In the Name of

Invisible Children is an organization devoted to helping children soldiers in Africa caught up in a horrific war. I participated in one of their protest marches about a year or so ago, and something happened that turned me off to it. I forgot what it was, until after a recent email. The email consisted of various updates of the situation in Africa and to wrap things up, it thanked everyone for doing their work "in the name of humanity." I see this as very problematic. For one, I think Hitler, and other tyrants, could also claim his actions in the name of humanity, but he slaughtered people, as opposed to stopping slaughter. The existentialist ran into similar problems: each was looking for a new way to define humanity, and each came up with a different picture. Ultimately, humanity is too vague and too abstract of an idea, and what should be done in the name of humanity may lead to conflicting views. We do not know the platonic form of humanity.

That is one of the beautiful things about Christianity: we have a frame of reference. Someone can claim something in the name of Christ, and we can determine if they are indeed honoring his name. After reading the Gospels, killing one's neighbor, oppressing the poor, exploiting children in any way, are all obviously contrary to Christ's nature. Sure, conflicts arise between sects as to how this is lived out, but there is still an example to compare ourselves to. But in the name of humanity? Well...which human are we following?