On Peace and War

As it is Memorial day, I thought it might be good to do some thinking about peace and war.

I first heard this message from Brian McLaren a few months ago, and was deeply move at the thought put into it as well as the attitude of grace for all involved. It is basically Brians's attempt to write a letter/sermon to President Bush shortly before the war in Iraq broke out. Here are some quotes:

Jesus also said, though, that in our serpentine cleverness, we must remain as guileless as a dove, pure in heart as peacemakers, because the God who is real is a God of peace. Whatever clever tactics we must use to seek to prevent war, however we must bare our teeth and expose our claws to dissuade our attackers, we must reverence the harmless dove (God’s Spirit) who flies among us, within us. I have been asking myself what it means to be a true Christian in a time like this, facing war yet loving and seeking peace, wise as a serpent, yet innocent as a dove.

Whenever we talk of war, and if we must go to war, we must do so with sadness for all concerned. Jesus said we are to love our enemies, and if we love people, to see beloved enemies as the targets of bullets and bombs is a tragic thing.

In this war, Mr. President, if war must happen, I wonder if you would make history by being the first president to share the death toll of our enemy, not as a score of victory, but as another tragic cost of war? I wonder if you could teach the American people to mourn the death of Iraqi mothers’ sons along with our own? I wonder if you could, in this way, deepen our dread and hatred of war, so that if this war happens, it will bring us one war closer to the end of the nightmare, and the beginning of God’s dream for us?

And third, Mr. President, if I were the one being attacked, I would wish that my enemies would spend at least two dollars to repair whatever damage each dollar of weaponry caused. Jesus talked about walking the second mile, and perhaps today he would talk about paying the second dollar. If this means raising taxes, Mr. President, I for one will pay twice the taxes to have the chance to do right to the Iraqi people after the war – if we must go to war.
This would, I realize, triple the cost of war for us. But that would not be a bad thing at all. I think you’ll agree: war should be costly, too costly. A cheap, convenient, easy war could make it easy for us to become barbarians, abusing the power and wealth which we have been given, and for which we will be held accountable as stewards. When we add the high cost of postwar rebuilding to the high cost of war to begin with, we will be more likely to seek creative alternatives to war. We may realize that it would be a bargain to be more generous, to use our money to make friends through wise generosity and humanitarian development rather than using it to make enemies through foreign war.

The full text is here.

The mp3 audio with introduction and Q&A is here. You really should listen to it, as McLaren's heart comes across better in audio than on paper.

Enjoy. All honor and peace to our veterans today, and the precious memories are with us of those who have given their lives for causes.

Boyd on OT Violence, Continued.

Greg Boyd is moving right along in his series on violence in the Old Testament. He is to the point where he is offering theories, and then critiquing them. Here is an overview of what he has done so far.

Introduction- Linked Previously

What's at Stake?

[L]et's do our best to explain the depictions of God as violent in the Old Testament and to thereby reconcile them with the revelation of God in Christ. But for God’s sake (literally), don’t leverage your faith in Christ on the outcome of this investigation!

The Violent Strand of the Old Testament and Our Picture of God

[W]hatever else is at stake in the issue of explaining the violent strand of the Old Testament, our picture of God should not be. Fix your spiritual eyes on Jesus (2 Cor. 3:17-4:6; Col 3:5; Heb 12:2), not on the warrior God of the Old Testament.

OT Violence and Christian Behavior

Jesus himself seems quite aware that the attitude towards enemies he commands his followers to embrace is very different from some aspects of the Old Testament. For example, in the Old Testament God twice reigned down fire from heaven in judgment on various individuals and groups. Yet, when John and James wanted to do this same thing in the New Testament, Jesus rebuked them (Lk 9:52-55). It violated the spirit of the Kingdom Jesus came to establish to want God to act the way he did in the Old Testament!...Clearly, the way of the Kingdom Jesus was establishing was very different from the way of Yahweh in the violent strands of the Old Testament.

Could Old Testament Warriors Have Been Mistaken?- View #1

This is how God handles all violence, according to Eller. All war is the result of human estrangement from God, and so in this sense all war is a punishment for rebellion against God. “God doesn’t approve of war,” he says, “but this isn’t to say war is completely outside his plan.” Rather, “war is the punishment brought upon themselves by those who foster and create the kind of situations that lead to war. " Moreover, Eller argues, "it is not that the losing nation is the punished one and the winner merely the punisher. War is always punishment both ways”(79). So, as a regrettable concession, God worked with Israel’s Nimrodian mindset, as he worked with the Nimrodian mindset of others, to accomplish his purposes, as much as possible, in the world. And part of this purpose was to punish the sinful violent-mindedness of both the Israelites and their pagan enemies.

And all the while Yahweh was laying the groundwork for a future revelation of who he really is, what his character is really like and what kind of warfare he has really called us to.

A Defense of Eller's Thesis- Support for View #1

The basic point is that the Bible does not give us the unmediated voice of God. It gives us God’s voice mediated through culturally conditioned human witnesses. In this light, it doesn't seem too outlandish to suppose that certain Old Testament warriors and authors were right when they heard God telling them to fight his battles, but reflected their cultural conditioning when they interpreted this to mean they were to slaughter men, women and children. They expressed a God-inspired truth when they affirmed that God wanted to fight for them and give them the victory. But the way they expressed and applied this truth was culturally conditioned.

A Critique of Eller's Thesis- A Critique of View #1

These episodes of God causing carnage seem no more consistent with the God revealed on Calvary – the God who chooses to be killed rather than to kill – than the episodes of slaughtering that involve human agents. Hence, while Eller's thesis nicely removes the inconsistency between the Old and New Testaments regarding how God wants his people to treat enemies, it doesn't at all help remove the inconsistency regarding their portraits of God.


What do you guys think of Eller's view (view #1)?

Boyd on Violence in the OT

I love the way that Greg Boyd continually explores the difficult topics in the christian life, even when they are wildly unpopular. This is no different.

Greg has started a series of blog posts looking into the horrific violence that we read about in the Old Testament. Concerning the verse where the Psalmist talks about bashing his enemies' babies heads against rocks (Ps 137:8-9), Greg says:

Let's be honest. This passage is barbarically ugly, and we've got to wonder what on earth it's doing in the "inspired Word of God"! How are we to see this passage as "inspired" in light of the fact that Jesus taught us to love and bless our enemies, not hate and curse them? How could the same Lord who taught us to turn the other cheek, never retaliate and never use the sword inspire the Psalmist to gloat over the splattering of infants' heads? If harboring anger and speaking nasty words ("Raca") to another person puts us in danger of hell, as Jesus taught (Matt 5), what kind of danger must the Psalmist be in for harboring this utterly vindictive attitude toward the Babylonians?

He also asks the honest question, "doesn't this depiction of God look more like the God of Osama Bin Laden than the Father of Jesus Christ?"

We have to admit that these are some troubling verses. He has only offered an introduction so far, but in the mean time, I was wondering if you guys felt like offering some responses. What have you heard to explain the violence in the OT? Many bad answers, I'm sure (which I want you to share), but any good ones? Let's have a conversation about this.

My Enemies Are Men Like Me

As I continue to ponder this idea of war and what my stance on it is (or is becoming), I feel compelled to offer some insite from Derek Webb. By the way, if you haven't yet heard, you can download Derek's new album for free. It is very worth it ;). It has been out for a very long time now. Derek offers deep thoughts set to music about our world, a lot of them related to injustice. This one really got me thinking. I am not saying that I agree whole heartedly with him, but I think we have to agree that he makes a good point. Here are the lyrics to "My enemies Are Men Like Me."

I have come to give you life
and to show you how to live it
I have come to make things right
to heal their ears and show you how to forgive them


Because i would rather die
I would rather die
I would rather die
than to take your life

How can i kill the ones i’m supposed to love?
My enemies are men like me
So I will protest the sword if it’s not wielded well
My enemies are men like me


Peace by way of war
is like purity by way of fornication
It’s like telling someone murder is wrong
and then showing them by way of execution


Quote by Martin Luther King Jr.

"Non-violence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time...the need for men to overcome oppression and violence with out resorting to violence and oppression."


When justice is bought and sold
just like weapons of war
the ones who always pay
are the poorest of the poor

A World of Wars

Here is a paragraph from Donald Miller's book Searching For God Knows What about war.

In a way, the war in heaven, the war between God and those against God, is the war to explain all wars. If you really want to believe one side is good and another side is bad, if you really want to look back through history and find a perfect and innocent kingdom that was attacked by an enemy, you have to go back to the Garden of Eden. A perfect and innocent kingdom hasn't been attacked since then. Details are few because Moses hardly gets into it, but to be sure, the Bible paints a picture of a certain evil tricking innocent humans into betraying the God who loved them, the King who was their friend. They were enticed, they considered their options, and they wanted to be equal to God. It's ugly stuff.

I think Donald hits the nail on the head by suggesting that the war that began thousands of years ago between God and Satan, with us humans in the middle as the thing being fought for, is the same war that goes on today. Our war with our neighbor, our war with Iraq, our war with our selves, all stem from this initial act of war. I also like the point he makes about innocence. Let's take innocence out of the picture when it comes to war. No country (or person) goes to war with purely innocent motives.

War is a tricky topic, and I must confess that as I get older, I become closer and closer to becoming a pacifist. I'm not there yet, mind you, but I keep slipping closer every year. I realize that this is a painfully unpopular view to hold in America, but it is how I feel. I am still sorting out my feelings on this. I will keep you posted as to my further breakthroughs. Anybody out there with me on this?

The Iraqi Conflict

I'm not sure why this is, but I don't hear a whole lot on the ongoing status concerning the conflict over in the Middle East. Perhaps it is the circles I run in...but still, it is concerning to me. Why is this issue not talked about more? I am a consistent blog reader and I cannot remember this issues being talked about in the last 5 or 6 months on any of the many blogs I read. I read a headline today that said Bomb kills 26 at Iraq Mosque. This situation is getting so bad, yet the people I am around, and myself included, seem to be apathetic and disconnected from the Iraqi conflict.

Well, I am calling attention to this issue! I am certainly no expert, but here are a few things I do know.

1. The Middle East is an incredibly sad area

This is an area where for many, death is a common, even daily reality around them. Can you imagine never knowing, and always wondering, if your church, or grocery store, or school etc. was going to be bombed today or tomorrow with you inside? This is the reality that millions of people deal with every day. Children see their families ripped apart, not by divorce like in America, but by machine gun fire and explosions. I have tears for this geographical area.

2. There is no peace in sight

Let's face it, there is no easy solution out there. Peace is not coming soon, and it will probably get worse before it gets better. Wherever you come down politically on this issue, you must admit that the worldviews in this area are so polar opposite of western worldviews that a year or two (or 10!) of western influence is not sufficient to "civilize" this area. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but don't keep your fingers crossed for white picket fences in Iraq and afternoon tea between Sunnis and Shi'ites.

3. Our Christian brothers and sisters in the middle East need our prayers

When I was doing missions work in Thailand, I had the incredible privelidge of becoming friends with some natives from Iran. These former Muslims were true refugees. Their lives were literally like this: Friday, meet Jesus and convert to Christianity; Saturday, flee their home and country because their lives were in danger because of their conversion. They ended up in Thailand because it was safe. There are Christian missionaries in Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia etc. working with situations like this all the time, in addition to their own danger. Our fellow Christians need us to lift them up daily in prayer!!! We cannot imagine what it is they go through on a daily basis.

4. The enemy is laughing all the way to the bank

Our enemy, the Devil, is loving every minute of this conflict...the lives being taken, the families being destroyed, and our apathy as well. Let us not become disconnected Spiritually or emotionally for a second, because the Devil is playing for keeps. It is up to us as free Christians to do everything we can to see that this sector of the world is eventually brought to justice.

Let me know what you think about this, and why this conflict has been basically ignored. Christianity/Islam aside, my heart goes out to the people in this area.

Muslims Show True Colors

There has been a ton of commotion lately about this caricature of Mohammed that was was drawn up by a Danish cartoonist. I do not really get the cartoon, mainly because it is in another language, but from what I've heard, I guess it is pretty degrading to Muslims and their leader. Arabs are violently angry to say the least.

Now, I have to agree that they have a right to be angry. If someone drew a degrading cartoon of Jesus, I would be offended. The Problem I have is when I read this:

A Pakistani Muslim cleric and his followers offered rewards amounting to over $1 million for anyone who killed Danish cartoonists who drew caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad that have enraged Muslims worldwide.

The cleric offered the bounty during Friday prayers as Muslim anger against the cartoons flared anew in parts of Asia.

When a World Religion goes to the point of offering death threats and bounties for slander, I think that is a red flag. I suppose it may not be entirely accurate to judge all of Islam on the actions of one (that would be like judging Christians on the comments of Pat Robertson), but I think this is a red flag nonetheless.

You can read the entire article here.

Update:
Upon further review, it seems that Muslims are offended because of the image of Mohammed that shows him wearing a turban with a bomb in it (top middle). Apparently Muslims were offended that they were being accused of being violent. What great irony. They were accused of being violent, so they just put out a bounty on the cartoonist's head. Does something seem wrong with this picture?