If you have not seen this video yet, I'd rather you spend your time doing so than reading my little rant (although reading my post is a nice afterthought).
That being said, I do not want Joseph Kony brought to justice. You read that right, I do NOT want Joseph Kony brought to justice. Do I want his crimes to come to an end? Yes. But do I want him brought to justice? No. Before you get out your pitchforks and torches, let me explain why.
I'll first define what bringing him to justice means. I'm thinking it; you're thinking it; we're all thinking it, and even if someone weren't, I'll prove, to the best of my ability, that to bring justice upon him is to kill him. He deserves it right? I mean, he's killed and raped large numbers people, abducted tens of thousands of children and forced them to act as soldiers, and he has displaced millions from their homes. The only thing worth doing to him is ending his life, correct? The wages of sin is death therefore he deserves to die. The problem is that we all deserve to die. We have all chosen a path that leads to death: me, you, Joseph Kony, and yes, even Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson. We have all chosen to sin and deserve death for that. We are all sinners to be stoned, and none of us is worthy to throw the first stone.
Take a look at your Bible. It's written by a bunch of murderers. Moses, who wrote the entire Torah, killed an Egyptian. David, a man after God's own heart, had an affair with a woman and had her husband killed to hide the resultant pregnancy (you could probably categorize his sexual intercourse with her as rape, as well). Paul, writer of much of the New Testament, was the leader of a group that hunted down and slaughtered Christians. Would you have brought these people to justice for their crimes? I'm pretty sure I would have, but it's not the mentality I should have.
No man is beyond redemption. This is why we should love the sinner (hate the sin? yes, but more importantly, love the sinner). This is why we are not worthy to cast the first stone. This is why an eye for an eye leads to the whole world going blind. This is why Atomic Opera, in their song "Justice", sung "I pray that I will never ask for justice". Yes, this does mean that Joseph Kony, Osama Bin Laden, Muammar Gaddafi, Joseph Stalin, and Adolph Hitler do not deserve justice served to them from fellow humans. Just because each treated others without regard to their humanity does not give us the excuse to act that way towards him. Justice comes from the King on High and He has already sent someone that redeemed all of us from our crimes.
So don't get me wrong, the video is fantastic. The plans it lays out are good, but let us focus on stopping these crimes for the sake of saving those being terrorized and not on bringing Joseph Kony to justice.
Very good post and I totally agree. That's why abortion should be legal and the death penalty should be done away with. Thats not my main prob with the kony 2012 movement. I think the people what run Invisible Children have this mentality that they are "white saviors" helping the "black people that can't help themselves". Africa's colonialism legacy has screwed the continent up. Heck Kiny isn't even in Uganda anymore yet IC still supports the Ugandan military and the use of force. Obama sent in troops to Uganda regarding this issue Oct 2011 so our President is aware of the situation. IC also has issues tregarding
ReplyDelete...issues regarding how they spend their profits. So I agree with your assessment plus noting there are other problems.
DeleteNot sure how you made the mental jump for legality of abortion but abolishing the death penalty, I would have to agree.
DeleteDepending on how Invisible Children goes about this / how our government handles it, there shouldn't be logistical issues: Get in, get Kony, get out.
"black people that can't help themselves" - Isn't it pretty clear the local governing structure hasn't done anything effective yet (He's been doing this for decades)? Would you rather us "white people" just sit by and watch the massacre without helping?
I don't want to make it seem like I don't white people helping black people at all. The mentality that sometimes feuls movements like this is a white supremacy menatlity (think "White Man's Burden" by Ruyard Kipling mentality). Like I said, everyone should help everyone, but there is a menality that can feul things. Obama has sent in troops to get Kony back in October 2011 and idt he was very successful. Also, a big issue is that when a leader uses a child army, that means killing children to get to the leader. That's something you have to consider as well. Africa has a TON of problems (mostly stemming from European colonialism messing up the system and carving out territory at their will) and killing/jailing Kony won't do much to. Kony is a symptom of the problem. If America truly cared, they would do more than just take out Kony.
Deletealthough i agree we should emphasis on the victims not the sinner, and that no one is ever beyond grace and mercy, I think that God has put into place authorities in this world to hold people accountable for their evil in some ways here on earth. what about Roman 13:4? For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. I'm not saying that this means the authorities should always exercise their power to serve justice, only that it is not wrong for them to do so, and sometimes very necessary. I just think sometimes we get carried away with being agents of God's love, mercy, and grace and forget that he has put some on this earth to serve justice (granted these are held to account for how they use their authority).
ReplyDeleteJust a thought
Ahhh Romans 13:4, not my favorite passage to try to understand. Let me first point out that the language includes all authorities: not just our American government or other semi-based-on-Christian-morals (although clearly not Christian) authorities, but all authorities, including Hitler and Stalin and Kim (and other dictators). We must also somehow reconcile Romans 13 with the preceding chapter which states, "Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord. On the contrary: 'If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.' Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."
DeleteThe notion in Romans 13 seems to be that we must be subordinate to the Earthly authorities, but not necessarily to obey them. Our allegiance and obedience must be to God.
For more on the topic (the points of which I stole from) read Jesus for President by Shane Claiborne. The relevant Appendix seems to have been retained here.