel according to ...

SojoNet: Faith, Politics, and Culture

Crusades, Kingdom of Heaven

Why Ridley Scott's story of the Crusades struck such a chord in a Lebanese cinema

Billy Graham on Hardball

Tonight on the television program, Hardball, Chris Matthews asked Billy Graham about the Iraq war and the fact that we had lost so many young soldiers and others. All Graham could respond with was that we lost more than that in one day in other wars; he also said that everyone dies so war does not kill more people. What a sad response from a man who has preached the gospel for so many years; if that is all Christians have to say about war, expecially this one, Christianity has sunk to a new low!

phillipallen.net

If you go to my web site, www.phillipallen.net, you can catch up on my ramblings from the past. For now, I plan to use this blog for my own postings and to connect you to articles I think everyone should read.

Welcome!

This is my first posting of what I expect to be at least a weekly ritual of expressing my thoughts and feelings regarding a number of issues, but focusing mostly on the world of religion and politics. I am liberal in both arenas because I call myself a Christian; a follower of the most radical liberal that ever lived!

I invite your responses and comments.