PAUL D. HANSON ON PEACE & JUSTICE

THE PEOPLE CALLED. Paul D. Hanson's book The People Called: The Growth of Community in the Bible has become a treasured resource for me. The following excerpts come toward the end of the book. Having painstakingly made the case for the nature of Biblical community, Hanson draws conclusions and implications for our contemporary challenges. Peace and justice are central to our existence and valid continuity as the people called.

SOCIAL HOLINESS. “It is a central and persistent theme of Scripture that God’s people is to be a righteous people. The source of its righteousness is also clearly stated: ‘You shall be holy; for I the Lord your God am holy’ (Lev. 19:3). ‘You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect’ (Matt. 5:48). The community of faith has as its standard none other than the example of God’s impartial justice. And faithfulness to that standard is not a matter of ethical decision alone, but is a fundamental aspect of faithfulness to God. That is to say, working for social justice, opposing discrimination in its many forms, giving sacrificially to battle world hunger, and seeking to change social and political structures that favor the powerful at the expense of the weak are expressions of the individual’s and the community’s devotion to God. A religious system that merely justifies a life of self-indulgence is accordingly a blatant form of idolatry.”

HEALING BROKEN CREATION. “Underlying the faith community’s every activity on behalf of peace and justice is God’s activity to heal the broken creation. To be God’s people is therefore by definition to be a people dedicated to righteousness in all areas and spheres of life. At the heart of its calling is concern for the just treatment of all people, the equitable distribution of the earth’s resources and fruits among all the families of the earth, and the translation of its belief in God’s sovereignty over all people into social and political policies predicated on the principle of equality” (p. 508).

MEMORIAL DAY: REFLECTIONS OF A PEACE SEEKER

[Note: Portions of this entry appeared as a "Letter to the Editor" in the Indianapolis Star on Monday, May 30, 2005, Memorial Day]

"MEMORIAL DAY" VS. "VETERAN'S DAY." For anyone who might be wondering: Memorial Day (formerly known as "Decoration Day") honors all who have lost their lives in military service to America. Veteran's Day honors all living military Veterans who have served in an American war. Click here for a brief history/explanation of Memorial Day. I find it valuable to contemplate the likenesses and differences between these two national observances.

MEMORIAL DAY IS NOT A PRO-WAR DAY. Memorial Day observance is not synonymous with being pro-war. Nor do I think conscientious objectors, pacifists, nonviolence advocates, peace seekers, war resisters, or war protesters should yield their patriotism to anyone on such days. Whether or not I think a particular war is justified, or whether or not I think war is a valid approach to resolving international or intra-national conflicts, I can--and do--honor all who have died or served our nation in times of war.

PROFOUND RESPECT. For me, honoring the war dead or the living who have served does not "bless" war or condone violence. For me, it affords an opportunity to express my profound respect for those who have served in war--often involuntarily, often with grave reservations, often in the face of terrible options, often with little awareness of how they were being deployed and for what particular small or great objectives.

WE MUST FIND A BETTER WAY. Simultaneously, these observances afford us an opportunity to contemplate how far we have to go as a nation--and as a human family--in transforming our means of advancing liberty, encouraging democracy, and promoting justice. War--and those whose lives are snuffed out or haunted by it--gives us every indication that we have not yet explored or employed our best intellectual and spiritual resources for addressing conflicts. Every Memorial Day and Veteran's Day is an opportunity to consider: "Given the cost in these precious lives, we must find a better way, not just repeat the past again and again."

MILITARY RECRUITING AT YOUR LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL

SURPRISE CLAUSE IN "NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND." Six months ago, concerned that Ben Davis High School was giving the military access to my 17-year old son's personal records, I pursued the issue and discovered--with the help of the Indiana Civil Liberties Union--that this open records access to all branches of the military was part of the "No Child Left Behind" Act of Congress. Short of working to get the law changed, there is apprently nothing an individual can do to stop it.

"OPT OUT" OPTION. The only immediate option available is to request an "opt out" before the child turns 17. This "opt out" option prevents military sources from acquiring the school records of a child when they turn 17. Our school district--the Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township--did not inform parents about this option. Now several slick military recruiting mailers arrive at our home each week now. I intercept most of them (I'm building quite a stack of unopened military recruiting mailers...your tax dollars at work!), but not all. I do not know if it is now possible to stop the mailings; I am pursuing this.

POVERTY DRAFT. Of course what the military is doing is a poverty draft--preying on kids with little money and few options. Recruiters and the slick mailers don't talk about going to war, they just talk about opportunities to serve your community and country, get job skills, and money for education. They prey on the poor. That's why the income of the families of the majority of young people in the military is below the national median family income.

SHAME ON YOU, EDUCATORS! Of all people and institutions, educators should be ashamed of themselves for going along with this policy. This is, to me, similar to the vision portrayed in the Book of Revelation, in which a child being born is snatched from its mother's lap by a dragon. And the midwife? School administrators. Are you going to be hand-wringers or people who act with integrity for the best possible futures for the students you say you are there to serve?

WHILE WE WORK... Military recruiting is nasty business. But its nastiness has been intensified and brought to a high school campus in your community. Our neighborhood 15-year olds are likely seeing impressive, high-tech weaponry displayed and experiencing heavy-handed tactics by military recruiters at the local school. While we work peaceably, our nation's military--with the permission of the Congress and direction of the President we elected--is doing its dead level best to get our children to believe that their best option for their future--and the future of the nation--is a military one. Are you satisfied with this? I'm not.

HOW TO REGISTER PROTEST & "OPT OUT" OF SCHOOL-BASED MILITARY RECRUITING. Sojourners pointed me to an organization with an Internet site that let me register my protest against using the "No Child Left Behind" education act to open school records to military recruiters. It also let me send a letter to our district's school superintendent requesting that the school withhold my children's names and personal information from military sources seeking to recruit them. The organization is Working Assets, the project is called "Leave My Child Alone," and the website is http://www.leavemychildalone.org/.

WAR, PEACE & FREE METHODISTS

WHERE FREE METHODISTS STAND ON WAR & PEACE. I am grateful for the Free Methodist approach to war and peace. I think it is Biblically consistent and reasonable. The following statement comes from the Book of Discipline:

1. We recognize the sovereign authority of government and the duty of all Christians to reverence the power, to obey the law, and to participate righteously in the administration of lawful order in the nation under whose protection they reside (Matthew 22:21; Romans 13:1-7). Members of our church should bear the responsibilities of good citizenship, and they have the right to act in the enforcement of law and the defense of the peace in accord with the conscience of each person.

2. We believe, however, that military aggression is indefensible as an instrument of national policy and strategy (Isaiah 2:3-4). The destruction of life and property, and the deceit and violence necessary to warfare are contrary to the spirit and mind of
Jesus Christ (Isaiah 9:6-7; Matthew 5:44-45). It is, therefore, the duty of all Christians to promote peace and goodwill, to foster the spirit of understanding and mutual trust among all people, and to work with patience for the renunciation of war as a means to the settlement of international disputes (Romans 12:18; 14:19).

3. It is our firm conviction that none of our people should be required to enter military training or to bear arms and that the consciences of our individual members should be respected (Acts 4:19-20; 5:29). Therefore, we claim exemption from all military service for those who register officially with the church as conscientious objectors to war.

NO PLACE FOR PREEMPTIVE WAR. As I read and reflect on these statements, it appears to me that the Bush Administration’s unprecedented doctrine of “preemptive war” that has been exercised in Afghanistan and Iraq is clearly beyond Free Methodism’s range of what may be permissible. The "preemptive war" policy was developed and implemented without precedent in American history. It has been resoundingly condemned by many retired American military and current civilian leaders. It reserves the right to attack any sovereign nation or state that appears to threaten the self-defined interests of American national security.

"YES, BUT..." “But fighting terrorism is different,” some will insist. Apparently it is so different that international rules, ethics, and guidelines developed carefully over time have been set aside or disregarded. The Geneva Convention has been disregarded as non-applicable to suspected terrorists and enemy combatants in Afghanistan and insurgent fighters in Iraq. In the name of spreading freedom and democracy, our government leaders are making up policies as they go that seem to serve their self-interest. In other times and places some have called this tyranny.

BEGINNING TO PRAY. Let us pray for our national leaders and dare to live as citizens of a Kingdom that embraces people of all nations. My prayer begins with confessing and grieving our collective sins in militarism and exploitation. It continues in an appeal for personal wisdom, wisdom for the church, and wisdom for world leaders. It extends into intercession for all who have suffered--and will yet suffer--personally and indirectly from the ravages of these wars. God have mercy on us all.

DESECRATING THE KORAN...AND OTHER SACRED THINGS

TURNS OUT NEWSWEEK WASN'T WRONG. After all the brow-beating Newsweek took by the White House for publishing an anonymously-sourced story on the desecration of the Koran by American military interrogators in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, it turns out that Newsweek's story was based in reality. Reports range from Americans ripping out and wadding up pages and writing foul language in the Koran to urinating and stomping on it. Read the LA Times story here.

THE DAMAGE HAS BEEN DONE. Even though Newsweek bowed to political pressure and retracted the story it published, other reports and investigations reveal widespread and intentional desecration of the Koran by U.S. interrogators, not just in Guantanamo, but in Afghanistan and Iraq. Under pressure from the International Red Cross organization--and in an effort to stop hunger strikes by Islamic prisoners who were protesting the abuses--the U.S. "officially" stopped the practice of abusing the Koran as a way of humiliating detainees suspected of acts of terrorism. But the damage has been done.

"ANYTHING GOES." Repercussions of this latest revelation of what American military and intelligence agents have gotten by with behind closed doors and out of the sight and hearing of a free press will likely reverberate throughout the world. Apparently anxious to get at information that would help our Commander-in-Chief reach his goals, aggressive interrogators have been singing "Anything Goes." Remember, the President has determined (under the advice of the man who is now our Attorney General) that the Geneva Conventions do not apply to these detainees. Rules and guidelines that would have prohibited the desecration of holy documents or restriction of religious rites have been set aside and disregarded.

HOW ABOUT HOLY PEOPLE? And it is most interesting to me that while many are justifiably concerned about the mistreatment of a holy book--whether it be the Koran or the Bible--we are not expressing justifiable concern about the mistreatment and abuse of holy people. It is a shame to abuse documents considered sacred; how much more a travesty to desecrate people--all of whom have been created in the image of God.

SANE AND HUMANE. If detainees have committed crimes against humanity, let the due process of civil justice prevail (and if interrogators have committed crimes against detainees, let the due process of civil justice prevail). It is the only sane and humane vehicle the civilized world has. But if we stoop to treat those whom we suspect of terrorism like animals, we have become the thing we hate. Have we crossed the line? Apparently some, representing the rest of us, have.

STORY CORROBORATED. The accounts of desecration of the Koran and prisoner abuse at Guantanamo have now been corroborated by recently-released FBI records.

THE 'GULAG' OF OUR TIME. Also, Amnesty International this week called Guantanamo the "gulag" of our time and insisted that it be shut down.

HUMAN RIGHTS IMAGE. America's treatment of prisoners and detainees is, according to Amnesty International, underminings its integrity and making it easier for other nations to ignore human rights violations.