With God On Our Side

I was listening to NPR this morning and there were reports from the "conflict" in Iraq. Both points of view. Both sides think they are right and God is on their side.

The Germans thought God was on their side in WWII. I'm fairly certain that in every war, every participant thought God was on their side.

So in an ironic twist of fate, I grew weary of hearing bad news this morning so I hit the CD button in my car and the CD that was in was Bob Dylan's "The Times they are a Changin" was in the slot. The song was "With God On Our Side".

And I pondered the lyrics and thought I would share them:

Oh my name it is nothin'
My age it means less
The country I come from
Is called the Midwest
It's taught and bought up there
The laws to abide
And that land that I live in
Has God on its side

Oh the history books tell it
They tell it so well
The cavalries charged
The Indians fell
The calvaried charged
The Indians died
Oh the country was young
With God on its side

Oh the Spanish-American
War had it's day
And the Civil War too
Was soon laid away
And the names of the heroes
I was made to memorize
With guns in their hands
And God on their side

Oh the First World War
It closed out its fate
The reason for fighting
I never got straight
But I learned to accept it
Accept it with pride
For you don't count the dead
With God on your side

When the Second World War
Came to an end
We forgave the Germans
And we were friends
Though they murdered six million
In the ovens they fried
The Germans then too
Had God on their side

I've learned to hate the Russians
All through my whole life
If another war starts
It's them we must fight
To hate them and fear them
To run and to hide
And accept it all bravely
With God on my side

But now we got weapons
Of the chemical dust
If fire them we're forced to
Then fire them we must
One push of the button
And a shot the world wide
And you'll never ask questions
When God's on your side

In a many dark hour
I've been thinkin about this
That Jesus Christ
Was betrayed by a kiss
But I can't think for you
You'll have to decide
Whether Judan Iscariot
Had God on his side

So now as I'm leavin
I'm weary as Hell
The confusion I'm feelin
Ain't no tongue can tell
The words fill my head
And fall to the floor
If God's on our side
He'll stop the next war

In case you didn't know it, Bob Dylan is a troubador and maybe even a prophet. He wrote this song in 1963.

So where is God in war? I like to think that he is crying and hoping that we can learn what we were supposed to learn lo those many years ago.

I hope you learn, I think I have...........