Should Christians Condone Torture

            Imagine you are the commander of a unit of combat troops.  Your unit has sustained multiple injuries and fatalities from various types of engagements with the enemy-being ambushed while on patrol or in convoy, snipers, fire-fights when you and the enemy come together unexpectedly, and in road side bombs.  Your men have captured someone they believe is an enemy combatant of informer, and you believe that this individual has information concerning movements, plans, and future attacks of the enemy on you or other friendly units.  You also believe an attack of some sort is imminent, days, maybe just hours away.  Traditional methods have not worked.  What do you do?  Do you threaten the individual with harm or death at all costs, or do you just tell your troops to be extra careful?  Do you pull out a 9mm pistol and fire it next to the individual’s head and tell him the next time it will be in the head, or do you send the prisoner to the Military Intelligence unit and let them work on extracting information and hope that it is in time to be of use to you and your troops?

            Now imagine that you are working inside a government agency miles away from any type of combat.  While not in the US, you may be inside the theater of operations still, or maybe you are in a different country.  Your responsibility is to oversee and gather information while interrogating prisoners who have been caught in combat operations, and because they seem to be more civilian than military, they are classified as enemy combatants instead of prisoners of war.  The treatment of enemy combatants is not covered under treaties that have been created to address how wars are to be fought and soldiers are to be treated.  The treaty on POW treatment has been ratified by your country, but you are not required to treat the prisoners the same way because they have been classified as enemy combatants instead of POWs by a higher authority.  This means that you are allowed to participate in forms of interrogation that would be illegal if the ones being held were classified POWs or inside the boundaries of the country in which you are a citizen.  There are hundreds and maybe thousands of people to interrogate, and as time has gone by it has become obvious that there are many who have information, but there is exponentially more who either have very little information, or no information at all about the enemy organization and/or plans.  However, you think that the big fish that is occasionally caught among the small fish justifies what you are doing and how you are doing it.  You have been told that you can humiliate the prisoners, put them into sexually compromising positions, physically hurt them, psychologically abuse them, hang them from the ceiling, rough them up to make them more compliant or cooperative, make them listen to Muzak all day and all night, or a combination of some or all of them.  There are other methods you would like to use, but cannot because they are illegal regardless of where you perform them.  Many of the acts you condone would be illegal inside the borders of your country, but you are not within them, even though the land is considered the country’s property.  You think you can get more out of an individual if some of the more extreme methods of interrogation are used, but because you cannot legally use them yourself you ask your supervisors to find an allied country that would use more extreme questioning and arrange for the ones that you want to be questioned to be turned over to that country.  This country is known to use techniques on prisoners that are brutal and even sometimes can be considered torture.  This is not the first time you have been faced with this type of situation.

            My question to you this morning is, which one of these scenarios has you acting in a correct manner as a Christian?   The answer is neither, although one could be excused as an impulsive act, and thus should not be punished as harshly.  We will be looking at a variety of Scriptures this morning to show that inhumane treatment or torture is unacceptable in any form.  Yes, there is a difference between torture and inhumane treatment according to at least some of the international law courts in Europe.  According to these judicial opinions torture may be inhumane, but all inhumane acts do not rise to the level of torture.    Some the passages we will look can apply to other situations besides torture, but we will focus on one subject.  Now you might be saying that there are American lives at stake, and anything is acceptable to save lives even participating or condoning torture.  This is not true as a Christian, and this morning we shall look at why this is so.  You may disagree with the conclusions that we reach, but I would ask that you look inside of yourself and see if your disagreement is because of the conditioning about anything the American government does is acceptable or Christian. 

            In Genesis 1 we read “Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.  God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.  Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.  And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground-- everything that has the breath of life in it-- I give every green plant for food." And it was so.  God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning-- the sixth day.  (Gen 1:26-31,NIV).

            What we see here is that all of humanity is created in God’s image.  Many people say that we are made in the spiritual image of God because we know that God is spirit.  They will say we do not know for sure what the physical image of God looks like.  However, we do know that Jesus came in the form of a human being, and He is the second person of the Trinity, and that Jesus has been with God from the beginning and is God (John 1).  So we are, and bear, a physical image of God.  In the beginning it is only after God creates humanity that He gazes over Creation and says it is “very good”.  This is before the fall of humanity into sin, and one can say that, in the beginning, there was perfection in the image of God.  However, due to the abuse of the gift of free will the image has become marred physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. 

            When an art masterpiece is marred due to carelessness, vandalism, age, or some other reason people who care for art do not allow it to continue to be damaged if they can help it.  Instead they try to preserve, and if possible repair the piece of art.  A few years ago when Carolyn got back from DC she told me about this huge flag they are repairing in the Smithsonian.  It is going to take over seven years for it to be restored and mounted the way it should be so that it will stop deteriorating and will be preserved for years to come.  God has sent Jesus to repair humanity and start to per-fect us in all ways.  (The act of completely restoring us will occur when Christ returns in final victory).  When torture or inhumane acts are performed on people what we are doing is the equivalent of continuing the destruction of a wonderful piece of work.  Torture and other inhumane treatments continue the vandalism and destruction started by Satan in the Garden of Eden.  These type of actions hurt, scar, and even destroy people physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. 

            People who have been treated this way often have physical scars that one can see.  Sometimes torture leads to death.  When Jesus was whipped and scourged he was being physically tortured.  Many of the early Christians were tortured for their faith when they did not renounce their allegiance to Jesus.  We have heard about how they were used for lion bait in the Coliseum, but they were also abused in other ways.  The emperor Nero used them for human torches during one event.

            Emotionally and mentally, people who have been tortured carry around scars on the inside.  Sometimes these scars become visible to those on the outside when the victims of torture have a hard time trusting people, become visibly scared or incapacitated at certain sites, aromas, or even the atmosphere of the surrounding area.  It takes years for them to overcome these abuses that have been done on their psyche.

            Spiritually they can be damaged especially if they have nothing to lean on in their times of trouble.  They can ask, and not receive an adequate answer in their minds, where is God, or why does God allow this to happen.  Even if they have God to help them get through it, they will probably ask these questions, and some may even give up their belief in a loving God and the redemptive power of God and Jesus.  Depending on who is doing the torture, one may also decide that if the torturer is a Christian, then they want nothing to do with a God or allows people to be treated in such a way. 

            I do need to say this about our faith in Christ and what happens if we are faced with torture.  If our faith is firmly rooted in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, we will have a better chance of coming out of being tortured less damaged.  A few years ago I heard about a report that said soldiers who had been POWs in Vietnamese POW camps who had a solid faith came out in better mental and emotional health.  Were they perfect?  By no means no, but God helped them through it.

            Some may say we are only images of God, and that there are many images so it would not be a problem to hurt to or to get rid of some of the images that have been damaged, or that may cause even more images of God to be damaged.  This reasoning is kind of like what Spock says in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.”  With torture this line of thinking is flawed for a Christian.  Damaging any image of God should be avoided if at all possible.  In James, chapter three, the author talks about the power of the tongue in hurting people.  In the middle of the passage he writes, “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness.  Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.  Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?  My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.  (James 3:9-12, NIV).

            You may be wondering “If we are talking about torture, why is Dave bringing in a discussion on the tongue?”  Well it is more for the background information than the actual tongue.  In the Ancient Near East and the Roman Empire it was believed that an image such as a marble bust, painting, etc, could actually be the real thing.  If one made a derogatory remark about Cesar in the presence of an image of Cesar it would be seen as actually insulting Cesar to his face.  It would be as if the image was actually Cesar himself.  James is telling his readers that when we curse a human being we are in effect cursing God.  Taking that analogy further, when one abuses another human being, who is made in the image of God, it is as if we are personally and physically or mentally abusing God.  Should we as Christians condone this type of behavior?  We all agree that what the Romans did to Jesus was wrong, and it hurt him immensely.  When we torture people or practice other inhumane acts on our fellow human beings we are, according to the Scriptures, treating God the same way.  Imagine if God treated us the way we treat other people so that we can gather information?

            Some people may say, “The Bible says ‘an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, and all we are doing is the same they have done to us”, and they would be correct.  However, what they are doing is taking the line out of context and out of the era in which it was written.  It is important to realize that “an eye for an eye ...” was actually implemented to make justice more just and not revengeful.  Before that it was ok for somebody to seek a life for acts such as maiming, cutting someone, etc.  The act of revenge was out of hand.  The law was to help people and to settle disputes quickly and justly.  If the law had not come about, then there would have been an ever increasing spiral of violence as family members sought revenge for harm done to their families and clans.  And, with few exceptions, there was always a way to settle the dispute without it being a literal human part.  Sometimes the judges and Pharisees had interpreted it as it being ok for an animal such as a bull to pay the price.  God also had it so that, with few exceptions, one could pay a price and not be harmed.

            In Leviticus 24 we read “If anyone takes the life of a human being, he must be put to death.  Anyone who takes the life of someone's animal must make restitution-- life for life.  If anyone injures his neighbor, whatever he has done must be done to him: fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. As he has injured the other, so he is to be injured.       Whoever kills an animal must make restitution, but whoever kills a man must be put to death.  You are to have the same law for the alien and the native-born. I am the LORD your God.'" (Leviticus 24:17-22, NIV).

            This section is involved with what to do with someone who is a blasphemer, who is born of an Israelite woman and an Egyptian father.  The Israelites had to figure out if this man was an alien or an Israeli, and how to treat him.  The Lord told Moses to tell the Israelites go out and stone the blasphemer, and to have the same law for the alien as for the citizens of the people.  Besides understanding that an eye for an eye is a moderating influence, the idea of having the same law and treatment for those who are not Israelis is important.  If we apply this today we should not be condoning the practice of sending people to other countries after they have been held on American or American held soil to those who will abuse them in the search for information.  We should not be saying that there is one set of rights and laws for American citizens and another set of laws for aliens.  Our government should not have two sets of standards for interrogation. 

            Some may say that Moses is implementing a religious law, but if we pay attention to the whole passage it deals not just with blasphemy, but with laws concerning personal interaction in society as well.  The law is for the well running of society and for the benefit of all.  We should have a law for all who are under the umbrella of the United States’ government, and it should be applied equally.  This includes those who have been captured by our armed services. 

            It is interesting that some scholars have mentioned that the whole assembly is to go out and stone the blasphemer, and the reason for this is that the actions of one against God affect the whole community of Israel.  We see in several other places of Scripture where the sin of an individual or a few affect the rest of the nation of Israel.  An example is in Joshua where Achan takes some plunder from the city of Jericho when the Lord had told all of Israel not to take any.  When the Israelis next go into battle they are routed.  All of Israel suffers.  While we may not officially be a Christian nation, the country, in poll after poll, identifies itself as being largely Christian.  We hear about how we are a Christian nation.  Now a days we do not send people out to the edge of camp and stone them because of the sins they have committed because Jesus paid the price for our sins.  However, there are consequences to our actions even if we have been forgiven.  Will our country pay a price or suffer the consequences for using proof texts from the Bible to justify torture and abusing the image of God?

            We have looked at some of the reasons why we should not use or condone torture.  They have been Scriptural, but they have also been kind of heady/intellectual.  Jesus gives us a very practical reason or command not to use torture.  When He is preaching the Sermon on the Mount he says not only to love our enemy, which we do not have time to address today in depth, he says “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets, (Matt 7:12, NIV).  We as Christians are commanded to love all people, and yes, I know that is very hard to do.  We are also told here in the same sermon to treat others as we want to be treated.  What type of message are we sending to the world if we as Americans are saying that it is ok to abuse people in the hunt for information?  One of the fears I have read is that allowing torture or condoning it in other countries our service men and women will face the same type of treatment.  There are many countries that do not recognize the international treaties such as the Geneva Convention, and there are ways to twist words and meanings to be able to avoid classifying a person or groups of people to avoid having to provide more protection for the prisoners.

            I would like you to think about the situation if it was you or your loved one that had been captured by the enemy.  How would you want to be treated?  I realize that the enemy does not always treat our people like we would prefer them to treat them.  I know that we have had people decapitated and abused.  However, Jesus does not say treat others like they are treating us.  He says do to others as we would like them to do to us.  He does not give exceptions if they are treating us badly or inhumanely.  He tells us that the Golden Rule sums up the Prophets and the Law, and that He has come to fulfill the Law.  Jesus loves all even if they are acting inhumanely against Him.  He does not strike down Pilate or the others who put Him on trial or whip Him.  Instead He loves them.  (This does not mean He enjoyed going through the punishment.)  How can we expect people, organizations, and countries to treat our people who they have captured for whatever reason if we are not willing to treat them as we would want to be treated?

            You may have noticed there was not a lot of discussion on the secular reasons; such studies have shown it is not very effective because people will say anything you want them to say so the pain will stop, for not using abuse and torture to gather information.  It is important to realize there are some very good reasons that come from the secular world to prohibit torture.  However, we need to understand the moral and theological underpinning for our case against using torture before we look at and use the secular information.  There are several more passages we could look at that would help us make a case against torture.  Unfortunately, we do not have time.  AS we leave let us remember that all humans in every part of the world are made in the image of God, and that when we abuse one we abuse God Himself.  Let us also remember that we are to treat others as we want to be treated, and that both citizens and aliens are to be treated fairly and the same.  Let us not have any doubt that torture is wrong for whatever reason!