The Archbishop of Canterbury recently stated in an interview that the Iraq War is a worst instance of violence and imperialism than the British Empire.

An excerpt from the AP article Anglican leader blasts US over Iraq:

''It is one thing to take over a territory and even pour energy and resources into administrating it and normalizing it,'' said Williams. ''Rightly or wrongly, that's what the British Empire did---in India for example.''

''It's another thing to go in on the assumption that a quick burst of violent action will somehow clear the decks and that you can move on and other people will put back together---Iraq, for example,'' he told the Muslim lifestyle magazine Emel.

There is an interesting angle to be explored here, one that has nothing to do with American politics, war, President Bush, or any other political bickering that is best left to the ridiculous talking heads of Fox News and CNN.

It is this, should evil be divided into degrees like circles of Hell in Dante's Inferno?  Do the questions ''Was Roman imperialism worse than British imperialism?'', ''Is American imperialism worse than Japanese imperialism?'' or ''Was the Moorish imperialism or Viking imperialism more evil?'' make any sense in a world ruled by Christ, who is opposed to all evil?

In the finger-pointing and trash-talking that goes for so called commentary and diplomacy these days is it helpful for a Christian to be comparing evil with evil and siding with his own country?  The Apostle Paul calls us to put on the armor of light to battle against the darkness, no matter if it is a dusky darkness or an all-encompassing one, no matter if it is the darkness surrounding a fire or the darkness in the pit of a cave.  Christ has conquered all darkness...forever, amen.  We may weigh and assess the events of this world from a historical perspective and grade them based upon cultural notions, but from a theological perspective, evil is evil, no matter what darkness it is wrapped up in.