What Would Jesus Do?
March 13, 2003

by Joe Sobran

     Congressman James Moran, an anti-war Democrat from 
Virginia, is in a heap of trouble for saying, in response 
to a question from a woman in the audience who identified 
herself as Jewish, "If it were not for the strong support 
of the Jewish community for this war in Iraq, we would 
not be doing this. The leaders of the Jewish community 
are influential enough that they could change the 
direction of where this is going, and I think they 
should."

     After being quoted in a local paper, this created 
the biggest flap since Trent Lott said ... oh, you know 
what he said. Moran has been accused of everything from 
just being his usual offensive self to being an anti-
Semite. We have heard the usual sermons on how this sort 
of talk encourages conspiracy theories about Jews, 
leading to persecution, et cetera. It has been pointed 
out that Jews are no more pro-war than other Americans, 
which is more to the point.

     But Moran wasn't talking about all Jews. He was 
talking about a lobby whose power nobody in Congress 
doubts. If he had referred to "the religious right" 
instead of "the Jewish community," nobody would have 
blinked. It probably wouldn't even have been reported. As 
it was, Moran wasn't attacking Jews in general. He was 
delivering a mild rebuke to a particular group of Jews.

     So where are the anti-war Jews? They're out there. 
But they aren't organized and powerful, nor do they have 
much clout in the media; they are scattered individuals. 
Alas, politicians don't care what Noam Chomsky says; they 
care what the American-Israel Public Affairs Council 
says. You don't have to tell your congressman what AIPAC 
stands for. He knows.

     It's unfortunate that the major Jewish organizations 
claim to speak for all Jews, thereby giving rise to the 
illusion that Jews are monolithic, which some people are 
eager to believe anyway. In the same way, the hawks in 
general claim to speak for all Americans, as when they 
complain that "our allies" aren't supporting "us" -- "us" 
meaning a war that hasn't even begun yet. The country is 
far from united in favor of war, and foreigners have as 
much right to oppose it as we Americans do. Nobody has a 
duty to support all the wars our government gets into. 
It's hard enough keeping track of them.

     Moran's complaint might better have been directed at 
certain well-known Christians. Chief among these is 
President Bush, who says that Jesus, the Prince of Peace, 
is the greatest influence in his life.

     "Mr. President," one might ask, "can you imagine 
Jesus Christ putting on a uniform and shooting and 
bombing strangers because he was ordered to?" That 
question seems to me to get right to the point.

     War, especially the kind of "preemptive" war Bush 
has in mind, depends upon men being willing to do just 
that: killing because they are commanded to kill. In war, 
human commands supersede divine commandments. No matter 
how fancy the rationale, that's what it comes down to.

     Jesus was no utopian. He predicted "wars and rumors 
of wars." He warned that his disciples would be 
persecuted for his name's sake. He even predicted his own 
death and resurrection. And he warned that those who live 
by the sword will also die by the sword. He refused to 
fight back even when threatened with death by torture.

     True, human beings find it hard to imitate his 
example, and Christian thinkers have generally allowed 
for "just war." But its conditions are strict, and few 
wars meet them. The Catholic weekly THE WANDERER quotes a 
prominent Spanish theologian, Jose Alfredo Peris Cancio, 
who soberly views the proposed war with Iraq as falling 
short of these conditions.

     War must be against an aggressor who inflicts harm 
that is "lasting, grave, and certain." There must be no 
other remedy available. There must be "serious prospects 
of success." Finally, "The use of arms must not produce 
evils and disorders graver than the evil to be 
eliminated." Bush's war fails these tests, except of 
course that its success is assured.

     Cancio's view is carefully balanced. He also 
deplores "demagogic and unjust anti-Americanism" among 
some opponents of the war. Such is the judgment of one 
impartial, humane, and serious Christian.

     For Bush the question seems to be not, "What would 
Jesus do?" but, "Whom would Jesus bomb?"

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