A Public Testimony on War With Iraq
With Questions, Answers, and an
Invitation to Dialogue and Action
[10-15-02]
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With Questions, Answers, and an Invitation to Dialogue and
Action is a letter signed by members of the CTS community.
It was written by:
Scott Calkins, Rev. Dr. Charles Campbell, Rev.
Dr. Ronald Cram, Rev. Dr. Mark Douglas, Rev. Dr. Cameron
Murchison and Rev. James Watkins
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W. Scott Calkins 10/11/02
|
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,
107 members of the CTS community as of 10/11/2002
Names are on record and available at the Dean of
Faculty of Columbia Theological Seminary (404.377.7784); and will be
released with this letter, when signing of this letter completes.
