Dear RN list, After so many years of peace activism, I notice a difference now. I think now non-activists are more grateful for my work than ever before. My hunch is that this is true in general, that those of us who believe in non-violence have an unprecedented opportunity to reach "new" people. With this in mind, I plan to post some of the MANY excellent pieces I have received in the wake of September 11. I will give top priority to items I can imagine other activists sharing with non-activists. For instance, I shared the Pentagon widow's plea for non-violence with a military official I correspond with. The letter below would be excellent to share with Christian friends. It is essential that people realize Bush's notion that, as Rahul Mahajan and Robert Jensen put it in the "Unlimited War" article, "God has signed on with us, and so difficult questions need not be asked" is NOT shared by many Christians. all the best, Jan *********************************************************** From: "Carolyn Ballard" <•••@••.•••> To: "Jan Slakov" <•••@••.•••> Subject: Fw: [BPFNA] FW: Jesus said, "Enough of this!" reflection on Sept 11 horror Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2001 12:12:01 -0700 FW: Jesus said, "Enough of this!" reflection on Sept 11 horrorJan- Thought you'd want to hear a different view from those more thoughtful Christians who "hear" a different Jesus than the one Bush obviously hears. <snip> It is hard to explain how distressing the situation here is in America following our tragedy. The "hyper patriotism," the suppression of dissent, the war mongering, the ignorance of the masses to the real threat, the response of some "Christians.....it is all just piercing my heart. Sending 2 other articles from this same list, "Baptist Peace Fellowship." I think you'll enjoy them. I hope that you'll publish them to the RN list, in an effort to let your readership be exposed to the "saner" voices of Christianity who take Christ's non-violent teachings seriously. [Note from Jan: Please write to Carolyn or I if you would like either of those very good articles.] Much love, Carolyn ----- Original Message ----- From: LeDayne Polaski To: •••@••.••• Sent: Wednesday, September 26, 2001 8:55 AM Subject: [BPFNA] FW: Jesus said, "Enough of this!" reflection on Sept 11 horror Following is a letter I wore to my Daughter Claire (22 yrs old recently graduated from UC Berkeley) regarding the Sept 11 horror. I edited the more personal stuff out, but thought you might like to read it. --peace --garth =========================== Dear Claire, It is perhaps now more than ever that I believe in peace and the pursuing of the things that make for peace. Actually on the evening of September 11th and on the 12th as I struggled to feel the presence of God, and ask the question you know, 'What would Jesus do?' My mind fixed on the account in the gospel of Luke. <"Jesus was still speaking when a crowd arrived, led by Judas, one of the twelve disciples. He came up to Jesus to kiss him. But Jesus said, 'Judas, is it with a kiss that you betray the Son of Man?' When the disciples who were with Jesus saw what was going to happen, they asked, 'Shall we use our swords, Lord?' And one of them struck the High Priest's slave and cut off his right ear. But Jesus said, 'Enough of this!' He touched the man's ear and healed him."> All four gospel accounts tell the same event of the disciple(s) of Jesus being ready with their sword(s). Each gospel places emphasis on different aspects. There is an astonishing unity in one aspect. That is that the sword is not the answer to the violence that is about to fall upon Jesus and His movement or even his band of closest friends and followers. In Mathew (26:52) when the slave has been struck Jesus says, <"Put your sword back in its place." Jesus said to him, "All who take the sword will die by the sword."> In the gospel of Mark 14:47-48 the High Priest's slave has his ear cut off <Then Jesus spoke up and said to them,"Did you have to come with swords and clubs to capture me, as though I were an outlaw?"> In the gosel of John (18:10-11) it reads: <Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the High Priest's slave, cutting off his right ear. The name of the slave was Malchus. Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword back in its place!"> Luke is the only account that says that Jesus healed the wound. I believe that Luke was written several years after the other accounts and to some extent represents a more thoroughly researched account. In no account does Jesus urge armed or violent retaliation. For me it is clear that we as the United States of America cannot eliminate terrorism by becoming the biggest terrorists on earth. It won't work. I don't know how well you remember the details of my trip to Nicaragua with my Dad (Rev. Howard Sorensen with Witness for Peace) in 1985. You were pretty young and I still treasure the letters you sent with me. On the next to the last day of that trip the 21 of us US citizens visited the US Embassy in Managua, Nicaragua where we heard our embassy spokesperson, a Mr. Shafer, tell us in exactly these words, that 'the US Government Supports and arms the Contras who make a deliberate policy of attacking schools, churches, and medical clinics.' In effect he said 'we sponsor terrorists'. We told him that that is at best a shameful policy and it certainly runs against whatever we hold dear and love best about our country. We gave him a letter to give to our ambassador requesting that that policy be changed. After the Oklahoma City bombing a prominent Nicaraguan clergyman remarked that a nation that exports terrorism will not keep it from themselves forever. ..... I pray that the US will not commit the very crimes we claim we are setting out to punish. As opportunities present themselves I will attend anti-war demonstrations. I owe that much at least to you and your generation. JUSTICE YES! VENGEANCE NO! Vengence is not Jesus' way. Jesus said "Do not take revenge on someone who wrongs you." (Matt 5:39) Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. (Matt 5:44) What strikes me profoundly is that Jesus didn't just say 'nice sounding' things. He didn't just talk the talk, he walked the walk We are called to be faithful. We may not be successful. It is however better to light one candle than to curse the darkness. God bless you. Thank you for letting me share my thoughts with you. peace --dad
