For the New Year: some thoughts on war and peace

Fri, 3 Jan 1997

Clergy/Leaders' Mail-list No. 346 

For the New Year: some thoughts on war and peace

          There once were two cats of Kilkenny,
          Each thought there was one cat too many;
          So they fought and they spit,
          And they scratched and they bit,
          Till, excepting their nails,
          And the tips of their tails,
          Instead of two cats there weren't any.

# The world spends more on arms than it spends on anything else.  

# Six times as much public money goes for research on weapons as for research on
  health.  

# The Third World spends 66% more on the military than on
  education.  

# It's only a matter of time before weapons of mass destruction
  will be in the hands of petty tyrants.  

# In World War I an estimated 54 million died, 90 million were wounded,
  leaving 28 million maimed. The toll in World War 2 was 38.5 million
  (20 million of them Soviet citizens). 

# In the 1980s only 18% of those who started wars won them.  

# The proportion of civilian deaths in wars is increasing dramatically,
  due to the increased destructiveness of the arms used. In one year
  recently, 1988, more than 4.5 million people died in wars.  

# New York and Washington - cities where the school system is falling
  apart, the homeless and hungry crowd the streets - almost overnight
  found millions of dollars to celebrate a military victory in the Gulf
  War...

Wars are as old as history. Only saints and simpletons believe wars in
this kind of world will cease. Wars are the ultimate tragedy.  Unlike
natural disasters they are preventible. Wars mean horrifying injuries: 
burns, spinal injuries, blindness, loss of limbs.  Families lose loved
ones. People are wasted in the prime of life.

Views by Christians about war range across a wide spectrum, from
fundamentalist preachers in America who bless military weapons, to
conscientious pacifists who would not resist an aggressor to protect
their own children. It's horrifying to hear sometimes of Christians who
find war - or war movies - entertaining.

The early churches encouraged their members not to join the army
(though converts already serving in the army could stay).  Some
Christians became martyrs for peace. When called for military service,
Maximilius said: 'I cannot serve as a soldier. I cannot do evil. I am a
Christian.' He was executed in AD 295 on the orders of a Roman
proconsul. This all changed after Christianity became the state
religion under Constantine.

Christians have taken one of three stances on war and peace: pacifism
(which probably originated with them), the 'just war', and the Crusade
(inherited from the Roman world and the Old Testament).

Augustine, who thought 'the purpose of all war is peace' may have been
the first to suggest the idea of a 'just war'. The conditions for a
just war are (1) it must be waged by a lawful authority; (2) the cause
must be just (ie. to restore peace and bring about justice); (3) war is
the only way to solve the problem and secure justice; (4) the war must
be waged by justifiable means (no torture, massacres or atrocities,
respect for neutrals); (5) there must be a reasonable hope of victory
('unwinnable' wars can never be just); (6) the probable good should
outweigh the likely evil. The whole idea of a just war is that it must
be fought when nothing else will deter a tyrant; not to do so is judged
a moral failure.

The fourth condition raises problems for Christians in modern warfare.
Current 'hi-tech' weapons - indiscriminate bombing by thousands of
'sorties', 'carpet bombing' by B52 bombers, smart warheads that go
through windows, laser-guided bombs that crack reinforced bunkers
leaving nearby nursery schools undamaged - all these de-personalize the
enemy.  In long-range killing soldiers don't see the limbless torsos of
the victims, or smell the scorched flesh, or hear the screams of the
disembowelled.

Modern journalism and film-makers have brought the horrors of war into
our living-rooms. The Vietnam war was the first war to be fought on two
fronts: in the jungles of Asia and on our TVs, which is why the
anti-war movement is largely a post-TV phenomenon.

The Crusades or 'holy wars' waged against Islam from the 11th century
onwards were thought of as a 'special case.' The enemy were
'infidels', so the 'just war' theory did not apply: it was OK to use
swords, racks and burning oil to butcher Turks and Palestinians. While
some Crusaders were merceneries, others sincerely believed they were
fighting for the cause of Christ.

The Reformers generally adopted the 'just war' theory, and this led
Luther to condemn the peasants' revolt and support the State in
ruthlessly crushing it. Another Reformer, Zwingli, actively engaged in
war and in fact died in battle. Calvin and Cromwell were also
militaristic. However, Anabaptists, Mennonites and, later, Quakers
generally adopted pacifist positions.

Pacifism flourished in the 1930s but largely collapsed with the
outbreak of World War 2. English-speaking Christians generally felt
that war was 'just'.

Was the 1991 'Gulf War' just? I don't think sanctions would have
worked with Saddam Hussein. A leader esconced in a well-stocked bunker
who seems to care more for his own preservation and power than the
survival of hundreds of thousands of his people, will out-stubborn
almost any efforts. And yet sanctions and world condemnation have
encouraged South Africa to mend its racial ways. Even the most
hard-hearted of regimes are not impervious to outside pressure.

All that said, it is not my belief - either as a realist or as a
biblical Christian - that everlasting peace is an achievable objective
in this imperfect world.

One of our problems is harmonising the Old Testament with the New
Testament. War is a dominant theme in the Old Testament. Yahweh, the
God of the Hebrews, is a warrior-God, 'The Lord of Hosts'.  He leads
his people into battle, defeats the Egyptians, the Canaanites, the
Philistines etc. David's military victories make him Israel's greatest
hero. But throughout the Old Testament there is also another view: the
promise of 'Shalom', peace (Numbers 6:2, Judges 6:24, Leviticus 26:6
etc.). David is not allowed to build the Temple because he is a warrior
and has shed blood. The prophets from the eighth century onwards
stopped blessing Israel's war, and said they deserved punishment
instead (Amos 5:18-20, Zechariah 8:16ff), and turned their people's
gaze towards a future Messianic era of universal peace (Isaiah
10:12-15, 9:2-7, Jeremiah 51, Ezekiel 38-39).

The idea of peace pervades the New Testament even more.  Jesus is the
Prince of peace (Luke 1: 77-79, 2:13-14, cf. Isaiah 9:1-6). His is a
kingdom of peace (Luke 4:5-8, 19:33ff.). He promises peace to his
followers (John 14:27; 20:21), who, through his death have peace with
God (Romans 5:1, 5:10, 2 Corinthians 5:17-19, Colossians 1:21-22). 
Indeed, we must look at the Old Testament through the prism of the life
and teaching of Jesus.

He taught that his followers must live in peace, and be actively
engaged in peacemaking - even loving their enemies (Matthew 5:9, 39,
43-45). The apostles similarly urged the young churches to be
communities of peace (Ephesians 4:3, 1 Thessalonians 5:13, Colossians
3:15). The question, 'Whose side is God on in this war?' must always be
answered, 'God is on the side of the suffering.'

Any theological understanding of war and peace must begin with the
idea of humans - mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, - being made
in the image of God. What's the most important thing you can say about
Saddam Hussein, Adolf Hitler, Pol Pot, Idi Amin? They are like God!

But they - and we all - are like the devil. We want our own way, and
not God's. We want our own way, even at the expense of others. This is
called pride.  God, says James 4:6, opposes the proud. It's pride that
creates an 'us and them' mentality. It's pride that wants to make our
nation 'the greatest'. It's pride that makes us want to be #1.  The
Danish scientist-poet expresses this in the following aphoristic
advice:  The noble art of losing face/ may one day save the human race/
and turn into eternal merit/ what weaker minds would call disgrace.

Nations are proud, and go to war for all the same reasons individuals
fight. And let us be be realistic. Nations, like people, are selective
about who they fight:  they may intervene in a conflict when they
shouldn't, or fail to intervene when they should (oil under the ground
plays a vital part in the calculation).

What can we do to encourage peace? First, we must affirm that
Christians are people of hope. Hope leads to action whereas despair
leads to apathy.  We must develop a vision of 'shalom community', where
all are brothers and sisters, rather than allies or enemies. We begin
with prayer, using the spiritual resources available to us to fight
this battle on the spiritual front. Let us then united with other
Christians around the world and with them speak out prophetically
against militarism. Humans have been incredibly creative in other
directions: we now need new ways of thinking about conflict.

Changing our thinking will include issues like these: Is competition
Christian? Is barracking for a football team a function of our fallen
tribalism?  A war toy is not just guns, tanks and soldier dolls. It
includes all playthings which by means of their structure and
advertising encourage children to play games of war and violence.  This
could extend to model kits, video games, cartoon shows - a very
significant portion of the entertainment available for our children is
based on violence.  They are constantly being encouraged to see
violence as both entertaining and a solution to problems...

What can nuclear nations do? Here are some options: * A nuclear
freeze, stopping the manufacture of further nuclear weapons; * No
'first use' policy, using nuclear weapons only for defense, never
attack; * Reduction in defense expenditure; * Agreeing to a
comprehensive test ban treaty; * Partial unilateral disarmament, with
just enough weapons for a second strike; * Total unilateral
disarmament: the horror of nuclear war is so great that conventional
defense forces only are maintained.

Governments without nuclear weapons also have several options: *
Refusing to have nuclear bases on their soil; * Refusing landing or
mooring rights for nuclear armed planes and ships; * Refusing to allign
with any military alliance with nuclear powers; * Create nuclear-free
zones; * Create peace research.

Wars result from teaching children to hate, to fear. Hitler used fear
of the Jews to power his juggernaut. (The Fuhrer once said: 'If the
Jews didn't exist, we would have to invent them.').

Every Christian, pacifist or nonpacifist, should pray for peace;
should strive for peace and in every way possible turn people's hearts
from war to peace; every Christian should keenly anticipate that
wonderful time when the Prince of Peace will return to this warring
earth, and set up a kingdom of peace and justice and love that will
never end.

(The full version of this message appears on the JMM home page.)

     Happy New Year!


     Shalom!  Rowland Croucher

     Director, John Mark Ministries - resources for pastors/leaders.
       (Bookroom, library, and worldwide F.W.Boreham Trading Post)
                 Home Page: http://www.pastornet.net.au/jmm
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