tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5111802929460493692.post5055840317565169880..comments2020-07-15T20:17:58.292-07:00Comments on Nailing it to the door. . .: War and Peace in Revelation - A friend's postDan Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01635080266346679464noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5111802929460493692.post-35672256873232295292009-03-02T04:56:00.000-08:002009-03-02T04:56:00.000-08:00Dan - I just came across your blog when looking fo...Dan - I just came across your blog when looking for an image of Shirati for a power point! You haven't changed a bit! Now, I'm in public health. You can email me at dora.a.mills@maine.gov<BR/><BR/>Dora Anne MillsDora Anne Millshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11570679803422163853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5111802929460493692.post-12457882914393584052009-02-28T18:45:00.000-08:002009-02-28T18:45:00.000-08:00I have a couple thoughts on the national level, Gr...I have a couple thoughts on the national level, Grant. I may develop a fuller post on this (I probably should), but in brief, two points:<BR/><BR/>1) My primary argument has been, all along, that whether it "works" on a national level--or any other level, for that matter--ought to be irrelevant to the disciple of Jesus. We are called to obedience to the laws of the Kingdom of Heaven, irrespective of what perceived clash those laws may have with the needs, desires, or preferences of the kingdom of this world. Success in the eyes of our King looks so different from success in the eyes of the world, that the latter is really not equipped to judge the former. So if Jesus expects us to behave nonviolently, we are to behave nonviolently even if it's wholly impractical in the eyes of the world, because the world doesn't get Jesus, or us, anyway.<BR/><BR/>2) Having said that, I think there is still room for people of faith to engage national governments vis-a-vis the morality and practicality of what they are doing. I believe we have been sold such a bill of goods about the effectiveness of violence (see my previous post <A HREF="http://nailtothedoor.blogspot.com/2009/01/war-and-peace-part-3-true-lies-and-tom.html" REL="nofollow">"True Lies & Tom Clancy"</A> for example), that we assume the nation's war is going to work out, and the church has been terribly remiss in not shining the light on peaceful options that may exist. I have been saying since post-9/11 that we should really look hard at Israel's example and realize that violence even more brutal and long-term than Americans are willing to countenance, is clearly ineffective at controlling terrorism. The old adage still holds "if you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you always got!"<BR/><BR/>So I argue that the church should be a voice for the injustices that motivate a lot of the violence that's directed at us--not simply shifting blame from "them" to "us," but rather looking at the situations that make people so hopeless and angry that they lash out in violence, and seeing how we can become part of the solution instead of part of the problem. It's an established fact that more suicidal terrorists come from poor, desperate, disempowered communities than from vibrant, developing communities with hope. If we as a nation spent more effort/resources providing people with hope, and less providing them with reasons to feel disempowered and hopeless, I believe as a practical matter we'd be safer.<BR/><BR/>But even if we aren't safer, we're still called to obedience.Dan Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01635080266346679464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5111802929460493692.post-56843632265794885962009-02-28T17:49:00.000-08:002009-02-28T17:49:00.000-08:00You make a good point Dan. Vengence is the Lord's ...You make a good point Dan. Vengence is the Lord's not ours. What are your thoughts on how non violence works out on a national level?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com