Tag Archives: peace

No more speaking up for evil

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KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERAOK, I want to go back to a recurring theme on this blog, the idea of speaking to the political system from outside the system. I admittedly wrestle with terminology a bit, for I tend to think of politics in terms of partisan struggles, while others think that anything affecting the public (the polis) is politics.

What I’m talking about is Christians refusing to align themselves with human groups, be they liberal or conservative, Republican or Democratic. At some point, those groups begin to exist with the aim of winning elections and guaranteeing their continued existence. Ideas begin to be judged more in terms of practicality, feasibility, and electability, rather than in terms of right and wrong.

So we Christians speak out on the issues, but not with the same talking points that our non-Christian friends use. If your political views line up with a non-believer’s political views, your views probably aren’t Christian. It’s as simple as that.

One area where I’d like to see Christians take a firm stand these days is on the topic of life. We need to be pro-life, far beyond what those who merely oppose abortion are. We need to be anti-death. We need to stop saying, “Well, this form of killing is worse than that form of killing, so I’ll oppose it.” I read a Christian blogger who said that the conservatives are wrong for supporting overseas wars, while liberals are wrong for supporting abortion, but he’d support the conservatives because of “body count.”

No! When we choose the lesser of two evils, we are still choosing evil.

Let’s be known for saying, “I don’t care who gets elected. I don’t care if this idea has public palatability. I’m going to speak the truth.” Let’s be known as the people who won’t compromise their beliefs just to be able to identify themselves with a popular movement. Let’s be known as those who unwaveringly seek the truth. (imperfectly, yes, but relentlessly)

Let’s stand up for life. From womb to the tomb, as they say. We oppose abortion. We oppose war. We oppose humans causing the death of other humans.

Once we start speaking out against ALL killing, people will realize that we aren’t just another partisan voice in the political maelstrom. As long as we choose the lessor of evils, no one will believe that we are really speaking out for good.

 

photo from my old friend, MorgueFile.com

Why not try God’s way

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We’ve seen that human solutions are never as good as divine ones. We’ve seen that evil rulers and nations are sometimes agents of God to bring about a greater good. We’ve seen that God’s timetable for dealing with evil often spans decades and centuries.

So let’s tie some of this together. What are the sorts of things that make us forego “Sermon on the Mount” responses in favor of violent responses? It’s usually things like:

  • Said dictator/country/terrorist is so evil that we must act
  • Said situation is so urgent that we must act
  • Military action will solve this situation permanently

Problem is, none of that squares with what we see in the Bible. God and God alone takes care of evil. He often uses other evil people to do it. (which is something to consider when we choose to step into that role!)

God takes care of things on his own time. Part of faith is being willing to wait on the Lord, rather than rush ahead to human solutions.

And our solutions are never as good as God’s solutions. Our wars “solve” one problem and create a new one. World War II was won by working with Communist leaders, which led to the Cold War. The Cold War was fought by arming Muslim extremists against the Soviets, which led to Al Qaida and other terrorist groups. And so on.

What if Christians tried doing things God’s way instead of man’s way? It’s at least worth a try.

Photo from MorgueFile.com

Stop supporting the “war” on terrorism

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Cartoon by Glenn McCoy

Some of my Christian friends support war when that war can be defined as a just war. Not everyone who holds this position is versed in “just war theory,”so I guess we can’t expect all wars to meet those criteria in order for them to receive general approval from the Christian community. But I think we need to examine the so-called war on terrorism.

Most recognize that this is not a traditional war. It’s not always easy to define who the participants are. Some would compare it to the war on poverty or the war on drugs, that is, the term war being used to describe something that isn’t exactly war. But this war sure looks like a war. It’s the regular troops being sent out. The deaths are real. The destruction is real.

There are real dangers in allowing something to be “like a war,” without being an actual war. Exceptional powers are being given to those in government, to those in the intelligence agencies and to those in the military, all with the justification that “we are at war.” Such powers would normally be granted until the end of a war; who will declare the war on terrorism to be over?

Ten years ago, Stanley Hauerwas wrote an excellent article on these ideas. Hauerwas wrote:

The good thing, moreover, about the war on terrorism is it has no end, which makes it very doubtful that this war can be considered just. If a war is just, your enemy must know before the war begins what political purpose the war is to serve. In other words, they need to know from the beginning what the conditions are if they choose to surrender. So you cannot fight a just war if it is “a war to end all wars” (World War I) or for “unconditional surrender” (World War II). But a “war on terrorism” is a war without limit. Americans want to wipe this enemy off the face of the earth. Moreover, America even gets to decide who counts and does not count as a terrorist.

Two very important points right there:

  1. There is no defined end to this war. What are the objectives, beyond obliterating the enemy? Who can sign a peace accord for the opposing side? When will the world be able to say, “That’s it… no more terrorism. The war is over.”?
  2. There is no clear definition of who the opponents are. The U.S. government determines who is and who isn’t a terrorist. It defines what nations are state sponsors of terrorism, with those decisions sometimes being made on the basis of other political motives. When one side can decide for itself who its enemies are and continue adding to that list as the war goes on, there’s nothing just about the war.

On that second point, Hauerwas wrote:

Which means Americans get to have it any way they want it. Some that are captured, for example, are prisoners of war; some are detainees. No problem. When you are the biggest kid on the block, you can say whatever you want to say, even if what you say is nonsense. We all know the first casualty in war is truth. So the conservatives who have fought the war against “postmodernism” in the name of “objective truth,” the same conservatives that now rule us, assume they can use language any way they please.

That Americans get to decide who is and who is not a terrorist means that this is not only a war without clear purpose, but also a war without end. From now on we can be in a perpetual state of war. America is always at her best when she is on permanent war footing. Moreover, when our country is at war, it has no space to worry about the extraordinary inequities that constitute our society, no time to worry about poverty or those parts of the world that are ravaged by hunger and genocide. Everything—civil liberties, due process, the protection of the law—must be subordinated to the one great moral enterprise of winning the unending war against terrorism.

Christians who believe in just war need to stop supporting the so-called war on terrorism. There is nothing just about it. It’s just war, plain and simple.

A non-militarist Veteran’s Day

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As someone with pacifistic beliefs, Veteran’s Day presents a challenge, one that I haven’t always met gracefully. Let me try and offer some thoughts, hoping to hear your thoughts as well:

 

  • Veterans who have served honorably have earned honor from the rest of us. Some of the best men I know have served as veterans. Even if I have questions about the correctness of what they did, I have no problem honoring the motives behind what they did. And I’m also well aware that it would be foolish for me to judge from another time and place the decisions people have felt forced to make.
  • The honoring of veterans should be done by the country they served, not by the church. Veterans should be honored in church as other servants are, like teachers, first responders, medical workers, sanitation crews, etc. Celebrations beyond that belong in another arena. Let’s not dishonor the Prince of Peace by honoring war on the Lord’s Day.
  • Let’s recognize the aims of a militarized society on days such as this. Patriotic days are used to promote militarism. What’s called the American civic religion is a serious threat to the church; let’s not give it more of a foothold in our midst.
  • I distrust the use of religious language for such days. Let’s be careful with the use of the word sacrifice, for example; it carries a weight that many words do not. Another troublesome trend is the language of dying for another’s freedom; don’t let the world steal the glory from Jesus’ death on the cross. Hallowed ground… sacred… let’s remember the real meaning behind such terms and not use them in common speech.
  • Some veterans are worthy of honor; some are not. Some served honorably; some did not. Every veteran you ask will tell you the same thing. I won’t give a blanket endorsement to any group of human beings, not even church members. Let’s not confuse things by claiming that all who have served are heroes.
  • Let’s honor veterans, without glorifying them nor what they’ve done. Again, I think every veteran would say that he served in the hopes that his grandchildren wouldn’t have to. The church’s role at times like these is to be a voice for peace, not war.

OK, those are some basic thoughts. Probably made people mad on both sides. So be it. Such is my struggle with patriotic holidays. How do you resolve the struggle?

photo by Andrea Church

Prayer of Francis of Assisi

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Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.

Francis of Assisi