Quoting Jesus to Justify Invasion

Jesus is a much sterner figure than many people imagine, thinking of him as the King of Peace, Love, and Forgiveness -- which is not wrong, but not complete. It is not impossible nor even incongruent to think of Jesus as one who 'brings not peace, but a sword,' or who encourages his followers to 'buy a sword even if you have to sell your coat.' 

Still, it's harder to see him justifying an invasion.
Speaking to the crowd in a turtleneck and down winter coat, Putin said he ordered the invasion "to get people out of their misery, out of this genocide, that is the main reason, the motive and purpose of the military operation that we began in Donbas and Ukraine," according to The Washington Post. Russia has repeatedly accused the Ukrainian government of committing genocide in separatist-controlled areas of eastern Ukraine.

"And this is where the words from the Scriptures come to my mind: 'There is no greater love than if someone gives his soul for his friends,'" Putin continued, paraphrasing John 15:13.

Both the Post and ABC News translate the Russian word ะดัƒัˆัƒ (dushu) as "soul," but most English translations of the passage use "life." 

If in fact a genocide was occurring, as he claims -- and perhaps believes -- it might work. One of the justifications of the Iraq War was that Saddam was engaged in a sort-of genocide against the "Marsh Arabs," and there are arguments in Michael Walzer's Just and Unjust Wars that state that anyone who could stop a genocide has 'a right, at least, to try.' Walzer himself opposed the war, but the arguments exist whether or not he thought they fit the particular facts. 

So maybe, insofar as Putin truly believes these claims (and especially if he were right to believe them).

6 comments:

Assistant Village Idiot said...

When I say that something is embedded in the Russian psyche, I of course do not mean it is believed by all of them completely and forever. It is an idea that is more common among them and influences many, at least in part. That distinction is generally known in most discussions but these days...I can no longer tell.

Russians traditionally equate democracy and choices by the people with chaos, and are genuinely convinced that they are saving all these benighted countries that do not know what is good for them and hover on the verge of chaos. They believe that as the New Rome after Rome and Constantinople fell, it is their destiny and duty to keep these places from descending into chaos. That they impose chaos in doing so is seen as a temporary measure on the way to calm and order.

Putin sees the USSR as an imperfect expression of this, but still far better than the alternatives at the time. He would prefer a traditional Russianness, which includes the trappings and appearances of the Orthodox Church, and that is what he seeks now, in contrast to the communist desire to be rid of all churches. What we would call co-opting, infiltrating, and controlling the church he - and many traditional Russians - see as getting the church to understand its proper function in the imposition of order.

In CS Lewis terms, it is more N.I.C.E. than Screwtape, though it has elements of both.

james said...

The Emperor is the icon of God the Father.

Dad29 said...

It is useful to remember that Jesus is ALSO the God of Israel, Who led Israel in wars of conquest.

sykes.1 said...

For eight years, the Ukrainian government has been shelling civilian neighborhoods in the Donbas. Besides the flamboyantly Nazi Azov Brigade, there are numerous real Nazis throughout the Ukrainian government and military, the so-called Jewish Zelensky notwithstanding. Recently, the MSM featured pictures of pretty Ukrainian girl soldiers, who just happened to be wearing sonnenrad badges on their uniforms. That was regular Ukrainian army.

This war is the result of an aggressive expansion of NATO to within a few hundred miles of St. Petersburg. An expansion that the US promised would not occur. The goal is the dismemberment of Russia into several small statelets and the seizure of Russian resources. The refusal of the US to even listen to Russian security concerns was the trigger of this war, but the NATO expansion was its cause.

Grim said...

...Jesus is ALSO the God of Israel, Who led Israel in wars of conquest.

If the war is divinely commanded, even Putin has yet to claim it; but that is an extraordinary case not covered by ordinary theology. So far as I know God has not sent word on the question of whether Russia should conquer Ukraine; and if God had any clear feelings on that subject, surely Russia would be finding it easier to accomplish.

Dad29 said...

True.

But the point was that God is not a peacenik and it is blasphemy to try to make that case.