Musings in Search of a Muse

Yes, I have to admit it was pretty cool to see President Bush surprise the troops in Iraq on Thanksgiving. I'm still not impressed by the war itself. Was it really justified? Only time will tell, but I can't help but think several things:

1) We still haven't finished in Afghanistan. I certainly don't expect to see it look like a full American-style democracy, especially since that isn't the cultural tendency. But the country has not been stabilized. BTW - you could substitute "the Korean peninsula" for "Afghanistan" in this paragraph.

2) Why not lead by example? A Tom Clancy book whose title I can't remember described a scene in which a group of Palestinians used Ghandi-like civil disobediance in the face of Israeli faction violence. The Palestinians in this situation "took the high road" by claiming moral superiority. That, supposedly, was what the United States tried to do in Iraq. We have failed miserably. As in the birth of the United States, a stable and popular government has to be formed by the indigenous population, not imposed upon them. The terrorist-like attacks that have plagued coalition troops since the declared end of hostilities could not happen without the implied consent (at minimum) or actual assistance of the Iraqi people.

3) What instablities have we created now? For every action there is an equal but opposite reaction (yin/yang physics, right?). Look at the news stories about events in Saudi Arabia. And consider the escalated violence in Israel/Palestine. The fundamentalists have been awakened.

Please pray for the dead and their families. And pray for the residents of Iraq, too.

Speaking of religion ... I just found an article at MSNBC.com's Newsweek section that I need to read. It's about "lost stories" in the Bible. As with any book, an editor helped put it together. Or many editors, in this case. So what was left out, what was emphasized, and what was embellished? Reminds me of dense and slightly boring book called Hiram Key: Pharoahs, Freemasons and the Discovery of the Secret Scrolls of Jesus. While investigating the history of Freemasonry it looks at information that was not put into the Bible. A tough slog, but it's been helping me shape my faith.

I still believe in , or course, and Jesus is my personal savior. But I've always had questions about the history of Christianity. Saint Christopher's story is a good example.

Are you thinking about it? Peace & Prayers.