…from a reader:

Are there “just” wars? What are the criteria? How do we respond to an “unjust” war and do we participate? This has been asked from the time of Augustine. I am saddened that so many evangelical Christians equate “patriotism” with doing God’s will, and so many Christian leaders like the recently deceased Jerry Falwell heartily endorsed the Iraqi war. I also am angry at the politicization of religion by some politicians and religious leaders. As Christians, we should ask what would Christ do? What did he preach? What would he want us, as his followers, to do? Reading the deceased solder’s account of seeing children without limbs sickened me. They were part of the “collateral damage” of a mortar strike by our forces. Is this what our country represents? Is this how a “Christian” nation acts? What should informed Christians do in response? What should we pray for in Iraq?