Original Sin in Abu Ghraib

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The experience certainly helps me to understand the biblical texts that we Christians quote when defending the doctrine of original sin, such as the verse from Isaiah sung every year in performances of Handel's Messiah: "All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned everyone to our own way."

When I recoil in horror, then, at the sight of American soldiers torturing Iraqi and Afghan prisoners, it is not because I am witnessing an evil that is unfathomable to me. That kind of evil is all too familiar to me. I see it lurking inside me, and once again I cry out to God for mercy and forgivenness, on my own behalf as well as for people whose misdeeds right now have become a matter of public record.

As a Christian, I certainly do not believe that our only recourse is a fatalistic acceptance of the reality of evil. Both my theology and my experience tell me that divine grace is possible. Humans can, with God's help, resist doing the evil that might come "naturally" in horrific wartime situations. And, with grace, we can be forgiven for even the most depraved sins against our fellow human beings. With repentance, great sinners can recreate their moral lives.

Those of us who have accepted the offer of grace need to work to minimize evil's effects in the world. I see hope in the very fact that so many of my fellow citizens, Christian and non-Christian alike, are expressing great dismay about what some our military personnel have done. This is an important time for the American people to admit to the rest of the world that, though we often act like we are morally superior to the rest of the human race, we are as capable as anyone else of horrible acts of injustice.

It is important, too, that we engage in a serious public dialogue about how we can set ourselves straight. It is not enough that the men and women of our armed forces show a willingness to fight for their country. They must also be educated in the ways in which they can do so with honor and moral integrity. This will happen best in a larger context in which all of us, leaders and ordinary citizens alike, make a new commitment to treating each other with honor and integrity. To engage in this important project will require a new infusion of humility into our national character. Lord knows, we have now learned again that we have much to be humble about. And those of us who believe strongly in both sin and grace must demonstrate to others that recognizing our deepest flaws is a necessary step toward righteousness--both for ourselves and our nation.