“VENGEANCE IS MINE”, sayeth the Lord. From Leviticus in the Old Testament to Romans in the New, both Christians and Jews have been told to never seek vengeance against one another, “but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord”. (Leviticus 19:18) 

Every Christian child who ever went to Sunday school learned, “Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good”, and “Therefore if your enemy hungers, feed him”. (Romans 12:21/20)

What goes wrong between childhood faith and belief and adult actions that defy the fundamental principles of both religions? America’s leaders, the majority of whom loudly proclaim their Christianity to all the world, seem to be spending every waking moment planning or carrying out vengeance of one kind or another against both the guilty and the innocent.

Our Christian leaders are terrorizing and harassing our citizens under the guise of patriotism, bombing and killing innocent peasants around the world, incarcerating our children under inhumane conditions for minor infractions, and promoting acts of vengeance, even unto death, against the Palestinian people, and planning the final assault of the life support systems of Planet Eden.

The leaders of our ally, the State of Israel, are likewise, promoting and carrying out terroristic revenge against enemies, both real and perceived. The terrors of the Holocaust should have taught these Jewish leaders that there is no justification for the commission of acts of violence and hate against others just because of their religious beliefs, yet it is as if they have become infected by the same “Satan Virus” (see www.satanvirus.org) that infected their ancestor’s oppressors.

What evil lurks in the human heart that causes us to proclaim our love of  God and then commit the very atrocities that God condemns? Is it not clear in the Scriptures of both faiths that hate begets hate, terrorism begets terrorism, and vengeance begets vengeance?

America’s so-called “Christian” leaders should get honest for once and stop pretending to love Jesus, quit thumping Bibles, and stop attending church services. I would have far more respect for them if they publicly admitted that they did not give one tinker’s damn about what God or Jesus would want them to do, because they were worshipers of money and power at any cost to the Earth or her peoples.

By the same token, Israel’s so-called “Jewish” leaders should get honest for once and stop pretending to live by the law of Moses. Self-righteous hypocrisy is far worse in the eyes of God, I fear, than an honest admission that they are morally and ethically corrupt and don’t give a damn about human rights.

It would be far better however, if the leaders of both America and Israel publicly confessed their sins, repented and began to honestly live like genuine Christians and Jews. By beginning to love their neighbors as themselves, a new era of hope, peace and joy would eventually melt the ice in the hearts of those who have learned to hate us.

Love begets love, kindness begets kindness, hope begets hope, and peace begets peace.

ETHICIUS I





George H. Russell, an outspoken opponent of the death penalty, is a resident of Huntsville, Texas, known worldwide as “The City of Death.”

He is founder of The Patriot Network, and author of its 35+ web-sites located at www.patriotnetwork.org, as well as founder of The Universal Ethician Church, an interfaith ministry with a worldwide following via the church’s 275+ web sites located at www.salvationnetwork.org.

Russell, 57, is an educational video producer, environmental activist, historic preservation specialist, photographer, art and antique collector, philanthropist, American patriot and ethician.

Additional biographical information may be found in "Who’s Who in America," through Internet searches, and in other publications. Images of Mr. Russell suitable for downloading for publication may be found at www.salvationnetwork.org.