Columbia Seminary - War on Iraq

My wife, Mary Martha, a member of the staff of Columbia Theological Seminary (CTS), forwarded the following to me. It is a statement of concern about the push to war on Iraq which was circulated on the CTS campus and signed by many of the faculty and others there. It is my understanding that this can be distributed freely and so I am making it available here.

******UPDATE******

The earlier version was a pre-release which contained some typos. I have now updated it from a release received this morning about 11:00am, 10/14/2002.

******RE-UPDATE******

Well, I've been told that this is now the final version. I hope this is the final update.

A Public Testimony on War With Iraq

With Questions, Answers, and an Invitation to Dialogue and Action

To all who seek to discern God�s will in morally complex times. Peace and grace to you in the name of Jesus Christ.

With increasing anxiety, some of us at Columbia Theological Seminary have watched as the United States moves ever closer to renewing war against Iraq. All wars, no matter how justified they may seem to some, are matters of deepest concern and they warrant open and frank conversation and debate taken on with a deep sense of moral gravity.

Over the past several weeks, we the undersigned have engaged in just these types of debates�some formal, others occasional or informal. We have come to them with different perspectives, theological convictions, backgrounds, plans, and questions. Some among us favor the just war tradition; others believe in non-violent resistance. Some have either served or will serve in the military; others are opposed to military engagement on principle. Some come sure of their answers; others seek clarity and reserve judgment.

We share neither the mind nor the will of God. We realize that ours are not the only opinions that warrant hearing within the church or the academy, but as Christian scholars and students, we believe our opinions are worth hearing. We confess that we are morally implicated in this war both by our actions and our inaction, but as Christians we believe that our guilt ought not remove us from the conversation, for by that standard, all would be silenced. As members of a learning community, we believe we are called to speak. We do not believe that our questions and answers are perfect. However, we testify that we are called to be Christian stewards of the questions to which we have been led. And so we struggle both to ask the right questions and to seek thoughtful and faithful answers. Based on our shared theological convictions, these are our questions and our answers:

First, in a culture that seems to favor war, the church and its members must remind both themselves and the larger culture that the presumption of the Christian faith is always toward peace. Human beings were not created for war and, in the end, God will �make wars cease to the end of the earth.� (Psalm 46: 9). Those among us who see war as occasionally necessary nonetheless recognize that any act of war must be gravely and repeatedly justified against the more basic claim that, where possible, alternatives to war are morally preferable. We asked ourselves the question, �Have our national leaders adequately prioritized and pursued all the available alternatives to open war with Iraq?� We answered that we do not believe that our national leaders have adequately prioritized and pursued these alternatives.

Second, even in the most carefully conducted wars, far too many innocent persons suffer death and hardship. War makes victims. And while we recognize that there has been only one truly innocent victim in human history, we also believe that on the cross, that victim�Jesus Christ�acted on behalf of human beings who sin, suffer, and die�and in so doing, took upon himself our sin, suffering, and death. We asked ourselves, �Have our elected leaders explored or pursued adequately the implications of war against Iraq and the widespread suffering that will result not only from war but from the results of war?� We answered that we do not believe that such exploration has been adequate against the backdrop of horrible suffering.

Third, a policy of preemptive and unilateral action flouts current international laws, including those that have been agreed upon and promoted by the U.S. in the past. Respect for the law springs from our recognition that God�s sovereignty extends through law such that sin might be restrained, righteousness might be promoted, and community might flourish. We asked ourselves, �Has our nation fully undertaken multinational action with other nations to address enforceable inspections of Iraq�s alleged store of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons through enforcing present or new resolutions by the United Nations Security Council?� and �Have our elected leaders made a compelling case either for preemptive action or for unilateral or near-unilateral action against Iraq?� We concluded that this is not the case. Current willingness to disregard international law in favor of unilateral action confuses might with right and can inhibit the development of the very types of national and international communities through which justice might be more actively and profitably pursued. Nor do we believe that a compelling case for preemptive action or for unilateral or near-unilateral action against Iraq has been made.

Finally, pursuing the security of persons in the United States at the expense of basic human freedoms, including the right to life of those who have done nothing to provoke attack, is not only an unreasonable and unwise goal, but has the potential to stand in conflict with the good news of a gospel made manifest in Jesus Christ�s life, death, and resurrection. Our security does not and cannot rest in our own efforts�even our best efforts�for all such efforts are doomed to failure. Instead, our security rests in the hands of a God strong enough to defeat death and loving enough to return to those who condemned him, offering salvation instead of condemnation. We asked ourselves, �Can we gain the type of security our national administration suggests it can deliver to us through war?� �And if so, ought we desire it?� We believe that the answers to both questions are No.

We welcome both additional and countervailing testimony. However, we also wish to be both clear and public about our current position: While we acknowledge that Iraq�s actions are cause for grave concern and need international response, we believe that war against Iraq is a dangerously misguided activity. It disregards morally preferable alternatives, ignores probable dangerous and destructive consequences and implications, and leads to the unnecessary death and suffering of those whom Christ so valued as to give his own life. We do not believe that Iraqi tragedy will be healed by the means our elected officials advocate and we do not support a project so out of step with both our country�s best aspirations and the gospel�s deepest call for our lives.

We pledge to treat this issue as an occasion for deep and passionate theological, moral, political, and pastoral inquiry. As individuals, we will continue to attend to current events in a careful and critical way. As citizens, we will continue to call and write our elected officials. As scholars, we will continue to educate ourselves in how the Christian tradition�and the Reformed tradition, in particular�understands war and peace. As pastors and lay leaders, we will continue to pray and to work with churches, families, and persons struggling with the implications of war for their lives. As Christian scholars and students, we will continue to make this work pertinent for and accessible to the church. And as Christians, we will continue to profess our faith in a just God who brings peace; a righteous God who reconciles; a holy God who shares unmerited love.

Sisters and brothers, we ask you to join us by carefully and prayerfully considering these issues, by studying the Scriptures and exploring the wealth of theological insights from our shared tradition, by opening your churches to be locations of debate and discovery, and by adding your own voices to this crucial national conversation. In a time of anger and despair, the church can and ought to be a place of peace and hope. May God make it so.

Sincerely,

Walter Brueggemann
Charles L. Campbell
Carlos F. Cardoza Orlandi
R. Leon Carroll
Erskine Clarke
Charles B. Cousar
Ronald Hecker Cram
Dent C. Davis
Richard S. Dietrich
Mark Douglas
Margit Ernst
Anna Carter Florence
David Forney
Shirley Guthrie
William Harkins
E. Elizabeth Johnson
Julie A. Johnson
C. Benton Kline, Jr.
Emmanuel Y. Lartey
Sharon L. Mook
Kathleen O'Connor
Marcia Y. Riggs
Stanley P. Saunders
Haruko Nawata Ward
Jim Watkins
Brian A. Wren
Christine Roy Yoder

Andy Acton
Ben Acton
Ann Clay Adams
Dedera Nesmith Baker
Jonathan Ball
Jean E. Beedoe
Cindy Benz
Shelaine Bird
Manikka L. Bowman
William Scott Calkins
Betsy Cameron
Dana Campbell
Bert K. Carmichael
Ernestine Cole
Michael Copeland
Shelia A. Council
Sue. W. Crannell
Jacquelyn Cumberlander
MaryAnn McKibben Dana
Robin S. Dietrich
Eric R. Dillenbeck
Michael Ducheneau
Karen R. Dukes
Shannon Edgerton
Kally Elliot
Sarah F. Erickson
Betsy Taylor Flory
Liz Barrington Forney
Clay Fouse
Alice Schaap Freeman
John Gicheru
Jane Gleim
Mark Gray
Larry M. Griffin
Phil Hagen
J. Kirkland Hall
Davis Hankins
Mary Alice Haynie
Stuart C. Higginbotham
Gillian M. Houghton
E. Cader Howard, Jr.
David Hyers
Andy James
Julie Jensen
James Joyner
Bettina Kilburn
Michael D. Kirby
Kendal Land
Jonathan P. Larson
Griselda Lartey
Shelli Latham
Kim LeVert
Sandra McDonald
Kari McFarland
Kate McGregor Mosley
Andy Meyers
Karen Miller
Joseph G. Moore
Marcia Moore
Linda C. Morningstar
Laurel Nelson
Dorothy Nevill
Mary E. Newberg
Shannon O'Leary
Elizabeth Parker
Pen Peery
Teri C. Peterson
Katie B. Preston
Clayton Rascoe
Tyesha Rice
Kathryn E. Richmond
Sue A. Riggle
Mary Martha Riviere
Pat Roper
Linda Sabo
Matt Schlageter
William H. Searight
Jeremy Kyle Segar
Rebekah Shaffer
Kenneth W. Sikes
Susan Smith
Elizabeth Soileau
Don Stephens
Amy D. Summers-Minette
Susan Takis
Laurie Taylor
Jannan Thomas
Clay Thomas
Casey Thompson
Chris Tuttle
Lindsey Wade
Rhonda Weary
Edward R. Wegele
Barry Welch
Wendy Yow

Posted by JoKeR at October 13, 2002 10:42 PM | TrackBack