To the editor:

Friday will see another Iraq War protest in our nation’s capital. What makes this future march different, however, is that it is specifically for Christians. The march will feature a church service in the Washington National Cathedral and a candlelight vigil. Over 20 national and international Christian organizations are aiding this effort.

This action is extremely uplifting for me, yet my recent conversations with Christians have not been so. I recently spoke with a Christian man who told me that, “If it comes down to love versus a gun when I’m dealing with a zealot, I’m putting my money on a gun.”

The fallacy in this thinking is a grave one for Christians. One cannot make a commitment to the Christian faith without taking very seriously the strong themes of peace and reconciliation in Christian teaching. To many during his lifetime Jesus represented a way to achieve peace through compassion, not through Roman military expertise. The story of Jesus lives today through these very same words and acts of abounding love, forgiveness and, ultimately, of peace.

It is time for Christians to re-examine the deep roots of nonviolence in their tradition and take a firm stance against this war. Some may claim this pacifism as weakness, arguing we will become a doormat for others. Instead, I ask that we remember the words of Martin Luther King Jr. “True pacifism is not unrealistic submission to evil power. It is rather a courageous confrontation of evil by the power of love.”

Tim Stauffer,

Lawrence,

on behalf of KU’s Iraq Witness for Peace