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You Can't Be Christian and Support Torture
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When I heard the news concerning the brutal torture techniques that have been used by the CIA to extract information from prisoners, and that the administration had been less than honest about both the techniques used and the usefulness of the information that was extracted, I was embarrassed for our country. When members of the administration were completely unapologetic about it, and when poll results showed that a majority of our “Christian” nation thought that it was totally justified, I felt like we were living in some sort of dystopia where we’d lost our moral roots. I even heard the subject brought up on The Catholic Channel on Sirius/XM during my morning commute, only to hear a majority of the Catholic listeners who called into the show voice their support for torture techniques because “they were evil people who were being tortured,” “the ends justify the means,” and “it could save lives.”
All of these justifications work directly against Catholic social teaching, which holds as its central theme the revolutionary idea that all human beings have dignity and value simply because they are created in the image and likeness of God. The U.S. Bishops have weighed in, stating that:
“The acts of torture described in the Senate Intelligence Committee’s report violated the God-given human dignity inherent in all people and were unequivocally wrong. Congress and the president should act to strengthen the legal prohibitions against torture and to ensure that this never happens again.”
Quoting the Catechism of the Catholic Church, they remind us all that:
“Torture which uses physical or moral violence to extract confessions, punish the guilty, frighten opponents or satisfy hatred is contrary to respect for the person and for human dignity (2297).”
So torture is bad, but don’t we sometimes need to do bad things so that good can come from it? Wouldn’t it be ok if we saved hundreds, or even thousands of lives as a result of using those questionable techniques?
This line of thinking is a form of utilitarianism, stating that evil is justifiable as long as the good that comes from it is less than the evil that comes from the act itself, and while it’s a philosophy that many subscribe to, it certainly isn’t Catholic. Catholicism teaches that every human being should be respected and loved. It says that some acts are always evil, even if you can attach some kind of justification to them. Murder is still always wrong, even if you are doing it because you suspect that person may kill someone else someday. Stealing from another person is always wrong, even if you’re planning to give it to the poor. Abortion is always wrong, even if it may help the mother be in a better financial situation to support her other children.
Justifying our habitual sins is one of the best ways to prevent us from overcoming them. Most of us, myself included, do it all the time, saying that it’s not really that bad, that the Church is unreasonable because they don’t really understand my specific situation, or that its ok to do every now and then, as long as I’m doing it in moderation. The supporters of terrible acts of torture are doing the exact same thing, even if good things can result from the interrogations. There is no circumstance when torture should be practiced, condoned, or advocated by Christians.
We absolutely need to do what we can to keep people safe, protect the innocent, and prevent acts of aggression. I’m not naïve. I’m not a pacifist, nor do I think we shouldn’t do anything to protect our citizens and save as many lives as possible. But in our efforts to defend those who have been entrusted to us, we shouldn’t need to resort to morally reprehensible acts. Evil cannot ever be answered with more evil.
Can any of us honestly imagine Jesus, or a recent pope, supporting these “advanced interrogation techniques?” Imagine the following conversation:
Jesus: “Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these.”
Random apostle, maybe Peter since he so often put his foot in his mouth: “What if your neighbor is a bad person? Or what if they’ve got some good information that we could extract from them by torturing them? What if we can help one neighbor, or a lot of neighbors, by intentionally not loving another neighbor?”
Jesus: “Oh, well, in that case, go for it. I only meant love your nice, friendly, Christian neighbors after all. I thought that was implied. Sorry for the confusion bro. And if it's a terrorist, give 'em hell.”
Nope, I’m pretty sure Jesus’ words were “love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.”
If you identify as a follower of Christ, I don’t see how you can say that he wasn’t being serious about that. Loving your enemies isn’t just a nice, but impractical idea. It’s a central part of what being a Christian is all about.
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About the Author
Alex is a man with many hats. After studying mechanical engineering at Rice University, he took off for Dallas to work as an analyst in financial services while simultaneously pursuing a masters degree in theology. He recently decided to put that life on hold to spend a year serving as a Catholic missionary with Christ in the City where he had the opportunity to love Christ in the poorest of the poor in Denver. His year of service radically changed his perception of the poor, the importance of prayer, and the need to constantly seek ways to do small things with great love. These days he spends his time balancing a full time job in online travel, with time spent serving the poor and teaching youth and young adults about the Catholic faith, particularly Pope St. John Paul II's amazing teachings with the Theology of the Body Evangelization Team. He loves swing dancing, strategy games, and Doctor Who, and can also be found blogging at All That Catholic Jazz.
