The Torture Memos: Dick Cheney vs. Jesus Christ

When we get people who are more concerned about reading the rights to an Al Qaeda terrorist than they are with protecting the United States against people who are absolutely committed to do anything they can to kill Americans, then I worry.... These are evil people. And we're not going to win this fight by turning the other cheek.
--Former Vice President Dick Cheney, February 4, 2009[1]

But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.
--Jesus, Luke 6:27-31.

These two opposing statements by former Vice-President Dick Cheney and Jesus Christ bring into sharp relief the contradictions of being a country that simultaneously lays claim to Judeo Christian values while going to any lengths to protect and preserve the American empire - including torture.

There are compelling pragmatic questions that need to be raised about torture such as the evidence that shows that torture is ineffective in getting trustworthy information; and whether US torture practice has provided recruitment tools for al Qaida and severely damaging our global reputation. But putting these questions aside - what does the practice of torture by our government say about those of us who are American Christians and our commitment to Jesus?

Some of the great evangelists of the early church were the martyrs (Paul and Stephen being the main figures) who were themselves tortured, but continue to profess what they believe. They never used violence or coercion to spread the faith; rather people came to Jesus in part because of the non-violent Christian witness of the early members.

They were a strange crew these Christians who followed this even stranger Jesus who was himself tortured and killed and rose again. They espoused love in the face of hate, generosity in the face of theft, blessings for curses, and turning the cheek in the face of violence. They did this not out of a sense of weakness, but out of strength. They had been admitted into God's royal spiritual kingdom and so they granted a certain noblesse oblige of love and peace to the violent material world around them.

This changed when Constantine made Christianity the official church of the Roman Empire and the church was co-opted. Members of the church began to use the violent techniques of force that had formerly been used against us - the Crusades and the Inquisition being two prime examples. George Bush and other professing Christians succumbed to the temptation of perceived expediency to employ torture in order to preserve national economic and security interests. Dick Cheney says "these are evil people" as a way to justify torture. But Christians have dealt with evil people before and Jesus taught us explicitly that evil is never overcome by evil; it is over come by Good. Plus, Jesus' final words in Luke 6 - Do unto others as you would have them do unto you - have a chilling resonance when it comes to torture.

These torture documents do make me frustrated that our legal system was subverted, and our national reputation damaged. But mostly they make me fearful for our national soul. Let us practice the time-honored tradition of confession and repentance. The airing of these memos by President Obama is a good place to start, now let us continue to rid ourselves of this stain on our society and banish the barbaric and un-Christian practice of torture forever.

Comments

[GorBud]

If one hundred people drew up lists of what is torture and what is allowed I am sure there would be a broad range of activities. Opinions are like noses we all have one. Will each elected President have to redefine torture after each election or will the UN do it for us? What was permitted 100 years ago is unthinkable today. The last Justice Dept. officials are being defined as not just wrong but as criminally wrong in their assessments of what is and what is not allowed. If one of our largest cities gets nuked by terrorists will Obama and his administration be put on trial for "doing little or nothing" to stop the attack which may have been easily been stopped when intelligence is reviewed after the fact. The Clinton/Bush people surly could have been put on trial for malfeasance when the 911 Commission's findings were made public. Come to think of it FDR and his officials should have been criminally charged for what they did to Japanese/Americans during WW II. John Stuart the intellectual center for many young voters has just declared Pres. Truman a war criminal ----and it just goes on and on!!

[janeypearl]

Again, I keep having Pontius Pilate come to mind.

[DannyDanson]

This is such an insightful article, thanks for writing it.
America does have a tradition on christ-like activism whereby extreme violence and hatred was met head-on with non-violent peaceful demonstrations and expressions on love and faith, President Obama is the symbol of that tradition.

Your point is one that I try to make as much as possible, in dealing with terrorism we should always defend our interests and the interests of freedom but, we should not be directly and offensively fighting our impoverished "so-called" enemies in any vicious manner (torture) which may serve to only alienate the moderates in the region whom are capable of actually defeating terrorism, and increasing recruitment for these organization.

Democracy is a inherent desire of all people I believe, but democracy-lite is a hypocricy in this context, we must show the world why this system is best, like faith they must choose democracy, therefore any effort to compel a region to democratize themselves through violence or war is counter intuitive to that end.

For instance Iranian people love the west, but the ruling elite fear the lost of power, a poltical war with Iran will push some moderate to the ring, thus empowering the elite to agitate the situation more for political gain.

[Oldchef]

These Republican "christians" have forgotten their Sunday School lessons, if they ever learned them in the first place. They have twisted the real meaning of Christianity into such a tangle as to think they can justify anything they wish to do. I like birdie2's question aboput what the difference is between killing and murder. Can some of you so-called christians answer me that one? Because I don't think there is any in a moral sense.

[GorBud]

Well if abortion is killing is it murder. What is being killed and when does it go from a what to who? Is it worse morally to use non killing interrogation methods or kill whatever comes out alive in a late term abortion? For individuals so repulsed by so-called torture you seem to easily gloss over the difficult questions around killing the life form you have deemed "not worthy" of protection under current law. The brutal treatment of human life at its nascent stages only makes it easier to judge the value of any life at any stage as being "worthy" of protection or not of value. So don't be so shocked when your protestations, regarding torture corrupting the soul of our nation, fall upon deaf ears. The culture of death extends into the society as a whole and often results in strange bedfellows. The corruption of the nations soul started with Row v Wade many years ago and continues everyday. Or is it just women who claim the right to determine what is to be killed at what stage and for what reason. The slope is not too steep but it sure is slippery.

[akouvi]

terrific article: thank you for making the contrast between the two positions so very clear. unfortunately, it is sadly apparent that some folks still don't get it...

[jbax52]

I suspect Jesus was a socialist, too. He told the rich guy to give away all his goods and follow him. Most right wing religious extremists only pay lip service to their own twisted version of Christianity. Jesus wouldn't even recognize their brand of "religion." What they really worship is an America where greed and self-interest are king. Caring for the poor--oh, they'll make a donation in a time of crisis, but as far as really changing anything about how our society traps the poor & takes advantage of them & the middle class for their own wealth building--No way--that would be socialism. They don't want that baby the single mother can't afford to be aborted (no birth control either) but when that same baby gets sick later & dies because Mom didn't have insurance or access to decent health care--that's just fine with them--too effing bad. They are the biggest hypocrites ever.

[mollyjackson]

President Obama’s national intelligence director told colleagues in a private memo last week that the harsh interrogation techniques banned by the White House did produce significant information that helped the nation in its struggle with terrorists. “High value information came from interrogations in which those methods were used and provided a deeper understanding of the al Qa’ida organization that was attacking this country,” Adm. Dennis C. Blair, the intelligence director, wrote in a memo to his staff last Thursday. Admiral Blair sent his memo on the same day the administration publicly released secret Bush administration legal memos authorizing the use of interrogation methods that the Obama White House has deemed to be illegal torture. The postive aspects of the interrogation was blacked out by the administration. Once again change that we can beleive in...but not for the better.

[smileatfear]

Much information about understanding the human body under stress was gained by the Nazi's during their "scientific" experiments of concentration camp "state enemies" (jews, gypsies, poles, etc.) I guess, since information was gained, all that concentration camp stuff was ok???

[taximun]

Where is the religious right on this issue? Where are their leaders? Their clergy? Isn't this when men and women of faith stand up and speak? When we are weak and afraid we need to be strengthened in our resolve to live our faith. If we can only do that when it's easy (gathered round the Christmas tree singing carols) are we really followers of Christ?

[Manx]

The Republicans don't get it. The party of the Christian right has become the cheerleader for torture. They're too obtuse to realize the irony.

[FrozenNorthObserver]

Dick woulda had Ol' Jeebus in Gitmo so fast it would make his halo spin.

[smileatfear]

Well, he was from middle east...

[superfrog]

Dick Cheney values hate and intolerance Jesus Christ values love and compassion. As a nation we need to decide what it is that we value.

[Samalabear]

Terrific post.

[Yermammy]

Well said. Thank you.

[oafishcad]

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. According to Jesus, the only way you can tell a Christian. Just sayin.

[TheIndependenceParty]

He made it very simple to understand, but it is difficult to follow. The ego always gets in the way.

[fpie]

I think Dick Cheney deserves to have his rights read to him. It's the least a grateful nation can do before he appears before a judge. And he dosen't even need to fear being tortured because this is America and we don't do that. We prosecute people who do that because it's against the law.