By the time you read this, war drums may have been replaced by war cries as troops battle in Iraq against Saddam Hussein. Cries of mourning will arise next as war takes its toll on both sides. Since it’s never too late to pray for peace or to question the worthiness of war, these reflections follow.
Religious bodies left and right have either rejected U.S. plans for war or called for slowdown instead of showdown. No matter the case made by the Bush administration, the 17 United Nations resolutions over 12 years that Iraq has violated, or the changed world climate after 9/11, these groups continue to push peace.
Why? Short answer: It’s in their DNA.
Many think religion is the problem, most wars having been fought for God, or in the name of God. Violence has been an uncomely handmaiden of religion since the dawn of consciousness. Yet, the world has grown to feel the ungodliness of the union.
The Bible begins with creation by the word of God, not with a war among the gods that yielded bloody, earthly offspring. Original peace was disturbed and judged, not defended and justified, by the violence of brother against brother as Cain slew Abel. Jesus told Peter to put away his sword, because those who live by it will die by it. The Prince of Peace died on an upside down sword, and he’s been trying to get the church