Anti-war voices!!! (Part 2 of 4)

Yesterday we began by taking a look at anti-war voices and established that, Jesus, "The Prince of Peace," didn't Himself consider world peace the ultimate goal according to Luke 12:51 and Matthew 10:34. The word for peace used here in Luke and Matthew’s Gospels is a Greek word which means prosperity; quietness; rest. If our world is embattled because militant ideologists seek to overthrow truth, there can be no prosperity, quietness nor rest. If our freedom is threatened by a devious and arcane system that seeks to treat women as “property,” there can be no prosperity, quietness nor rest. If countless unborn babies with no voice of their own are killed without conscience, there can be no prosperity, quietness nor rest. If we remain quiet while our culture redefines marriage differently from God’s original intent, then we are accomplices to a crime of unimaginable proportions, and there can be no prosperity, quietness nor rest. We often act as if what happens in the rest of the world doesn’t concern us (unless it directly impacts our economic bottom-line). We act as if the USA is a vacuum that is unaffected by the rest of the world’s suffering. That’s why we were silent when over 1,000,000 hapless people were murdered in Rwanda over a period of ninety-one days. But, as has been stated so eloquently, “The only thing necessary for evil to prosper is for good men to do nothing.”

On a parallel issue, these 2008 presidential elections have been more divisive than any that I’ve known in recent history (and I’ve lived in the USA since Reagan was President). Many ‘celebrity’ voices are again speaking out zealously but foolishly (During the last elections, Alec Baldwin promised that he would move to another country if George Bush won the elections, but he never made good on his promise). Today MSNBC reported on a few NBA celebrity ‘sightings’ in the political arena.

“NBA players Etan Thomas and Steve Nash have spoken out against the Iraq War, with Nash wearing a T-shirt that said “No War: Shoot for Peace” at the 2005 NBA All-Star game.”

“Ira Newble asked fellow NBA players (including (Lebron) James, who declined) to sign a petition targeting China for its role in the Darfur humanitarian crisis.”

By contrast, here’s a report of another athlete and his response to the human rights violations in Darfur:

“Joey Cheek, a gold-medal speedskater in 2006, donated his $25,000 award to refugees from Darfur. He lost his visa and was banned from attending the 2008 Beijing Olympics as a spectator.”

Well done Joey! At least someone has the guts to stand for something right at significant cost to himself. So, as the Church, how should we respond in a time of war? Well, for starters we can take a page from my friend Steven Hickey’s book. Steven is leading the charge against abortion in South Dakota in a debilitating fight for the rights of the unborn. His blog, Voices Carry outlines this fight, which is sometimes heated, sometimes civil but never without casualties. Steven has actually had to blow the whistle on an organization that has sent people to Sioux Falls to lead the campaign against the pro-life cause. These immoral people, willing to bend the law to further their agenda, claim that they are residents of South Dakota even though they aren’t. They will stop at nothing to ensure that they win this fight. We can choose to bury our heads in the sand until every state has passed a law legalizing abortion, allowing partial-birth abortion, and under-age abortion without parental consent, or we can choose to jump in the fray now, knowing that sometimes the only way to true and lasting peace, is war. We're just getting started so keep your thoughts and ideas coming. See you tomorrow, same time, same place!