By the time I started listening to popular music, the Flower Power era had passed, and Disco was raising its ugly head, working hard to make music simplistic enough for everyone to dance to it. That isn’t a bad thing; I like to dance, and Disco makes it easy. Still…let me move on. Bob Dylan emerged in the midst of the protests of the 1960’s, and I remember the first time I heard him sing – it wasn’t great. Coming from a family that thrived on great music, I was shocked by the terrible quality of his voice. By the 1970’s, his popularity was beginning to wane, and I didn’t get to hear much of him, which is a shame. While he wasn’t a great singer, he was a great lyricist – maybe the greatest – and one of his best songs was, “With God on Our Side.” It is lyrically brilliant and soulfully written; it is also a warning to any person who seeks to claim God’s favor.
The song traces some of America’s history, reminding us of all the times we went to war, whether on a global scale or against the original denizens of this land, and how we proclaimed that God was on our side. It didn’t matter what atrocities we committed, or whether the war was “just” or not – if that is even a thing – we love to proclaim God’s favor. We still do; consider Pres. G.W. Bush’s unfortunate use of the word “crusade” after the attacks of 9/11. Whether he meant to or not, the use of that word stirred up centuries of animus, a reminder of the many wars the “Christian” world waged against the “Muslim” world, seeking land and trade routes. And while Dylan left the Civil War out of his lyrics, we should never forget that both the North and the South declared God’s favor in the war that continues to rip us apart. The Civil War never ended.
There are times when war can be justified, but I am not enough of a scholar to delve into those nuances. Like so many things, I guess it depends on what we have to lose or gain when a war breaks out. We rationalize and work to gain sympathy for our cause, but the one true thing about war is that there are always economic reasons and impacts to be realized in the fallout of armed conflict, and we are experiencing that now. Some people gain while most people lose, but in the end, everyone loses something. “There will be wars, and rumors of wars”, Jesus said, and some people take that to mean that Jesus approves of war. I don’t think that’s true. Just like saying, “the poor you will always have with you”, I think Jesus understood human nature and the depths of our ability to be depraved. At the very least, we should probably stop blaming God for our warring madness. Remember that God made us to be fruitful, not to kill. War is probably the most disappointing product humans make, and I doubt God wants anything to do with it.
Prayer – Holy God, forgive our wars, justified or not, and teach us to cherish life. Amen.
Today’s art is “Guernica” by Pablo Picasso, 1937.