Iraq is back in the news

In October of 2002, a group of prominent Christian leaders wrote that any decision by the American government to attack Iraq would be just in the eyes of God. It served to build public support for the war. However, this prophetic statement about our justifications and intentions turned out to be false. It was the worst use of our nation's military since Vietnam, not to mention one of the longest and most expensive wars in our history.

Now Iraq is descending further into chaos. 

(Reuters) - Iraqi Kurds seized control of the northern oil city of Kirkuk on Thursday, while surging Sunni Islamist rebels advanced towards Baghdad, as the central government's army abandoned its posts in a rapid collapse that has lost it control of the north.

Our "liberation" of Iraq has led to 11 years of sectarian violence. Instead of bringing stability to the region, we undermined it with our aggression. 

It does raise an interesting theological question. When Christian leaders help promote a war that turns out to unjustified and unjust, are they obligated to repent? 

Richard Land and his fellow evangelists for this war have never repented. At best, they could claim they were mislead by our political leaders. That is certainly true. If so, then the ethical response would be to issue a follow-up letter indicating that many of the reasons given to justify this war (e.g. weapons of mass destruction) were not true. Their failure to do so makes a mockery of ethics and morality. It sets a horrible example for fellow Christians. Supposedly, Dr. Land knows something about ethics have been head of the Southern Baptist Convention's ethical committee for a quarter of a century. 

What the Land gang cannot claim is they were led by the Holy Spirit in their advocacy for the war. To say so would be to bear false witness against the Holy Spirit. If you thought you were led by the Holy Spirit but were mistaken, aren't you obligated to make it clear to others? 

I hear a lot of preaching about the need for repentance. It would certainly be nice to see that same fervor for repentance from some of our most distinguished Christian leaders when they fall short. Otherwise, they harm Christ's brand.