Christian Skepticism
The inexperienced believe anything, but the sensible watch their steps. – Proverbs 14:15 HCSB
In the 1930s, the US government began the Tuskegee Experiment in which 399 black men were purposefully infected with syphilis and gonorrhea without their knowledge in order to study the effects.
In 1954, President Eisenhower lied regarding the US involvement in the invasion of Guatemala.
In 1957, the CIA created SAVAK, the Shah of Iran's secret police force, which routinely relied on torture.
In 1958, Secretary of State Dulles said regarding Indonesia, “we are not interested in the internal affairs of this country” while B26s were bombing Sukarno.
In 1960, the US government lied about the U2 over flights of the Soviet Union, and in 1961, President Kennedy lied about the Bay of Pigs.
How about the CIA bombing of Congo in 1964 or their effort in the Chilean election? The status quo was maintained by President Nixon in 1970, when he lied about our intervention in Chile, and two years later about the Chilean embassy break-in.
In 1974, Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney encouraged then-president Gerald Ford to veto the Freedom of Information Act and he did. The only thing that saved us was the fact that Congress overrode Ford’s veto.
This only set the tone for Watergate. Then you had the 1989 HUD scandal, the Iran-Contra affair which spanned two presidencies, and Clinton’s infamous “I did not have sex with that woman” statement.
In April 2001, James Baker recommended to Vice President Dick Cheney that the US consider a US military intervention in Iraq. The reason? “The United States remains a prisoner of its energy dilemma.” Months later the towers fell and we invaded Iraq.
We were told that there were WMDs in Iraq but none have been found. We were told that the invasion was in response to the 911 terrorists but most of those were Saudi Arabian.
In 2005, the General Accounting Office ruled that the Bush Administration was guilty of “covert propaganda” regarding Medicaid. The Bush administration instructed governmental agencies to ignore that ruling.
I love the United States. As someone who grew up overseas in totalitarian regimes I value my freedom. I served as a US Marine. I believe we should honor our government[1] and pray for them.[2]
But I must also recognize their inherently human limitations. The government is led by inherently sinful humans (just like me) faced with an unbelievable amount of pressure to conform on one side and nearly absolute power on the other.
I need to maintain a healthy dose of cynicism[3] and be willing to disobey[4] when they go against the Scriptures.[5]
[1] Matthew 22:18-22; Romans 13:1-7; Hebrews 13:7
[2] 1 Timothy 2:1-3
[3] Proverbs 14:16; 18:17; 19:2; 22:3; Acts 17:11
[4] Exodus 1:15-21
[5] Acts 5:29
In the 1930s, the US government began the Tuskegee Experiment in which 399 black men were purposefully infected with syphilis and gonorrhea without their knowledge in order to study the effects.
In 1954, President Eisenhower lied regarding the US involvement in the invasion of Guatemala.
In 1957, the CIA created SAVAK, the Shah of Iran's secret police force, which routinely relied on torture.
In 1958, Secretary of State Dulles said regarding Indonesia, “we are not interested in the internal affairs of this country” while B26s were bombing Sukarno.
In 1960, the US government lied about the U2 over flights of the Soviet Union, and in 1961, President Kennedy lied about the Bay of Pigs.
How about the CIA bombing of Congo in 1964 or their effort in the Chilean election? The status quo was maintained by President Nixon in 1970, when he lied about our intervention in Chile, and two years later about the Chilean embassy break-in.
In 1974, Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney encouraged then-president Gerald Ford to veto the Freedom of Information Act and he did. The only thing that saved us was the fact that Congress overrode Ford’s veto.
This only set the tone for Watergate. Then you had the 1989 HUD scandal, the Iran-Contra affair which spanned two presidencies, and Clinton’s infamous “I did not have sex with that woman” statement.
In April 2001, James Baker recommended to Vice President Dick Cheney that the US consider a US military intervention in Iraq. The reason? “The United States remains a prisoner of its energy dilemma.” Months later the towers fell and we invaded Iraq.
We were told that there were WMDs in Iraq but none have been found. We were told that the invasion was in response to the 911 terrorists but most of those were Saudi Arabian.
In 2005, the General Accounting Office ruled that the Bush Administration was guilty of “covert propaganda” regarding Medicaid. The Bush administration instructed governmental agencies to ignore that ruling.
I love the United States. As someone who grew up overseas in totalitarian regimes I value my freedom. I served as a US Marine. I believe we should honor our government[1] and pray for them.[2]
But I must also recognize their inherently human limitations. The government is led by inherently sinful humans (just like me) faced with an unbelievable amount of pressure to conform on one side and nearly absolute power on the other.
I need to maintain a healthy dose of cynicism[3] and be willing to disobey[4] when they go against the Scriptures.[5]
[1] Matthew 22:18-22; Romans 13:1-7; Hebrews 13:7
[2] 1 Timothy 2:1-3
[3] Proverbs 14:16; 18:17; 19:2; 22:3; Acts 17:11
[4] Exodus 1:15-21
[5] Acts 5:29
posted by Pastor Pauley | 4:10 PM
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