Five Years of War: A Call to Lament and Repent (by Michael Sherrard)
Holy Week this year brings with it a sobering coincidence. As the church prepares to remember Christ's suffering, death, and resurrection, the nation is marking five years of war with Iraq. In response, Sojourners has released A Call to Lament and Repent for the sin of this war – signed by Jim Wallis, a number of Red Letter Christians and Sojourners board members, and nearly 25,000 friends and supporters.
The statement begins, "this season of Lent, we are truly living 'in darkness and in the shadow of death' as we mark, on March 19, 2008, the fifth anniversary of the war with Iraq. It is a war that is being waged by our country, financed by our taxes, and fought by our sisters and brothers. As U.S. Christians, we issue a call to the American church to lament and repent of the sin of this war."
Click here to read the full statement, and add your own name.
Michael Sherrard is the online organizer for Sojourners.
Add to Del.icio.us
Add to Technorati
Add to Digg
Add to Newsvine
Comments
The Apostles or disciples actually wrote the "red letters" attributed to Jesus. If we are to repent for anything in the red letters or black one, it should be from Churches that bless unions where the behaviors in them are taught against in the red letters and words of the Apostles. The Iraq war was never a Christian activity. Try to remember that; and let's get on with real repentance and revival.
Posted by: Carrey | March 19, 2008 7:12 PM
...It is a war that is being waged by our country, financed by our taxes, and fought by our sisters and brothers. As U.S. Christians, we issue a call to the American church to lament and repent of the sin of this war."
If you're paying taxes, and you think it is so horrible that America is using your tax dollars (collected under the threat of economic violence) in such a terrible, immoral way, then shouldn't you be willing to suffer (economic) martyrdom and risk jail, fines, loss of freedom and what not for your beliefs. Your Christian forebearers suffered much worse under Imperial regimes after all. Can't you offer more than some empty platitudes?
Mr. Sherrard (Sojourner's online organizer), are you and Sojourners taking the myriad of tax benefits/credits.deductions offered to corporations, non-profits, and hard working individuals?
Posted by: aaron | March 19, 2008 8:09 PM
Aaron I think they are taxed exempt ?
Posted by: Mick | March 19, 2008 8:22 PM
Wouldn't it be interesting if we could take the key players of Sojo and Co. back in time to lets say - 1774? I wonder what Wallis - Brain, DBB and others would have to say about the mounting storm that was leading us to war. We might have read...
Wallis - Please George and Tom; find a non-violent way of dealing with HRH, King George III. Do not send our sons and fathers to die in the unjust war.
Brian - The rhetoric of the radicals that would bring us to war is heating up. Can you imagine someone saying 'give me liberty or give me death’? This kind of extremism will get us nowhere.
DBB - I found the writings and speeches of Mr. Franklin very profound in my younger days. Now that I have matured I believe that he is a little delusional. His stance on independence and freedom is too caustic and radical for the majority of people living in the colonies. I look forward to writing his obit.
Have a great Easter
Blessings -
.
Posted by: Moderatelad | March 20, 2008 9:17 AM
Moderatelad: "Wouldn't it be interesting if we could take the key players of Sojo and Co. back in time to lets say - 1774?"
To compare the American war of independence against the tyranny of King George with George W. Bush's illegal war of aggression against Iraq -- a war based on deliberate, elaborate, repeated, sickening lies about a nonexistent "threat"; a war that has directly caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians and the maiming, impoverishment and displacement of millions more; a war that has directly caused the deaths of nearly 4000 Americans and gravely injured thousands more; a war that is squandering trillions of dollars of taxpayer dollars that are urgently needed elsewhere; a war fought for corrupt purposes of private financial gain for Bush's cronies and financial backers in the giant oil corporations -- to make such a comparison is to slander and insult the founders of the United States of America.
Posted by: SecularAnimist | March 20, 2008 10:32 AM
Posted by: SecularAnimist | March 20, 2008 10:32 AM
Love the exaggeration and distortion – bravo.
The people from Sojo have made statements that tell the reader that they would not have supported WWI – WWII etc. I do not believe that there is anything in life that they would be willing to fight for today. Most of their writings are like redo’s of the 60’s ‘better Red the Dead’ talk. I believe that the comparison is very applicable – you don’t. Isn’t it wonderful that we still have freedom after speech in this country.
Blessings -
.
Posted by: Moderatelad | March 20, 2008 11:19 AM
SecularAnimist: You precisely stated my sentients. Some folks here are not able to discern between the revolutionary war or WW II and the obscene atrocity the US is committing in Iraq.
Thank you for stating the obvious so well.
Posted by: Lonnie | March 20, 2008 1:34 PM
Posted by: Lonnie | March 20, 2008 1:34 PM
'...discern between the revolutionary war or WW II...'
I have no problem with the difference between them. It is just that regardless of the differences - Wallis - Sojo and Co. would not support either of them, and their articles support that.
That is the sad part of it all
Blessings -
.
Posted by: Moderatelad | March 20, 2008 1:43 PM
"Wallis - Sojo and Co. would not support either of them, and their articles support that. "
It's very possible if Sojo was there during the Revolutionary war they would be calling for a peaceful way of overcoming tyrannical rule. They would have been called Quakers.
And in our minds perhaps we don't see any other way but violence in that and other situations. The sad part of it all is that in saying that, we refuse to acknowledge Jesus did see another way. In Jesus' day, the zealots cried out for violence against Roman tyranny and continually pointed to the injustices they were suffering as justification for that violence. They were right to be outraged by such injustices and the cruelty they suffered. And yet Jesus did not bow to their cries for justice through violent action but rather told them to love their enemies and bless those who cursed them.
Was it practical for the Zealots to ignore the injustices and do what Jesus asked? It was no more practical for them to do that than it was for the founders of our nation to ignore the injustices perpetrated by England. And yet, I have no doubt had Jesus been on Earth during that time, He would have told our founding fathers the same thing He told the Zealots when He was here.
Moderatelad, the truly sad part of what you have been saying here is that you seem to look down on those who think there is always a peaceful means of dealing with conflict, and yet, that is the path Jesus demands of us.
Posted by: squeaky | March 20, 2008 5:04 PM
Posted by: squeaky | March 20, 2008 5:04 PM
'...you seem to look down on those who...'
INCORRECT!
I have been very respectful to those who disagree with me. I may have a short fuse than some but that is just the way I am wired. It is my short fuse that causes me to act when I see a need in the community. It is my short fuse that causes me to supply a need with children in Education. I am kind of a 'get on the wagon or get out of the way' guy. I will work for peace on several fronts. But when I know that I am being 'played' and that all the time I am talking about a peaceful resolution - they are commiting the very thing we are talking about ending and basically flipping me (us) off. Now - I start to bring in the deterants that will cause them to stop. If that does not work - I bring in more, then more, then more. Finally - after in good faith I have made every atempt to meet them on a workable solution and they flip me off again. OK - now to save the people they are abusing - killing. I now bring in the big gun(s) and dispatch them to wherever they go. The needs of the many exceed the needs of the few. (sorry - went a little Star Trek on you - LOL)
I live in a nice community - I have very good locks on my house. I have a security system and all my doors and windows are labeled so that the would-be robber knows I have a system. I believe that I have set the foundation for protection of my house and home. Now - should someone go stupid and atempt to break in - I will not 'talk' with them about their actions - they have been warned. The only talking I will do with them at that point is at the end of my bat, club, knife or gun, whichever I can put my hands on first. After they now know my intentions and they are still going ahead with their agenda - I will be calling Servpro - so it can be like it never even happened.
UBL and his gang of Merry Knitwits should have been handled the same way. Saddam should have been taken out of power years before he was.
Blessings -
.
Posted by: Moderatelad | March 20, 2008 5:33 PM
to make such a comparison is to slander and insult the founders of the United States of America.
Posted by: SecularAnimist | March 20, 2008 10:32 AM
right on, SA - not to mention the scores of Americans whose allegiance to your country is not of the blind variety so verbosely demonstrated here
Posted by: canucklehead | March 21, 2008 1:15 AM
Moderatelad,
"Wouldn't it be interesting if we could take the key players of Sojo and Co. back in time to lets say - 1774? I wonder what Wallis - Brain, DBB and others would have to say about the mounting storm that was leading us to war. We might have read...
Wallis - Please George and Tom; find a non-violent way of dealing with HRH, King George III. Do not send our sons and fathers to die in the unjust war.
and
The people from Sojo have made statements that tell the reader that they would not have supported WWI – WWII etc. I do not believe that there is anything in life that they would be willing to fight for today."
Your implication in the above statements supports my take that you look down on those who would push to take the road of nonviolence rather than violence. As does your statement that it is sad that Sojo and Co would not have supported the Revolutionary War or WWII had they been there.
Your statement that they wouldn't be willing to fight for anything shows that your definition of "fight" means violent action. There are other ways to fight that don't require violence. Our battle is not with flesh and blood...
Posted by: squeaky | March 21, 2008 10:32 AM
Post a Comment
Are you aware of our Rules of Conduct?