Cogges Parish newsletter November 2001

From the newsletter ...

Heaping Live Coals

I am writing this at the end of the second week of the bombing of Afghanistan. The burning question of the day is whether the bombing should be halted in order to allow humanitarian aid to reach Afghan refugees before the winter sets in. The debate is between those who see the rapid defeat of the Taliban military as offering the best way forward for the suffering population of refugees, and those for whom humanitarian concern takes priority over political and military concerns.

I wonder if it is as simple a choice as that. I have often mused over a peculiar sentence of St Paul's in his Letter to the Romans. "If your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads." Here we are encouraged to do good, not out of compassion but as an effective weapon against our enemies.

And if we think about it, it makes a good deal of sense. Reports coming out of Kandahar and Jalalabad suggest that the bombing is hardening support for the Taliban. That whereas a fortnight ago, the Afghan government seemed on the brink of collapse, it is now stronger and more resilient.

So perhaps we should stop the bombing and send in the food. Not because we seek to abandon legitimate military and political goals, but rather that doing good may be a much more effective way of achieving them.

As Paul puts it "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good".

Nick Pike

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