At War

It has been a long time coming but the bully of the Middle East has finally got its’ answer. When I was a kid, I remember a few fights breaking out on my walk home from school between boys. I remember kids lining up and choosing sides and cheering them on. A book of essays was written by Robert Fulghum in 1986 entitled, All I Really Need To Know I learned in Kindergarten.” I saw it one day as I perused a line of used book and I opened it up. It was a consideration of the good lessons that we learn when young. 

I learned a lesson watching those fights break out long ago. That lesson was that when someone has a big mouth and goads another boy on over and over that eventually they will come to blows. Words matter and some of those words were, “death to America.” If that was all there was that Iran had said to us, it is a threat. “Put up or shut up” would be the little boys answer. We should not be surprised if our words or actions are met with a response. That is a lesson that I learned when I was young.

Iran has been a rabid animal that needed putting down for a long time, forty-seven years to be precise. It started when they took American hostages in 1979. They stepped all over our flags then and now to show disrespect. A few years later, Iran was behind the suicide bombing in Lebanon carried out by the regime’s proxy Hezbollah. There was also the humiliation of the soldiers on the U.S.S. Cole. Iran never plays by Geneva Convention standards of wartime conduct as far as I can see. They also play the United Nations like a violin. All of the above actions were declarations of war against the United States and now they got what they were asking for, a wooping.

Iran clearly wants to commit genocide against the Jews because they have said so many times. How would you feel if they said it about your people? How many times do you have to hear an Iranian official declare that,”I would like to wipe Israel off the face of the map,” or hear about a Jewish school, grocery store or place of worship that was attacked before you see the crimes that the regime has perpetrated? There is literally no doubt that Iran has been paying for Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis to slowly kill Jewish civilians (hint:war crime) so they can take over their land. I don’t know why they and we didn’t have this fight before. 

I believe that at this point the Democrats of the United States will no longer support the State of Israel. The party moved in this direction under President Obama. He began to pivot his political party and our country towards Islamic relationships. Don’t get me wrong, the Abraham Accords are trying to create shared values, and form business and political alliances in a new way, but that will take time and understanding on both sides if people desire to move in a civilized and constructive direction. The whole concept is done in a much more realistic way than President Obama ever did it. This kind of relationship could flourish once the Iranian regime is vanquished and would be capable of helping make a positive change in the Middle East and in the world. The Abraham Accords could do much to legitimately move the Middle East and the West closer and I pray that all parties could make strides in loving one another and making the world a safer place.  

Whereas, Israel and the United States don’t necessarily have to sign any papers due to some shared behaviors and religious history. Here’s why we should all support Israel. They are the only democracy in the Middle East, That’s hugely important and it should be a role model for other nations. They live in a rough neighborhood and they have had to address that. This explains why they have to have a tough guy demeanor all the time. It is either fight or die for them that much is clear. They must be vigilant.

Next, the Jewish religion is the base upon which Christianity built its’ house and it is foundational to Western Civilization. Another natural bond exists because of that. The Jewish people have made innumerable contributions towards the advancement of Western Civilization and it is time that we in the West finally acknowledge that and respect that more.

However, without a Republican as Commander in Chief, I do not believe that this Iranian regime change would be happening which is all the more reason that now is the time to correct this forty-seven year blot upon a civilized world. There can be no doubt that Iran was about to go nuclear and frankly, they are not mature enough to handle such a responsibility. Evidence: they are trying to shut down international trade and sending bombs and drones at civilian populations as opposed to military targets like the United States is doing. As of this writing, Iran has attacked twelve countries. Airports and hotels are their targets and they even misfired a missile on one of their own schools and blamed others. Anyone want international shipping lanes to be free for international commerce to continue? Raise your hands. They are crazy and any country,(cough, cough…Russia and China), that supports them are crazy too. Do not trust nations that stand up for evil. Of course, you must know what evil is before you can do this. I pray the world can learn from this situation. I hope that you and I can too.

The Middle East has gone through many power shifts throughout the centuries. The Assyrians, Babylon, The Medo-Persians come to mind. It is the backdrop for the story of Daniel in the Bible. The Egyptians had their kingdoms and their imprint upon the Middle East and the world. There was the Ottoman Turks. The modern kingdom of Saudia Arabia, and the kingdoms that formed on the Arabian Peninsula where vast resources of oil were discovered. Now, Iran is determined to interrupt middle eastern business with the regimes’ last dying breath. 

The Sunni-Shiite split in Islam figures into everything happening as this drama unfolds too. The nations which have a mixture of Sunni and Shiite populations seem to be destined to fight endlessly. It must be said that many Iranians in the West celebrated the recent events including in the United States which has the largest Iranian population outside of Iran. They all have thrived and benefited from living in the United States and other Western countries where they came to escape the Islamic Revolution. 

The question is why did they not go to other Islamic countries where shared customs and religious beliefs could have made for an easier transition? It is because the United States is a more peaceful place, free from the endless wars that seem to continue in their place of origin. There is more opportunities for economic success here than in Iran too. The Iranian people need to respect that and stand up for the United States especially when fatwas are put out on the United States.  Many Sunnis have struggled with Iran but, did not move to counter the direction that rogue nation was taking the Middle East and the world into. They need to do better in the future to secure a better life for their countries and region.

War figures largely in humanities history but, what does the Bible say about it? Is there such a thing as a just war? Is war something Christians should completely refrain from as some Christian demoninations do? If war is necessary, what constitutes proper conduct? Let’s start with the cause of war. The cause of war is sin. Sin is an offense against God and one another. If war is occurring, someone, somewhere, sinned. If you would like an example of this, look at the story above again and think it over. 

It is not a sin to stand up to evil and it is even something that God himself will do at the end-of-times. He will do so in a very dramatic and violent way. He must or else he is not a God of justice. Heck, even little Seamus had to stand up to Dylan on my childhood streets or else Dylan would never stop embarrassing him, and stealing his lunch money. The Bible says that God can not tolerate evil forever and there has been and there always will be times when a tipping point is reached and he will once again intercede.

Only God is Holy, and we are not. Therefore, when God Himself acts in destroying something that action is Holy and when we wage a war or destroy something our aim is for that action to be “just.” A “just war” would not include hitting civilian targets on purpose. A just war is hitting military targets and the ability of that adversary to wage war. Collateral damage is not the same as hitting a kindergarten or a hospital on purpose. Unless, the adversary has chosen to house weapons or military facilities in those places. In that case, the enemy has acted to bring its’ own people into jeopardy and have acted cowardly and unjustly. Making someone into a “human shield” is the same thing and does not meet the standard of righteous. 

It is a shame that I have to say this in 2026 but, it is not just to rape and steal big screen tv’s during a war. The buzzer goes off as unjust to an exponential degree at this point. Hurting and killing children because you hate your fellow human beings so much….buzzer is sounding again, monstrously unjust. If you look at a child and wish to harm them because of your dispute with a neighbor then God is not within you. There is nothing Holy in any of these actions that I am discussing so, stop calling them okay. What about killing 30,000 of your own people? Is that okay that the Iranian regime is alleged to have done that? If, they were behind groups such as Hamas who had a plan to rape and kill women, children and humiliate male enemies then, a righteous nation or world should and must stop such a people. Nations acting thusly are legitimate candidates for delegitimization. It would seem evil not to stop all of these actions. 

Do I hate my enemy and is that okay? No, I have learned in my walk with the Lord to work through my feelings of hatred and make those thoughts line up with godly principle. It is one thing to be happy that Seamus is not being bullied by Dylan anymore but quite another to hate him for it. So to, the hatred of people who have hurt us and nations which we have grievances with, must be worked through. The Bible instructs us to even pray for our enemy. I have always found when I pray for my enemy eventually forgiveness can come into my heart about the matter and a genuine desire for their well-being blossoms.  

Another aspect of a just war would entail honest diplomatic attempts to work through issues before going to war. It must be examined if a nation is making a good faith effort towards solving a dispute or just wasting time as they keep enriching uranium or amassing more of a disputed territory. Just sitting at a diplomatic meeting does not mean that you are serious about trying to reach a fair solution to a problem. 

There are nations who are giving intelligence to Iran in order to hurt the United States or Israel and by doing so to advance their own agendas such as weakening our defenses. Unfortunately, before God this makes them co-conspirators in the rape, and civilian slaughters. They are a blood-stained nation before the Lord. The Bible tells us that God will judge the nations because of the evil they have done. The United States like all the nations of the world is not perfect. How can any of us say our nation is right before God? But, for all the above reasons it is acting justly in holding Iran accountable for their actions. This has been a longtime coming. Eventually, it will be up to the Iranian people to show what kind of nation and people they want to be. God is watching.