Reflections from the Heart

(Dear Friends in Christ, I am posting the following email exchange that I had earlier this week regarding Peacemaking as a basic tenet to the teachings of Christ and how it applies to the War on Iraq. The other participant in the discussion did not respond to my request for permission to post this so I have deleted any personal references they may have made. I have decided to post the discussion inspite of the lack of permission as I think it clearly represents the two sides on the Peacemaking issue. Basically, it appears that supporters of just wars feel that the Peacemaking that Christ referred to is on a personal level only and that the battle against evil in the world at large requires greater sacrifices. I will let the rest of the discussion speak for itself. May the Peace of Christ be with you - gs)

Included within a devotional based on Acts 10: 34-43 that I posted on Reflections of the Spirit this week, I wrote the following reflection regarding the topic of Peacemakers:

"Are you a peacemaker? If the gospel is available to those of every nation who fear God and do what is right, why do we continue to experience wars and strife between countries? Shouldn't the good news of Christ breakdown these barriers? Shouldn't His model of "doing good" and preaching peace have a greater impact? Are we truly following His example, doing what He would do, when we involve ourselves in war and conflict? Are there conflicts in your life that need the peace of Christ?"

In response to this I received the following message:

"Serving in a military community, even though my background is in more of a "peace witness" mode, has given me cause to rethink the concept of war and peace. There are many active duty military who consider themselves followers of Christ yet the engage terrorists and oppressors who do not have any sympathy with the way of Christ or the path of peace. In a fallen world, sometimes a radical response must be chosen to address the evil that so easily destroys life, even innocent life. As I see it, the members of the US Army and the coalition forces who are in Iraq are doing the work of God by defending the cause of freedom and justice in that land. As I read your comment, "If the gospel is available to those of every nation who fear God and do what is right, why do we continue to experience wars and strife between countries? Shouldn't the good news of Christ breakdown these barriers?," I agreed with it but at the same time recognized that the issues among nations are much more complex than merely the availability of the Gospel to all people. The former regime in Iraq, as well as the terrorists who still attack the innocent in that land, seem to neither fear God or have commitment to what is right. If their fear of God is prompting car bombs, beheadings, and the assassination of innocent civilians and elected leaders, then I would suggest that it is a twisted interpretation of what God desires of people. It most certainly has not incorporated the teaching and example of Jesus. Anyway, I am not trying to challenge you on this matter, just to share that I have a very different expectation and understanding of how peace is achieved in this world."

My response:

I apologize if the devotional for Acts 10 that I wrote for today on the topic of Peacemaking seems to infer that I do not support our troops. I certainly didn't mean to indicate or infer that they were somehow not Christians because of their choice to fight in a war.

I do think however that Jesus was very clear in His teachings regarding peacemakers, loving your neighbor, and turning the other cheek. With His focus on peace, I think we have to look at every conflict in our lives, both personal and global, to see if we are making every step possible towards peace. Yes, there is true evil in the world and some times it may only be possible to insure peace through force. However, when we choose to take that step I think we should do so very reluctantly and not without prayerful consideration of the other choices we have before us. Some of the questions that I feel need to be asked in any conflict are these:

1) Is my response just? Or am I allowing my hurt feelings, anger, resentment, and self-righteousness to inflate the issue beyond its current scope?

2) Am I responding with force because I have to or because I can?

3) What other problems am I creating by my response? Will I be hurting innocent by-standers who are not involved in the conflict in the first place? Am I escalating the cycle of violence in a way that further conflict will result?

4) Is my response solving the problem and leading everyone involved towards an eventual peaceful solution?

Yes, I have been an anti-war activist since the 1960's and I admit that my opinions of this issue are colored from that perspective. At the same time, I realize that real evil exists in the world and sometimes we are faced with difficult decisions that require force. Unfortunately we live in a world where it is necessary to have police officers and military personnel in order to maintain and establish peace in our neighborhoods, cities, countries. I realize that much of the peace we do enjoy comes from these military options.

But, again, if scripture is to be our guide and if Christ is who we are to be like, then I wonder if we don't choose the violent option all too readily. If we continue to ask our selves 'What Would Jesus Do?' in this situation, I think we will find him on the side of Peace, Peace, and more Peace.

Response to the Response:

Let me respond with complete agreement to your statement, "if scripture is to be our guide and if Christ is who we are to be like, then I wonder if we don't choose the violent option all too readily."

Thank you for lifting up the questions in the Just War Theory. Probably many of us can look at the current circumstances in the world, incorporate some thinking about our faith, but yet come up with different answers to those important questions. From my perspective, the current situation in Iraq meets the requirements of being a Just War. I respect that others have come to a different conclusion in that matter…

One thing that is still important to me is that peace witness, in its most essential expression, is a matter between two persons.

Wrap up:

I think if I could hope for one thing from our exchange is an understanding that Christians who are calling for peace and for bringing the troops home are not against the troops. I think they generally feel that they are supporting the troops by working to bring them home to safety. Any death, military or civilian, breaks our hearts.

Okay. I admit it. I am a liberal, progressive, left-wing radical. I have been a "Liberal" ever since I protested against the Vietnam War and the Kent State massacre on the University of Denver campus in the spring of 1970. Not withstanding a four-year stint in the Navy (my attempt to avoid the Vietnam draft), I have always found myself on the left side of U.S. politics. As the years have progressed I have consistently been aligned with liberals in every political issue debated. I have even spawned liberals as witnessed by my daughter's active campaigning for John Kerry in the small towns of Iowa this last fall and by my son's adamant involvement in underground music. (If you mistakenly feel that the only true protest music ever to emanate from the hearts of mankind came from Woodstock, you should try listening to Anti-Flag, Propagandhi, Bad Religion, and Travisty and the Screw Ups.)

So it is with this true confession firmly established that I have begun reading Jim Wallis' book, "God's Politics." Of course I purchased his book because, as a progressive Christian, I felt a need to repair the damage to my Christian faith caused by the ostracism of the religious right in the election last fall. I was certain that finding like-minded Christians would help me to rally around the foundation of my faith and to give meaning and purpose to those tenets of Christ's teachings that I feel truly address the ills of society we face. Jesus was a healer and a forgiver. As followers of Christ we are called to be like Him in every respect. The self-righteous and narrow-minded attitudes of the Christian Right, in my opinion, are killing the essence of Christianity. It was in the reading of Jim Wallis' book that I was to experience justification and confirmation. As Jim puts it, it was to take back the faith that had been stolen from me by the Right-wing political agenda.

However, the aspect of Jim's book that points a finger in my direction and says I don't get it, has stirred within me a rumbling of uneasiness. What do you mean the Left doesn't get it? Most of us on the Left are very certain that it is the Right that doesn't get it. After all, they're the ones who have narrowed the 'sanctity of life' to a single litmus-test issue called abortion and in so doing have closed the world's mind to issues of poverty, health, war, and capital punishment as they pertain to the holiness of life. Isn't it the Right that has closed its doors to loving forgiveness and acceptance of all people by railing against homosexuality and the evil empires of darkness? Aren't they the ones who are focused on exploding personal wealth and theocratic patriotism at the cost of the global environment and with indifference to the burgeoning masses throughout the rest of the world?

The Left is right! And we have to find ways to move the world back into our ways of reason - or at least that is the way we tend to think.

I have not finished reading Jim's book at this writing but I am beginning to catch a glimpse of his vision that calls us to move from a Left vs Right approach. If we continue to rally ourselves around the Progressive Banner, we are no different then those we criticize. We too, become self-righteous bigots. We too, become too focused on our agenda and lose sight of God's agenda. We too, become the problem and not the solution.

Jim calls us to fight fundamentalism by becoming more faithful. If society is better served by Christian love, then we should become more loving. If the world is to move towards peace and reconciliation, then we need to study the Bible more earnestly and pray more fervently. Should we chose to take on the political agenda of the Christian Right then we will need to do so with a sound Biblical base, one that is wholly conclusive of all Christ's teachings, not just those that justify our beliefs.

It is with this new vision creeping into my mind that I have changed the name of this blog. It is my intent to no longer point fingers at the Christian Right and glorify the positions of the Christian Left. From now on my focus will be on the matters of the heart because, as doing so, it just may be possible that I will be focused where Christ wants me to be focused. Jim puts it this way: "We should talk less about the ideological categories of Left and Right, and more about what kind of people we want to be, what kind of community, what kind of world."¹

Jim, I disagree - it is all about the type of people, community, and world God wants us to be.

¹"God's Politics - Why the Right Gets it Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get it" by Jim Wallis, Copyright © 2005, publishers HarperSanFrancisco a division of HarpersCollins Publishers, pp. 68.