Good and Evil
Items on the problem of evil and responses to evil
Petraeus and Crocker: The Best of Their Generation
Thu 20 Sep 2007 by David Aikman
The performances of four-star General David Petraeus and Career Ambassador Ryan Crocker before Congress recently were startling for a number of reasons. First, Petraeus, the administration point man for the conduct of the war in Iraq, explicitly denied that his remarks had been even reviewed in advance by anyone above him in the military and civilian chain of command, much less cleared, before he presented them to the U.S. Congress. The White House, in effect, was not in the loop in his Congressional testimony. Second, neither Petraeus nor Crocker “promised” the American people victory in Iraq or suggested that it was even probable; the most they offered was that it was “attainable.” Third, after four and a half years of a war that has become increasingly unpopular in the U.S., here was a fighting general from that war on Capitol Hill being almost mobbed by Senators and Members of Congress who were climbing over each other to shake his hand. Fourth, after four and a half years in which the entire Iraq War has become intensely political, the key figures speaking about it to the American people were not politicians at all, but career professionals: one in the military, one in the Foreign Service.
Iran: The Regime Tightens the Screws
Thu 16 Aug 2007 • Responses: 2 • by David Aikman
Internal factors may yet destabilize the government of Iran, but don’t bet your foreign policy on it.
The photographs were deeply unsettling: seven bodies swung in the breeze from public gallows in the city of Mashad, Iran’s second-largest city. “Allahu akbar” (“God is great”) shouted the crowd assembled to watch the public executions. In case the grim message was being overlooked, local TV carried a live broadcast.
This is Iran, early in August 2007, and apparently in the grip of the most intensive crackdown on dissent and political opposition since a purge of the country’s universities in 1984. According to some people, the crackdown on real and suspected opponents of the regime may be as murderous as the Ayatollah Khomeini’s execution of regime opponents in the year 1980, within months of his taking power.
Dealing with Extremists in Islam
Thu 26 Jul 2007 • Responses: 66 • by Luder G. Whitlock, Jr.
A withdrawal of Western troops from Iraq will not assure that conflict will end.
The relationship between the West and Islam will be one of the most important issues during the first part of the twenty-first century. It has enormous implications not only for the Middle East, but for Europe with its growing Muslim population. The growth of a militant, violently ruthless Islam endangers not only the West, but the world.
Virginia Tech Considered
Fri 11 May 2007 • Responses: 2 • by David Aikman
David Aikman considers the factors surrounding the massacre and makes a suggestion for workable gun control.
More than two weeks have passed since the bloodbath on the campus of Virginia Tech University (officially Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University) in Blacksburg on April 16 2007. The President of the U.S., George W. Bush, expressed horror at what happened and the Governor of Virginia, Tim Kaine, returned early from a trip to Japan, declaring in Virginia a state of emergency. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who is, of course, Korean, sent his condolences, as did Pope Benedict XVI. An entire army of counselors descended on the campus from various corners of the U.S., and some of them are still there.
Much of the world press drew predictable conclusions: the Virginia Tech massacre, European newspapers said, would not have happened had it not been so hideously easy to obtain guns in the U.S.; or, the culture that has romanticized gun-ownership and gun-usage played into the hands of a deranged, alienated psychopath. Britain’s Economist tried to straddle the fence with the subhead: “The horror might have happened anyway. But gun control might have made it less easy.”
Newton, Wilberforce, and the Spirituality of Abolition
Mon 12 Mar 2007 by Jonathan Aitken
Wilberforce was no mere humanitarian; his motivations were much deeper (Part 1 of 2).
Wilberforce has come down in history as something of a lone-ranger humanitarian, but Jonathan Aitken, executive director of the Trinity Forum in Europe and author of a new biography of John Newton, sets the record straight by looking at newly available letters of Newton that throw additional light on what was at one point Wilberforce’s great secret—his evangelical faith. First of two parts.
The Economics of Slavery
Tue 27 Feb 2007 by Peter Edman
We need the creativity of a George Washington Carver to tackle the slave economy.
One thing that strikes me as I consider the statistics of modern-day slavery that Jody Hassett Sanchez and others report—upwards of 27 million people and an economic impact of $12 billion (presumably yearly)—is that, even bracketing the horrendous moral issues for a moment, the economic return is so appalling.
Consider by comparison the case of ExxonMobil, the world’s largest corporation: It has around 106,000 employees worldwide and made a profit of $39.5 billion just in 2006. Considering their $340 billion in revenue, some analysts argue that their return on investment is actually low. I’m no analyst, but it looks to me like a person in slavery generates $444. Compare this with the $373,000 profit and $3.2 million revenue per Exxon employee. It boggles the mind.
Today’s Fight for Abolition
Thu 15 Feb 2007 • Responses: 3 • by Jody Hassett Sanchez
“The concept that it is wrong for any individual to own and control another remains as powerful a catalyst for change today as it was in Wilberforce’s time.”
LOME, TOGO—Amazing Grace, the new film about William Wilberforce, concludes with what many consider his greatest life work—the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade in 1807. But a walk through a dusty open-air market in Lome, Togo today makes it painfully clear that the slave trade is flourishing two hundred years later.
Tiny boys—they would be considered “preschoolers” in the West—strain to push overloaded wooden carts through the crowded market. Their workday begins before dawn and continues until late in the evening when they are permitted to collapse beside their cart, in the dirt, for a few hours of rest.
Most of these young laborers can’t remember what rural village they came from or who their families are. All they know is that they will be beaten and killed if they attempt to escape those who took them from their homes and force them to do this brutal work.
Beyond Moral Bewilderment
Tue 06 Feb 2007 • Responses: 1 • by Dallas Willard
Where is Moral Knowledge?
Senior Fellow Dallas Willard says that moral knowledge is no longer readily available to most people in the normal course of our lives. He shows why this has happened and explains by contrast how the enduring influence of Jesus on the world is due to his sound, intelligent, and testable answers to the basic questions of human life. His life and teaching is real knowledge, by which we can and should live.
Worries About Europe
Wed 13 Dec 2006 by Al McDonald
A response from the founding chairman of the Trinity Forum.
Dear Trinity Forum Friends:
This is to commend the fine essay by David Aikman on “Civilization and Crisis and Europe’s Choices.” It is a superbly reasoned piece that I fully endorse. My only reservation is that the threat of Islamic extremism is certainly as grave as David suggests and he may have even understated the danger.
My worries about Europe are even greater than David’s expressed concerns. I suspect Europe’s only chance to counter the infiltration and ultimate force of the Islamic youth movement and immigration is with a solid Christian revival as David mentioned has happened before historically. Yet, at the moment I see little acceptance in Europe by the general public or governmental officials of Christianity or even its basic tenets, ignoring almost completely the deep Christian roots that have shaped Europe’s enormous success near the pinnacle of civilization for many generations.
Civilization’s Crisis and Europe’s Choices
Tue 05 Dec 2006 by David Aikman
Ideology, Intolerance, and Identity
Senior Fellow David Aikman discusses the European crisis highlighted by militant Islam and considers its sources, current factors, and—given historical precedents—the prospects for a revitalized Continent.
