Proclaiming Peace
Another blog, Conner’s Conundrums, has a wonderful post that mirrors my feelings about war, peace, and disciples of Christ.
The idea that the Gospel of Jesus Christ requires a view of life that leaves very little room for war is what prompted my post about Memorial Day yesterday.
I admit that I have not always felt this way about military and war. In the run up to the latest conflict in Iraq, I was generally a reluctant supporter of the action. I thought that perhaps getting Sadaam out of commission, with his stockpiles of WMDs was probably a necessity. I was, however, very bothered by the preemptive nature of the war.
I remember an event held at BYU during this time. An open panel discussion was held with professors from various departments. A Report of this panel can still be found here (this also includes a video link where you can watch the discussion).
Two panelists spoke out against the war, the most forceful of which was a religion professor, Paul Hoskisson, who read scripture after scripture advocating peace, turning the other cheek, etc. I recall a general uncomfortable feeling in the air as he spoke. People seemed to want him to get out of the way, so they could hear from the political experts who would outline reasons FOR the preemptive strike.
This left an impression on me, especially as the war was initiated, and the initial reasons melted away to leave not much justification for the action.
Since then, I have become more and more convinced that my time as a Latter-day Saint is much better spent proclaiming the peace that only comes from the gospel of Christ, not arguing and champion the disorder, blood and conflict of war.
Note:
As I’ve typed this entry, I’ve been listening again to the panel discussion I mentioned earlier. To be frank, the pro-Iraq strike arguments put forth (and the cheers of the crowd of students) make me ill.
Posted by Ben on Wed May 27th 2009 at 10:00 AM #