Set the Captives Free!

Today is a happy, happy day at our house as heard the news of the rescue of Christian Peacemaker Team hostages in Iraq. Wendy and I (especially Wendy) have a lot of friends who are very close to James Loney, one of the Canadian hostages (above on the left) and we are very happy to celebrate with them. Joy is tempered by the killing of Christian Peacemaker Tom Fox who was also kidnapped with the group and found dead in Baghdad about two weeks ago, as well as by the fact that many Iraqi and some Western hostages remain in captivity.

The Christian Peacemaker Teams are my model for what actual lived Christianity should look like. Forget all the televangelists, war-mongering wackos, anti-evolutionists, anti-gay, Republican party faithful. It is very hard for me to see any sign of Christ in them. If you want to see what Christianity incarnated is, consider the Christian Peacemakers and so many other groups like them who put themselves in harm's way to protect the vulnerable, offer hospitality to the poor, testify against grave injustice, and speak the truth to power, even when it's dangerous and unpopular to do so. Believers like this are working all over the world, but are often overshadowed by the Religious Right, who often show more concern for themselves and their own power than they do for others. They could learn a lot about what is really spiritual from people like the Christian Peacemakers. We are so glad they are free.