Blessed are the peacemakers
Joanna Harader, pastor, Peace Mennonite Church, 615 Lincoln St.:
You’ve seen the pictures. An Iraqi woman on her knees, eyes squeezed shut, face tilted back toward heaven, tears streaming down her cheeks, a bloody child in her arms.
You’ve seen the pictures. Rows of caskets with U.S. flags draped over them. Or just one casket. With a young woman dressed in black standing nearby, looking down resolutely at her hands.
You’ve seen the pictures. Muslim men, their heads covered with black cloth bags. Dog collars around their necks.
Or maybe you’ve seen the picture of Marine Staff Sgt. John Jones. His dark hair cropped short, wearing his military uniform. He is seated and leaning forward, his arms resting on his two prosthetic legs.
Maybe you’ve seen the statistics on Iraqi deaths — civilian and otherwise. Or the statistics on U.S. military killed and maimed. Or the statistics on the domestic violence, mental illness and divorce rates for those who make it back alive.
Maybe you’ve seen the pictures and the statistics for other wars, as well.
How does God feel about war?
As a Christian, I believe that Jesus of Nazareth presents the clearest revelation of God that we have. And Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek.” “Blessed are the merciful.” “Blessed are the peacemakers.”
When the authorities came to arrest Jesus, one of the disciples drew his sword to fight them off. Jesus said, “Put your sword away. All who take the sword will perish by the sword.”
Jesus also said that whatever we do to any other human being — no matter how insignificant they might seem to us — even if they are recorded in the log as “collateral damage” — we do unto him.
The writer of John’s gospel tells us that Jesus was sent because God loves the world so, so very much.
How does God feel about war?
— Send e-mail to Joanna Harader at peacemennonite@gmail.com.
Dreaming of peace
The Rev. Josh Longbottom, associate pastor, Plymouth Congregational Church, 925 Vt.:
I really believe that God is the dream for peace with justice. God is a dream that lives and breathes and calls to us. God is a dream even when it is not being dreamed. It’s a dream that one person can dream, and it is a dream that when dreamed together has the power to make possible the unimaginable.
After I use the historical, critical methods I was taught in seminary to narrow the story of Jesus down to the few tidbits and stories that likely originate with him, it becomes downright obvious that Jesus was that kind of dreamer, too.
Jesus taught such a radically nonviolent ethic that no one person I know really embodies that kind of courage today. I have been reading and re-reading some of those old Jesus stories recently and realizing it is absolutely brilliant to turn your other cheek defiantly and nonviolently in the face of someone who is willing to do violence.
Jesus riding into Jerusalem from the East on a female donkey while Caesar rides in on a war horse with a full military regimen from the West is the kind of ironic and powerful imagery that only the dream makes possible. And it is that kind of imagery that actually captures hearts and minds.
You bet it is too radical for you or me; we don’t have the guts.
Somehow “we” via Augustine have settled in on the idea of a “just” war. I guess that is fine according to geopolitical realism, but let’s not pretend it is Jesus. The Gospels in no way envision anything just about war.
If God is the dream of peace, then you tell me, how does God feel about war? My best guess is nothing short of heartbreak.
— Send e-mail to Josh Longbottom at joshlongbottom@sunflower.com.
Comments
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jason2007 (anonymous) says…
So, Josh, then there are 2 Gods in Scripture? One in Joshua where the promised land inhabitants are slaughtered and a different god in the NT? It scares me to death that the latest group of seminary grads have such a perverted understanding of God, sin, and the application of truth.
queequeg (anonymous) says…
Excellent question which the religious folk can't answer! The bible clearly shows that your god loves war. He even promotes the killing of babies. Xtians can't just ignore the old testament.
tomatogrower (anonymous) says…
I've read the Bible on my own, without the "help" of a preacher to make me understand it their way. The transition from the old testament to the new testament appears to be the change from a vengeful god to a forgiving god, represented by Jesus. Yet many Christians are still stuck in the old testament. The old testament should just be a history of the development of their religion. They should pay more attention to the teachings of Jesus about not judging others and living in peace, or they really shouldn't call themselves Christians. I divide Christians up into old testament Christians and new testament Christians. Many modern conservatives, who are old testament Christians, would have labeled Jesus as a liberal, and helped stone him.
omegapoint (anonymous) says…
Here is one you missed tomatogrower, in John 15:6 in which Jesus says to kill heretics and unbelievers.
bankboy119 (anonymous) says…
John 15:5,6 New King James Version
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
Weird, I don't see Jesus saying to kill anybody. Please explain what I'm missing.
Newell_Post (anonymous) says…
Do not imagine that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.
Matthew 10:34
WHY (anonymous) says…
The real question is how does god feel about all of the wars he has caused.
FloridaSunshine (anonymous) says…
Believe me, bankboy119, a lot of the people who make comments at this site wouldn't believe God Himself if He showed up at their front door and told them what He thinks!!! They are just on here to cause friction...not build bridges toward each other in acceptance and love. I have found that out since I have been reading this "Opinion" section. They don't realize that, yes, Jesus DID make a difference...as one Christian speaker said, "God's personality became softer, more loving, more accepting...all because of Jesus." bankboy119, just keep your eyes on Jesus. We've known the way of the world...and we know the way of Jesus. Chancing that I'll be called a plagiarist (or worse), I'll quote a line from an old, dear song. "I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold...I'd rather be led by His nail-scarred hands."
FloridaSunshine (anonymous) says…
Ms. Harader and Rev. Longbottom...
Both wonderful answers!!! Thank you for your contributions to this forum...I've read your responses before and recognize the spiritual connection, yet again, flowing from your hearts to mine. That's the way it is between Christians...don't you just love it??!! All because of Jesus...
Ceallach (anonymous) says…
So, Josh, then there are 2 Gods in Scripture? One in Joshua where the promised land inhabitants are slaughtered and a different god in the NT?
********************************
My Bible seems to be missing the book of Joshua.
beatrice (anonymous) says…
The rev. Longbottom has it partially correct. God is indeed a dream -- a pipe dream. If both sides of a battle think god is on their side, one of the sides is going to be sorely disappointed. Winners always like to think god is on their side.
Since god doesn't exist, perhaps we should ask my desk how it feels about war.
If god does exist, he sure doesn't concern himself with whether or not mankind engage in wars. If he does care and wishes mankind wouldn't fight wars, then he is clearly powerless to stop them. If he is powerless, then he is hardly the god who can create the universe in six days.
Instead of resting, maybe god actually retired on the seventh day. Would explain why we haven't heard from him in a verifiable while.
Well desk, I'm waiting for a response ...
Olympics (anonymous) says…
2 million vs 10
http://graphjam.files.wordpress.com/2...
Ceallach (anonymous) says…
Just don't expect any logical, intelligent, thinking person to.
*****
Would some logical, intelligent, thinking person out there tell us what is wrong with that sentence?
Ceallach (anonymous) says…
Neither did I beo. I just don't like the implication that someone who believes in God isn't a logical, intelligent, thinking person. Truth is, I don't have enough faith to be an atheist. To believe that nothing + time = matter requires as much or more faith than believing in a creator God. Until you can give verifiable proof of the universe creating itself maybe you could give people with faith in God a little break.
Ceallach (anonymous) says…
Besides, it's hard to think about anything since the Hawks just won AGAIN!!!
Can we agree on that :)
BorderRuffian (anonymous) says…
What shallow thinking so many here engage in - and with such an important matter. Part of the comments seem to set down on the theory that since bad thngs happen, a good God can't exist. The other side seems to hold to the theory that a good God will only smile and give pats on the back to everyone, regardless of what they have done - to themselves or to others; that Jesus MUST be non-judging and universally accepting of whatever it is that people do. Neither side has it right, in fact, their theology, much like a previous posters "desk theology" is hopelessly shallow and flawed. Their reality is that what they want most is a god who is created after their own image, a god who is, therefore, less even than they.
Why DO so many here think that they should be able to perpetrate any kind of evil, and that since they shouldn't be held accountable, it must be God's fault? Has it ever occurred to you that evil rests in its own source - the people who perpetrated it in the first place? Try an intellectual excercise - one that most of these thinkers won't be able to accomplish - try to consider any evil situation, then remove the human factor. What happens to the situation? Does evil remain? Can you dare to imagine what the world would be like without the Hitlers, Ghengis Khans, Idi Amins, Fidel Castros, Achmadinijads, and others of that ilk? Humans perpetrated the evils in those times, not God! Take out the human factor, and where is the evil? As long as there are those who refuse to believe in a higher power and elevate themselves to be their own gods, there will continue to be evil. Dare to imagine what the world would be like if all the people simply took to heart the ethical dimensions of the Bible and lived them out. Where would the evil be then? But Oh, no, do whatever destructive behavior you wish and then blame it on God, or demand that God cease to exist.
Secondly, no wonder these same, self-agrandizing self-made gods heap scorn on Jesus, while again making Him into the god they wish Him to be. Whoever said that Jesus is non-judgmental? Jesus time and time again draws the line in the sand and states that not all dogs go to heaven. Make no mistake - Jesus is no panty-waist mamby-pamby. He came to upset the applecart, only he did so without harming anyone. His teachings and example eventually led to the collapse of the Roman Empire - not by perpetrating evil or violence, but by introducing a simple, believable theology and by giving a tormented, oppressed people the idea that there was a better way to live than what they were experiencing at the hands of their Roman oppressors. (continued next post...)
BorderRuffian (anonymous) says…
continued from previous post:
So much of the problem is that in this age of cancerous individualism, too many individuals have elevated themselves to being their own gods, and the idea of a God who might just hold them accountable for their own actions is outrageous. Go back to the Bible and instead of reading it for your one or two-line proof texts to support an entirely out-of-context point, read the whole thing. What is the one central message? The God who created you and I loves us both and demands we treat each other with the same love and respect God had for us when we were created. Extend that love and respect to all your neighbors, friends, family, enemies, foreigners, and anyone else you can think of, and DARE to imagine what would happen to the problem of evil in the world. Do NOT dare to think that you can simoply do whatever you want and that it is all God's fault.
Ceallach (anonymous) says…
Amen
bethann (anonymous) says…
Josh and BorderRuffian have both made eloquent points. I believe that Jesus, and others like Buddha, Ghandi, Mother Theresa, were all trying to teach us to have faith in God and allow him to grant us the "serenity to accept the things we can not change, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference." They saw a god of love who calls us to be accountable for own behavior and who grants us dignity. Just because the world we live in is not perfect and "bad things can happen to good people" doesn't mean that we should be immature and blame all our misfortunes on God or turn away from fighting injustice. This earthly life is a fleeting and precious gift laden with opportunities for spiritual growth.
phoggyjay (anonymous) says…
God loves the 4/4 beat.
ShePrecedes (anonymous) says…
Which god are we talking about here?
I think Mars would like it. I think Isis would hate it. And the nine billion other gods? Who maintains records of such stuff?
I believe in all gods!!!!!!
All 9,000,000,000 of them.
phoggyjay (anonymous) says…
And cannabis... God loves cannabis... that's why she makes it grow easy like a weed.
igby (anonymous) says…
Ask a stupid question!
Get a stupid answer!
FloridaSunshine (anonymous) says…
Ceallach...love the Gaelic!!! Happy (upcoming) St. Patrick's Day to you!
Thanks for your comments from yesterday...at 6:41 p.m. and also at 8:12 p.m. in response to beobachter. In addition, I agree with you regarding BorderRuffian's statements. Amen!!
We need to be held accountable for our actions and words...and stop blaming everything on God. Blaming Him is a very narcissistic way of living if one puts some thought to it. I told my children when they were very young not to blame me when they grew up for any dysfunction in their lives due to their own choices...and, in return, I wouldn't take any credit for how wonderful they turned out!! s-m-i-l-e
I'm just checking in today and wasn't really surprised that someone (in this case, beobachter) would call me on my logic, intelligence, and thinking. It doesn't bother me at all because I know who I am. You come across as a "just" person who respects the beliefs of others. How refreshing!
My daughter was born the day before St. Patrick's Day...we've always had the notion that makes us Irish...(doesn't matter that there's not a "bright haired"...Ceallach...amongst us)...we've celebrated right along with the most Irish of you all...part of the brother/sisterhood of being alive! We love it!! Happy St. Patrick's Day to one and all!!!
FloridaSunshine (anonymous) says…
In my statement above, "You come across as a "just" person who respects the beliefs of others. How refreshing!"...I AM talking about Ceallach...sorry I didn't make that clear enough...sort of sounds as if I may be speaking of beobachter...not the case.
mr_right_wing (anonymous) says…
Ever read the book of Revelation?
75x55 (anonymous) says…
A "dream" ?
Indeed?
Reminds me of a line from Blazing Saddles.....
"wakeup time!"
stefolder (anonymous) says…
if god created the universe then earth then day and night then man bla bla bla maybe not in that order , most other things plants animals are mention in the bible accepting dinosaurs why would he do that