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Whose will in Iraq?
Originally appeared on spirituality.com
A recent article in The Christian Science Monitor highlighted how the neutral phrase “support our troops” is increasingly being used in political debates “to justify various options for the war” in Iraq. (“Homefront salute for soldiers in Iraq,” March 22, 2007.)
This idea that being willing to “support our troops” regardless of one’s politics can itself be politicized led me to ask myself if the concept could be spiritualized. By that I mean, is there a kind of support that can be offered by all, in unity, whatever our political perspective and regardless of which side of this battle or any battle we feel we are on?
I think there is! There’s often talk of sacrifice in relation to violent actions taken in the Middle East, but the kind of sacrifice that is both harmless and effective is to sacrifice human will, which would keep us focused on debating the pros and cons of various scenarios for the war. To find the spiritual solution, we need to turn to the one divine will that cannot be trapped within the narrow outlines of political or personal objectives.
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About the author
Tony Lobl is a Christian Science practitioner in Surbiton, London, England.
