We want the conversation to continue, particularly in these perilous times, when the threat of nuclear catastrophe remains, and when American forces are required to stabilize Iraq and Afghanistan after their elections. We are emphatically in the business of nation building, and are now to become, after George W. Bush’s Second Inaugural, the world’s guarantor of political liberty.
To those who have written saying that the Moderator is almost heretical, and knows nothing about the peace that Jesus gives individuals, I say they are sadly out of touch with the great traditions of Christian theology about war and peace that originate in Augustine, find their way into John Calvin’s Institutes, and are enshrined in our confessions. Of course, over against this “establishment” just war position is the Anabaptist tradition of non-violence, even in self-defense, and non-violent resistance to oppression.
The peace that Jesus gives is not exclusively defined by our capacity to endure personal suffering. That peace resides in the community of the faithful, and extends itself into the world around it. “Blessed, indeed, are the peacemakers, who are children of God,” and children of God because of their everyday witness to God’s longing for peace and justice among the children of humanity. This is not a peace that springs up naturally in the human heart. Remember Cain and Abel. This peace is Christ’s gift to the believer and to the church. In this peace, among us and through us, the serpent’s head is wounded. This peace was dearly paid for on Calvary.
Further, those who criticize Rick Ufford- Chase because of his Peacemaker Team advocacy are simply wrong. Such teams represent the essence of courageous Christian witness: one puts one’s life in jeopardy to overcome violence or to provide safety for the imperiled.
To those who despair over the possibility of “just war” and its use in church discourse and public discussion, I say that rarely has this theory been more necessary or useful. It is the historic, Reformed position. It distinguishes us from other traditions, especially Anabaptists. One can only hope that our own and other traditions about war and peace are required in our seminaries. Pastors will then be prepared for the preaching, teaching, and counseling tasks that await them about such matters, without having to fall back on proof-texting or simplistic biblical literalism.
Further, public discourse about war and peace in this nation is “all over the map,” even discounting the duplicity with which we waged war in Iraq. For good or ill we live in an empire that still claims to operate under the watchful eye of the Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, the One who created human beings in the divine image. Some of us believe that God endowed us with inalienable rights. Now we plan to extend these divinely originated blessings to all nations. We were told in the inaugural address that extending these rights is in their interest and ours, because “liberty from sea to shining sea is dependent upon liberty everywhere.” Do we now have a Divine Right of Liberty?
So if and when other wars are begun, and if and when we make other preemptive incursions into a sovereign nation, then – without just war theory embedded in public discourse – how will Christians and churches offer prophetic critiques of the policies and actions of our government? More important, with what criteria do we hold our leaders accountable, especially when the checks and balances set in place by our founders are ignored? The ancient church discovered in this same debate that Scripture alone is not enough.
This is not the end of the matter, and I am grateful to Rick Ufford-Chase for inviting the PC(USA) to conversations about war and peace. To that end we have included here several (and I hope balanced) perspectives.
I also give thanks to God that we have the liberty to engage in such conversations, free from the fear of reprisal. May Almighty God be glorified in our church’s witness.
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