The Christian Case Against Sanctions and Silicon Valley
Why I do not support the endless war in Ukraine
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9, NIV)
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ (Matthew 25:40, NIV)
I have done quite well from the Ukrainian war — several of the startups I have invested in are deployed there — but my material success has weighed on me lately, especially as the winter descends. While the nationalist impulse in me wants Europe to appreciate America (ha! like that’ll happen…) — “let Europe freeze in the dark!” — it doesn’t seem very Christian.
No, I didn’t get into the tech world because I wanted to contribute to human misery. Like all good thinking people, I hope that the Ukrainians are able to repel the Russians from their territory. But in my darker moments I do wonder what an alternative world might have looked like. Couldn’t Putin have gone to the United Nations and stressed the very real plight of the ethnic Russians mistreated under Zelensky’s rule? He didn’t, of course, and if international law is to mean anything, it has to mean that you can’t invade a sovereign country without repercussions. As much as I find most international tribunals tedious, I agree that jaw, jaw, jaw is preferable to war, war, war.
Yes, I agree with Jesus. I am against cancelations. “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matt. 18:19–20.) Jesus, that Prince of Peace, taught us that to meet one another and to talk about Him is both ennobling as it is enabling.
I’m left wondering, as one does, about these things.
What visibility, if any, do we have into the considerable Ukrainian intelligence operations they’ve been conducting against civilian targets?
Aren’t we awfully quick to call for sanctions when other less draconian measures are available through the marvels of technology? How does it help the poor when we raise energy costs?
Of course collective punishment doesn’t work for the same reason that the sins of the father won’t be visited upon the son.
The one who sins is the one who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them. (Ezekiel 18:20)
I don’t really talk about my faith in public settings. Like all Americans I subscribe to ceremonial Deism, yes, but I follow Christ. I’m not fanatical, but I do use Christ as my moral compass. I do what I do and I am what I am about because He died for my sins.
I read the Bible every day. I pray. I like to think of my work as a corrective to the sinful nature of the social networks forced upon us by Reid Hoffman and the amoral Silicon Valley.
I have a Bible verse for that, too.
Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. (Matthew 7:15-18)
No, you’re not going to solve the conflicts in the world by relying on technology companies. Follow Jesus and let His work breathe into yours.