• Archive of "war" Category

    By Far, the Best Anniversary Reflection on 9/11 I’ve Read

    September 11, 2011 // No Comments »

    Re-posted from CT in entirety without hesitation…

    On 9/11 I thought, For the most powerful, militarized nation in the world also to think of itself as an innocent victim is deadly. It was a rare prophetic moment for me, considering Presidents Bush and Obama have spent billions asking the military to rectify the crime of a small band of lawless individuals, destroying a couple of nations who had little to do with it, in the costliest, longest series of wars in the history of the United States.

    The silence of most Christians and the giddy enthusiasm of a few, as well as the ubiquity of flags and patriotic extravaganzas in allegedly evangelical churches, says to me that American Christians may look back upon our response to 9/11 as our greatest Christological defeat. It was shattering to admit that we had lost the theological means to distinguish between the United States and the kingdom of God. The criminals who perpetrated 9/11 and the flag-waving boosters of our almost exclusively martial response were of one mind: that the nonviolent way of Jesus is stupid. All of us preachers share the shame; when our people felt very vulnerable, they reached for the flag, not the Cross.

    September 11 has changed me. I’m going to preach as never before about Christ crucified as the answer to the question of what’s wrong with the world. I have also resolved to relentlessly reiterate from the pulpit that the worst day in history was not a Tuesday in New York, but a Friday in Jerusalem when a consortium of clergy and politicians colluded to run the world on our own terms by crucifying God’s own Son.

    Will Willimon, presiding bishop of the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church

    (ht: imonk for the image)

    Posted in anabaptist, christendom, church, culture, kingdom, non-violence, theology, war, western culture

    The President, The Jerk at the Grocery Store, and Me

    February 10, 2011 // 11 Comments »

    Amy and I have been making our way through the former TV series, The West Wing.  If you’re not familiar, the show centers around the lives and work of the President of the United States (Jed Bartlett – played by Martin Sheen), and his key staff.

    Recently, an episode about the President and a real-life encounter with a jerk had me doing some personal reflection.

    The President

    In the show, a situation has developed in the Middle East.  A Palestinian terrorist has attacked a US motorcade, killing two congressmen and a retired Admiral, a close friend of the President.  This attack, it is suspected, is due in no small part to American support of Israel.  The suspected terrorist is then found hiding out in a residential apartment building.  Both Palestinians and Israelis are aware of his whereabouts, but neither side is willing to make a move due to their fear of how the other side will respond.

    82% of the American public, the whole of congress, and the majority of the President’s staff are calling for the President to order an attack on not just the building where the suspected terrorist is hiding out, but the countries suspected of supporting him.  All parties seem willing to accept not just the obvious civilian casualties, but the certainty that this will result in further violence, so long as America, via the President, is willing to exact justice (revenge?) on the supposed perpetrators.

    With blatant disregard for all these factors however, the President decides that the only way forward is to negotiate peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders.  He accomplishes this by shrewdly orchestrating the apprehension, as opposed to assassination, of the suspected terrorist.

    Sidenote: This is at least one of the reasons that I have opted not to vote and believe that the prospect of Christians entering into the democratic political system is fraught with difficulty.  In cases like this, to whom do you show your allegiance?  On one hand, you are seemingly obligated to execute the desires of the people you represent, who elected you to govern for them.  On the other hand, if you are a sincere Christian, you are obligated to do justice in keeping with the life and teaching of Jesus.  But I digress…

    Against the advice of his political advisors and the overwhelming majority of Americans calling for blood, the President negotiates peace talks, believing that violent retaliation on the part of Americans will only play right into the hands of the enemies and beget more violence.  I was so proud of my fictitious, TV President!

    The Jerk at the Grocery Store

    The day after we watched these episodes, I had a meeting at a coffee shop and Amy was getting groceries.  She finished and came to pick up – all a-flutter.

    Turns out that the guy behind her in the self-checkout line was passive-aggressively verbally expressing his displeasure at the fact that my wife, who had a cart-full of groceries had opted to use the self-checkout line.  He made comments about her, not directly to her, but to someone else in line.  As she scanned some of the vegetables she had picked up and had to input their corresponding codes to get the right price, he was trying to confuse and mock her efforts.  Again, all w/o addressing her, just taunting her and taking advantage of the fact that no one else was there to defend her.  Amy isn’t really one for confrontation so she just remained quiet and choked back the tears as she grew more and more embarassed.

    Me

    As Amy recounted the story to me, everything in me wanted to drive back there, find this guy, and beat him until he apologized.  There was this raw flood of emotion and adrenaline that overtook me and I felt like it wouldn’t subside until I forcefully dominated the cause of my wife’s pain and embarrassment.

    We didn’t turn around and the feeling subsided, but after it did, I was left with questions…

    Why do I react like this?

    After years of seeking to internalize and cultivate a spirit of non-violence, why do these feelings still come?

    Why is my first reaction to violently end the sources of injustice and oppression rather than to run to the aid of the victimized and opporessed?

    At least in part, I venture to guess that the answer to these questions is that I haven’t encountered nearly enough situations in which I can put my theology to the test.  Sadly, it seems that had Amy and I been together at the grocery store, I would have gotten an even better glimpse into just how much work God has yet to do in me.

    Not to discount the role of personal discipleship in this matter, I am left pondering one final question.  What is the role of the church as a community in putting to death attitudes and actions of violence in followers of Jesus?  One might wonder whether or not our disposition toward Christian faith has become so accommodating to our broader culture that we don’t even know what this might entail.

    Until we do, at least we have Jed Barlett.

    Posted in Amy, church, culture, discipleship, non-violence, politics, questions, theology, war

    Standing for Those Who Choose Nonviolence

    January 15, 2009 // 3 Comments »

    I am certainly no expert on Israeli-Palestinian relations or the fighting that has been going on between them for so long.  I do know that it has gotten worse recently and I am sure that the future holds only more of the same.  I also know that, as with all conflict, people tend to support one side over another based on whatever criteria they deem to be most important.  Whatever the case, it is an easy decision for me to support these folks, the Shiministim, Israeli’s (teenage) conscientious objectors who are being imprisoned for their refusal to serve in the military.  Check it out in more detail here and see if you feel compelled, as I was, to sign and send the letter to have them released.

    Posted in justice, peace, war