A Polluted PRISM

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-22857062

While American citizens are rightly concerned that the US government has completely trampled the Constitution, few consider the international implications of American actions.

While the United States is unhesitating in its criticism of other nations and their violations of other people's rights and the adverse effects of their policies, it is clear to the rest of the world that the United States acts with impunity and will not hear criticism.

Even our media will not report except when it benefits the regime by portraying international leaders as deranged or aggressive.

The reality is the United States yet once again has declared it does what it wants, when it wants to, and how it wants... and respects no one.

It behaves as Rome and every other empire has. It's not terribly surprising. And yet as a Christian, my concern is twofold...

1. That the United States is often associated with Christianity. Of course the Christian Right continues to do everything it can to push this narrative as part of its own domestic political marketing scheme.

2. That while critical under Obama, when George Bush engaged in similar and frankly more dangerous behaviour, the Christians were keen to defend and even encourage him.  How many Christians supported the invasion of Iraq? How many rooted their support in revenge or to support Israel? How many Christians defended Abu Ghraib, the Fallujah massacre, or the slaughtering of civilians?

Have other nations behaved worse? Yes, but that does not exonerate American actions. Is a murderer good because he only killed two or three instead of twenty?

But what's more dangerous to the Church of Christ? Is it more dangerous to live under a government and within a society that you know is blatantly against Christ or one that pretends to be for Him, and yet acts in almost every way completely contrary to Biblical teaching? Under which arrangement are professing Christians more likely to be fooled? Under which system will Christians be more likely to embrace Nationalism and willingly send their children off to fight, kill and die?