Happy Anniversary, Babe.
Sunday 29 May 2011
Saturday 28 May 2011
Prayer to Open the Texas House of Representatives
Posted on 04:37 by Unknown
I was honored to deliver the prayer below, to open the final Saturday of the 82nd Legislative session of the Texas House of Representatives. Below you will find the printed text, and a video version that's been posted to YouTube.
Many thanks to my dear friend, Representative Rafael Anchia, for the invitation, and the opportunity to do this....EF
Opening Prayer: Texas House of Representatives
May 28, 2011
Rev. Eric Folkerth
Northaven United Methodist Church, Dallas, Texas
Holy and Gracious God,
We come before you on this day, on the final weekend of the 82nd legislative session. And as we pause before you in prayer, Holy God, we give you thanks for each of these esteemed members of our state government; for their families, their communities, and for the life-experiences that led them to these honored positions.
We know and understand the personal sacrifice that goes into being a public official...the time away from family....the long hours....the stress of the public spotlight. We give you thanks, O God, that these before us today have answer the call of public service. And we ask you to bless them.
But God, on this Memorial Day, in this chamber we are also keenly aware of even greater servants, those who have died in the service of our country, and their family members who are here this day. We who serve government in other ways come before them in humility. May they always know our deep and abiding gratitude, and may they also know the deep and abiding presence of your love and grace. And may all of us work toward that day when "nation shall not rise up against nation, and neither shall they make war any more."
In great humility, O God, we recall how you call us to be a holy people. You, O God, call governments to be a holy manifestations of your will and desire for the world.
So, O God, remind these leaders of our state that their decisions matter to you, that you care deeply about what they decide here.
God, during their work here, help these servants of the State of Texas to be holy people, and to leave partisan politics at the statehouse door.
But also, O God, help them to make Texas into a holy people. For you call us to account. And we remember that your Parable of the Last Judgment is a judgment upon the nations of the earth.
And so, make Texas into a a holy people.
Make us into a holy people, O God, like the People of Israel, whom God challenged to treat immigrants as if they were native born.
Make us into a holy people, O God, like the Church of St. Paul, who championed care for widows and orphans, the most marginalized people of his day.
Make us into a holy people, O God, as Jesus taught....so that we might care for the sick....for those in prison...for those without clothing and shelter...for "the least of these." And let us be reminded, as Jesus taught, that when we so care for others, we are caring for the face of God in the world.
Make us into a holy people, O God. For we know, when we search the scriptures, that these are the kinds of holiness God calls our government to achieve.
And, God, when this session has finished...when the final bill has been passed, and the last gavel comes down....when these elected servants are back in quiet of their homes, and praying to you in the privacy of their own hearts....accept their prayers of forgiveness for all the ways in which they will have fallen short of your holy vision.
All these things we pray, in your most holy and gracious name.
Amen.
(As always, if you like this post, then "like" this on Facebook by clicking the box below, so others can see too...)
Many thanks to my dear friend, Representative Rafael Anchia, for the invitation, and the opportunity to do this....EF
Opening Prayer: Texas House of Representatives
May 28, 2011
Rev. Eric Folkerth
Northaven United Methodist Church, Dallas, Texas
Holy and Gracious God,
We come before you on this day, on the final weekend of the 82nd legislative session. And as we pause before you in prayer, Holy God, we give you thanks for each of these esteemed members of our state government; for their families, their communities, and for the life-experiences that led them to these honored positions.
We know and understand the personal sacrifice that goes into being a public official...the time away from family....the long hours....the stress of the public spotlight. We give you thanks, O God, that these before us today have answer the call of public service. And we ask you to bless them.
But God, on this Memorial Day, in this chamber we are also keenly aware of even greater servants, those who have died in the service of our country, and their family members who are here this day. We who serve government in other ways come before them in humility. May they always know our deep and abiding gratitude, and may they also know the deep and abiding presence of your love and grace. And may all of us work toward that day when "nation shall not rise up against nation, and neither shall they make war any more."
In great humility, O God, we recall how you call us to be a holy people. You, O God, call governments to be a holy manifestations of your will and desire for the world.
So, O God, remind these leaders of our state that their decisions matter to you, that you care deeply about what they decide here.
God, during their work here, help these servants of the State of Texas to be holy people, and to leave partisan politics at the statehouse door.
But also, O God, help them to make Texas into a holy people. For you call us to account. And we remember that your Parable of the Last Judgment is a judgment upon the nations of the earth.
And so, make Texas into a a holy people.
Make us into a holy people, O God, like the People of Israel, whom God challenged to treat immigrants as if they were native born.
Make us into a holy people, O God, like the Church of St. Paul, who championed care for widows and orphans, the most marginalized people of his day.
Make us into a holy people, O God, as Jesus taught....so that we might care for the sick....for those in prison...for those without clothing and shelter...for "the least of these." And let us be reminded, as Jesus taught, that when we so care for others, we are caring for the face of God in the world.
Make us into a holy people, O God. For we know, when we search the scriptures, that these are the kinds of holiness God calls our government to achieve.
And, God, when this session has finished...when the final bill has been passed, and the last gavel comes down....when these elected servants are back in quiet of their homes, and praying to you in the privacy of their own hearts....accept their prayers of forgiveness for all the ways in which they will have fallen short of your holy vision.
All these things we pray, in your most holy and gracious name.
Amen.
(As always, if you like this post, then "like" this on Facebook by clicking the box below, so others can see too...)
Thursday 19 May 2011
You Say Goodbye, And I Say Hello
Posted on 10:32 by Unknown
As I'm sure most folks have heard, there are fundamentalist Christians who believe the world's going to end this coming Saturday. I'm not gonna post links to these folks and their beliefs, because I don't care to spread this stuff around or give them any more of a stage than they already have.
Sufficed to say, lots of funny stuff's being said/written about it. My fellow damned heathen(1), Dr. Mark Chancey, pointed me toward toward this video this morning:
It's one of those that makes you laugh and wince all at the same time. Because, this kind of instantaneous event is exactly what these fundamentalist Christians believe is about to happen.
Entire books have been written...nay, entire forests have been clearcut...by folks who believe in this stuff. And the whole problem with is that it can all be debunked with one, short scriptural reference from Jesus:
Holding aside for now the idea of exactly what might happen at some theoretical "end of the world"(2) the one thing this verse clearly tells us is that nobody knows when it will be. Nobody. In the case of this verse, not even Jesus.
What that, by definition, means is that anybody who tells you they know the precise time is wrong. Very wrong. Always wrong. Wrong in every historical age and time.
Of all the things that can be refuted about ultra-fundamentalists and their beliefs, this is perhaps the easiest. Jesus himself doesn't knows the time. Only God knows.
So, ask yourself: Do you think these predictors of peril, these prognosticators of pernicion, are smarter than Jesus? Because to believe that it's possible to "know" some exact time and place for the end of the world, you have to also assume that whomever's telling you this is literally more smart than Jesus. And I don't think they are.
The fact of the matter is, people have been predicting the end of the world for eons. People have always published exact dates and times. They've always been wrong. They always will be.
In fact, given what Jesus says here, I believe I can confidently make the opposite claim:
If anybody ever gives you an exact date and time when the world will end, the only thing you know for certain is that it won't end then. By definition.
So, using what I know of the Bible and theology, I can assure everyone with great confidence that the world will not end Saturday. This I know. For the Bible tells me so.
So, have fun Saturday. I don't know what you'll be doing, but I'll probably be screaming my head off, cheering for the Mavs in game three.
-------------------------------------------------
When I was a kid, the spiritual fathers of these current-day folks told us the Soviet Union and America would fight a battle of the last days somewhere in and around modern day Israel. Thirty years later, there is no Soviet Union, and nobody imagines that they (the Soviet Union) are the anti-Christ. Nobody I know of.
Back during the first Gulf War, there were fundamentalists suggesting that Saddam Hussein was the anti-Christ, and that the final war would be fought with him. Well, he's dead now. How's that workin' out for ya?
The same for Osama bin Laden now. Gone. Hitler too. Totally gone.
In fact, you can go back through history and find an enormous number of times when people believed the world would end. Here is one of the more complete lists.
Do not miss the fact that people in all cultures and times have done this, not just contemporary Christian fundamentalists. The website link above points out the alleged discovery of a tablet in ancient Assyria from 2800 BCE:
There are secular versions too. Remember Y2K? Back then, not all who believed the world would descend into panic and chaos were fundamentalist Christians.
When I was a kid, I remember going to the State Fair of Texas, and walking through the "Grand Place" building (right next to Big Tex). There amongst display booths were people hawking kitchen knives, weed whackers, therapeutic whirlpool baths, and just about everything else you can buy on late-night television; and one booth staffed by fundamentalists Christians. Not only did they pass out tracts predicting the end of the world, they also displayed this very oil painting:
It may be hard to see, but it depicts the moment of rapture in downtown Dallas, circa 1970 (My guess). Just like the video jokes, the painting suggests that airline pilots, car and truck drivers, will be magically teleported away from whatever it is they are doing, leaving their planes, trains and automobiles to crash horribly into the unwashed heathens who are left behind.
Lots has changed in downtown Dallas since that painting was first created:
That's about how it looks today. You can't even see some of the tallest buildings from that 1970s painting anymore. Like apocalyptic theories themselves, they've been subsumed by history (and taller buildings) and, thankfully, fade from memory.
All is well
And all will be well on Saturday, May 21st.
And I would totally dismiss this theology, except for one encounter I had back in 1988, when I was intern pastor in Mason, Texas. A lovely older woman in the congregation (maybe in her 80s?) came to see me one day in a genuine panic. She'd been watching some televangelist who'd was predicting end of the world. She'd even sent off for a book the guy had written, titled "88 Reason Why the Rapture Will be in 1988." (I actually just now found it listed at Amazon. Kid you not. It says, shockingly, that the book is out of print. Imagine that!)
She was terrified. She actually seemed to believe the world was about to end (in September of that year). After some time, I was able to convince her it wasn't gonna happen. And, of course, after that second weekend in September came and went, she was much calmer.
But it gave me pause to realize that many, many people --often the elderly and the infirm-- do believe this kind of theology, and are harmed by it. So, yes, I poke fun. But I do so to shine the bright light on something I believe is dangerous.
Jesus doesn't tell us exactly when the world might end. Which means worrying about it, reading books about it, fretting over it for even one second, is completely pointless.
----------------------------------
So, what then? Do we believe there is no ultimate hope for the world?
Far from it.
Every year --in the weeks before Christmas that the Church called "Advent"-- we remember again this promise of a hopeful tomorrow. Instead of a cataclysmic end, filled with misery and horror, the Church remembers the HOPE that Jesus has come once, is present now, and will come at some unknown time in the future. In fact, we say (or sing it) it every time we take communion:
"Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again."
The words of the liturgy call this "the mystery of faith." And I think that's a perfectly lovely way to describe it. It is a mystery. Mystery as to time. Mystery as to circumstance. Mystery as to specifics. It's a mystery to be believed as a faith statement, about God's hope for the world, not as a literal fact about any specific event.
And note that when Jesus does finally talk about some final judgment day, he doesn't describe it literally either, because he understands that nobody can. You can't describe spiritual truths literally without degrading the real meaning. Instead, since he knows that literal truth is impossible, Jesus tells a parable. It's parable where, on that final day, EVERYBODY is surprised. Everybody.
What's first interesting about this "Parable of the Last Judgment" is that what's being judges are nations. Who we are, collectively, not just who are as individuals, is what's judged.
Jesus says that the "Son of Man" will separate sheep and goats. Those who are called "goats" will head to eternal damnation. Those who are called "sheep" will head to eternal bliss. (Remember, if you are shocked by this: it's a parable, not literal truth)
And what's the criteria for this "judgment?" What gets you "in?" What keeps you "out?"
So, it's a very specific list. What gets you "in," Jesus says, is providing:
Food for the hungry
Water for the thirty
Welcome to the stranger
Clothes for the naked
Visits for the sick and prisoners
Then, the exact same scene repeats itself with the so-called "goats."
But here's perhaps the most important point not to miss: EVERYBODY IS SURPRISED.
Everybody.
The goats have no idea how they got to be called "goats." The sheep have no idea why they are sheep. Neither group is conscious of, nor understand, that they have been doing the "right" thing, or the "wrong" thing all along.
“Lord, when was it that we saw you?" ask the sheep.
“Lord, when was it that we saw you...and did not take care of you?" say the goats.
You see, the sheep don't realize they're doing anything special. The goats think they're doing everything they need to do. Everybody, absolutely everybody, is surprised. Anybody who thinks they've got it all figured out --the time, the place, the criteria, for salvation-- is sorely mistaken.
Which seems to indicate that what's most important to God is not following horribly strict doctrines or polity, and perhaps not even going to church regularly (gasp!) or memorizing the Bible (shock!), but how we treat each other, day-to-day.
It's not about being "right" in some literalistic way. It's about being "righteous" in our actions.
...What we do when nobody's looking.
...How we live when we're without conscious thought.
...The stuff we do so often, and so regularly, without thinking about it, that it becomes who we are.
This is the stuff, Jesus says in this parable, that ultimately matters to God. It's the true meaning of the word "faith," and it's far deeper than simply believing, or affirming, certain logical principles.
It's a call to be so fully connected to God's desire for the world that we live a kind of unconscious righteousness, something that becomes so much a part of us that we can't not do it.
So, if and when we achieve such a blessed state? What happens then?
Nobody knows. Everybody ends up surprised. That's the point. So keep working, keep loving, keep living each and every day.
There's a great old t-shirt I love that says: "Jesus is Coming. Look Busy."
I love that.
But not just look busy. BE busy.
Visit the sick, the elderly, the infirm. Mend a fence with a loved one. Show kindness to a total stranger. Pray for an enemy. Love those that nobody else pays any attention to. Know that in doing all this, you are loving and caring for God. You are experiencing the God-kissed part of each and every blessed human person you encounter. You are seeing, touching, loving the face of God.
As sure as we can be about anything God "wants," we can be assured that God wants us to live like this; and to not waste one second worrying about what happens next.
-----------------------------------------------
(1)Or, "Professor of Religions Studies, SMU" depending upon your point of view.
(2)In other words: Whether you believe, or whether you don't believe that there will be some final, cataclysmic end of the world, assume for a moment (for argument's sake) that there WILL be.
(As always, if you like this post, then "like" this on Facebook by clicking the box below, so others can see too...)
Sufficed to say, lots of funny stuff's being said/written about it. My fellow damned heathen(1), Dr. Mark Chancey, pointed me toward toward this video this morning:
It's one of those that makes you laugh and wince all at the same time. Because, this kind of instantaneous event is exactly what these fundamentalist Christians believe is about to happen.
Entire books have been written...nay, entire forests have been clearcut...by folks who believe in this stuff. And the whole problem with is that it can all be debunked with one, short scriptural reference from Jesus:
"But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."
-- Matthew 24:36
Holding aside for now the idea of exactly what might happen at some theoretical "end of the world"(2) the one thing this verse clearly tells us is that nobody knows when it will be. Nobody. In the case of this verse, not even Jesus.
What that, by definition, means is that anybody who tells you they know the precise time is wrong. Very wrong. Always wrong. Wrong in every historical age and time.
Of all the things that can be refuted about ultra-fundamentalists and their beliefs, this is perhaps the easiest. Jesus himself doesn't knows the time. Only God knows.
So, ask yourself: Do you think these predictors of peril, these prognosticators of pernicion, are smarter than Jesus? Because to believe that it's possible to "know" some exact time and place for the end of the world, you have to also assume that whomever's telling you this is literally more smart than Jesus. And I don't think they are.
The fact of the matter is, people have been predicting the end of the world for eons. People have always published exact dates and times. They've always been wrong. They always will be.
In fact, given what Jesus says here, I believe I can confidently make the opposite claim:
If anybody ever gives you an exact date and time when the world will end, the only thing you know for certain is that it won't end then. By definition.
So, using what I know of the Bible and theology, I can assure everyone with great confidence that the world will not end Saturday. This I know. For the Bible tells me so.
So, have fun Saturday. I don't know what you'll be doing, but I'll probably be screaming my head off, cheering for the Mavs in game three.
-------------------------------------------------
When I was a kid, the spiritual fathers of these current-day folks told us the Soviet Union and America would fight a battle of the last days somewhere in and around modern day Israel. Thirty years later, there is no Soviet Union, and nobody imagines that they (the Soviet Union) are the anti-Christ. Nobody I know of.
Back during the first Gulf War, there were fundamentalists suggesting that Saddam Hussein was the anti-Christ, and that the final war would be fought with him. Well, he's dead now. How's that workin' out for ya?
The same for Osama bin Laden now. Gone. Hitler too. Totally gone.
In fact, you can go back through history and find an enormous number of times when people believed the world would end. Here is one of the more complete lists.
Do not miss the fact that people in all cultures and times have done this, not just contemporary Christian fundamentalists. The website link above points out the alleged discovery of a tablet in ancient Assyria from 2800 BCE:
"Our earth is degenerate in these latter days. There are signs that the world is speedily coming to an end. Bribery and corruption are common."
There are secular versions too. Remember Y2K? Back then, not all who believed the world would descend into panic and chaos were fundamentalist Christians.
When I was a kid, I remember going to the State Fair of Texas, and walking through the "Grand Place" building (right next to Big Tex). There amongst display booths were people hawking kitchen knives, weed whackers, therapeutic whirlpool baths, and just about everything else you can buy on late-night television; and one booth staffed by fundamentalists Christians. Not only did they pass out tracts predicting the end of the world, they also displayed this very oil painting:
It may be hard to see, but it depicts the moment of rapture in downtown Dallas, circa 1970 (My guess). Just like the video jokes, the painting suggests that airline pilots, car and truck drivers, will be magically teleported away from whatever it is they are doing, leaving their planes, trains and automobiles to crash horribly into the unwashed heathens who are left behind.
Lots has changed in downtown Dallas since that painting was first created:
That's about how it looks today. You can't even see some of the tallest buildings from that 1970s painting anymore. Like apocalyptic theories themselves, they've been subsumed by history (and taller buildings) and, thankfully, fade from memory.
All is well
And all will be well on Saturday, May 21st.
And I would totally dismiss this theology, except for one encounter I had back in 1988, when I was intern pastor in Mason, Texas. A lovely older woman in the congregation (maybe in her 80s?) came to see me one day in a genuine panic. She'd been watching some televangelist who'd was predicting end of the world. She'd even sent off for a book the guy had written, titled "88 Reason Why the Rapture Will be in 1988." (I actually just now found it listed at Amazon. Kid you not. It says, shockingly, that the book is out of print. Imagine that!)
She was terrified. She actually seemed to believe the world was about to end (in September of that year). After some time, I was able to convince her it wasn't gonna happen. And, of course, after that second weekend in September came and went, she was much calmer.
But it gave me pause to realize that many, many people --often the elderly and the infirm-- do believe this kind of theology, and are harmed by it. So, yes, I poke fun. But I do so to shine the bright light on something I believe is dangerous.
Jesus doesn't tell us exactly when the world might end. Which means worrying about it, reading books about it, fretting over it for even one second, is completely pointless.
----------------------------------
So, what then? Do we believe there is no ultimate hope for the world?
Far from it.
Every year --in the weeks before Christmas that the Church called "Advent"-- we remember again this promise of a hopeful tomorrow. Instead of a cataclysmic end, filled with misery and horror, the Church remembers the HOPE that Jesus has come once, is present now, and will come at some unknown time in the future. In fact, we say (or sing it) it every time we take communion:
"Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again."
The words of the liturgy call this "the mystery of faith." And I think that's a perfectly lovely way to describe it. It is a mystery. Mystery as to time. Mystery as to circumstance. Mystery as to specifics. It's a mystery to be believed as a faith statement, about God's hope for the world, not as a literal fact about any specific event.
And note that when Jesus does finally talk about some final judgment day, he doesn't describe it literally either, because he understands that nobody can. You can't describe spiritual truths literally without degrading the real meaning. Instead, since he knows that literal truth is impossible, Jesus tells a parable. It's parable where, on that final day, EVERYBODY is surprised. Everybody.
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left."
What's first interesting about this "Parable of the Last Judgment" is that what's being judges are nations. Who we are, collectively, not just who are as individuals, is what's judged.
Jesus says that the "Son of Man" will separate sheep and goats. Those who are called "goats" will head to eternal damnation. Those who are called "sheep" will head to eternal bliss. (Remember, if you are shocked by this: it's a parable, not literal truth)
And what's the criteria for this "judgment?" What gets you "in?" What keeps you "out?"
"Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these, you did it to me.”
So, it's a very specific list. What gets you "in," Jesus says, is providing:
Food for the hungry
Water for the thirty
Welcome to the stranger
Clothes for the naked
Visits for the sick and prisoners
Then, the exact same scene repeats itself with the so-called "goats."
"Then they also will answer, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?” Then he will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.”
But here's perhaps the most important point not to miss: EVERYBODY IS SURPRISED.
Everybody.
The goats have no idea how they got to be called "goats." The sheep have no idea why they are sheep. Neither group is conscious of, nor understand, that they have been doing the "right" thing, or the "wrong" thing all along.
“Lord, when was it that we saw you?" ask the sheep.
“Lord, when was it that we saw you...and did not take care of you?" say the goats.
You see, the sheep don't realize they're doing anything special. The goats think they're doing everything they need to do. Everybody, absolutely everybody, is surprised. Anybody who thinks they've got it all figured out --the time, the place, the criteria, for salvation-- is sorely mistaken.
Which seems to indicate that what's most important to God is not following horribly strict doctrines or polity, and perhaps not even going to church regularly (gasp!) or memorizing the Bible (shock!), but how we treat each other, day-to-day.
It's not about being "right" in some literalistic way. It's about being "righteous" in our actions.
...What we do when nobody's looking.
...How we live when we're without conscious thought.
...The stuff we do so often, and so regularly, without thinking about it, that it becomes who we are.
This is the stuff, Jesus says in this parable, that ultimately matters to God. It's the true meaning of the word "faith," and it's far deeper than simply believing, or affirming, certain logical principles.
It's a call to be so fully connected to God's desire for the world that we live a kind of unconscious righteousness, something that becomes so much a part of us that we can't not do it.
So, if and when we achieve such a blessed state? What happens then?
Nobody knows. Everybody ends up surprised. That's the point. So keep working, keep loving, keep living each and every day.
There's a great old t-shirt I love that says: "Jesus is Coming. Look Busy."
I love that.
But not just look busy. BE busy.
Visit the sick, the elderly, the infirm. Mend a fence with a loved one. Show kindness to a total stranger. Pray for an enemy. Love those that nobody else pays any attention to. Know that in doing all this, you are loving and caring for God. You are experiencing the God-kissed part of each and every blessed human person you encounter. You are seeing, touching, loving the face of God.
As sure as we can be about anything God "wants," we can be assured that God wants us to live like this; and to not waste one second worrying about what happens next.
-----------------------------------------------
(1)Or, "Professor of Religions Studies, SMU" depending upon your point of view.
(2)In other words: Whether you believe, or whether you don't believe that there will be some final, cataclysmic end of the world, assume for a moment (for argument's sake) that there WILL be.
(As always, if you like this post, then "like" this on Facebook by clicking the box below, so others can see too...)
Sunday 15 May 2011
Spiritual Reflection on the Killing of Osama bin Laden
Posted on 14:34 by Unknown
(Note: You can find an audio version of these thoughts, delivered as Sunday's sermon, here, as a podcast available on iTunes....EF)
How do we put the killing of Osama bin Laden in some spiritual and moral perspective? More than a week later it continues to reverberate inside many of us, pushing deep, moral questions to the front of our psyche, forcing us to look at who we are as a nation, and what we believe and value as individuals.
Over and over, I have heard people say: "There's no many conflicting emotions that get brought up with his death."
Well, of course there are!
As a minister and theologian, it seems to me the deepest questions we must ask and answer don't have to do with who Osama bin Laden was, but rather who we are, what we value, and what values to we stand for.
His death also forces us to reexamine an important question for us as people of faith: Are we, in all cases, "strict pacifists?" Or can we conceive of a situation where military force is an acceptable option? Do we believe there is such thing as a "just war," or is war, always, by definition, unjust?
These are big issues, and our faith calls us to unpack them.
In the days immediately following bin Laden's death I heard the following juxtaposition of opposite thoughts:
People said "Justice has been done."
People said "This was pure vengeance."
While I can understand both positions ---how somebody could claim this was pure justice, and others could say this is was only vengeance-- I find myself strangely unable to affirm either in an unambiguous way.
Was this Justice?
I appreciated the President's speech the night of the raid that killed bin Laden. But the one line that caused me to cringe was when the President confidently asserted "Justice has been done."
What I thought was, "Well, closure, has been brought."
But, to me, I cannot say it was the highest form of justice. As a Christian minister, I think we must speak to this. There is often a difference between what is politically and practically possible on the ground, in a combat situation, and what would be morally superior in a so-called "perfect world." This situation is akin to a murder suspect being shot while being taken into custody. Yes, it's closure. But, no, we can never say this is the highest form of justice.
To me, in a "perfect world," Osama bin Laden would have been captured and put on trial for his alleged crimes against humanity. I have been told, repeatedly, that this naive. And I am willing to admit it may well be.
I am willing to note very clear that I wasn't there on the ground, that this was a ten-year search, that the entire mission (as conceived) was exceedingly dangerous, and that there may have been many other good reason why he could not have been captured.
I am willing to cede all that.
But as a Christian minister, I am still obligated to point out that the highest "good" would have been a trial according to the rule of law.
What better message to send our world than the fact that we believe in a rule of law?
That we respect a rule of law?
That we admit that military might is not our highest value, but the constitution and rule of law is?
That, ultimately, we confess violence is only ever partially able to mete the justice the world most desperately needs?
I'll note here that this week the news breaks of the conviction of an alleged Nazi war criminal in Germany. The man lived in the US for years after the war. It took years for him to be brought to justice, but he was. I don't know any of the facts of his case. Just that he was tried and convicted. And I know that this shows that a rule of law....the judicial system....CAN mete out justice...and should. It was good enough for Timothy McVeigh, for this alleged Nazi, it would have been good enough for in Laden.
I can hear people say: "But he didn't deserve a trial. He didn't deserve that respect."
And at this, I will point out what I think we often overlook, when we have this specific debate:
Ultimately, it's not about what bin Laden does or doesn't deserve. It's about who we are, what we value, what values we want to lift up to the rest of the world.
We had that opportunity before us, at least theoretically, and for a myriad reasons we were not able to avail ourselves of it. As I've said, I can't second-guess those who were on the ground and working out this situation. And I do not want to minimize one iota of the danger and risk that was present.
But the highest good would have been a trial, and it's my job to point to that truth.
Was It Vengeance?
The other thing I have heard others says in recent days is that this act on our part was pure vengeance. And, again, while I can understand the emotion, I do not agree with this either.
To say this was pure vengeance assumes that there was no initial wrong to be made right. But there was. To say it is pure vengeance ignores the other options that were considered and rejected. I was pleased, for example, that the President over-ruled military leaders who simply wanted to "carpet bomb" the compound. We have seen, over and over these past ten years, that this strategy almost never works.
I was pleased to hear a team of personnel was ready to receive Osama in Laden, should he have been captured...interpreters....interviewers....other professionals, ready to process him on the ship. This also mitigates against the idea that this act was pure vengeance.
To my mind, where people began to associate this action with vengeance came when we saw the "celebrations" afterwards. Many people were horrified to see huge crowd outside the White House, Ground Zero, and elsewhere, seemingly reveling in bin Laden's death.
Then, something really interesting happened. In the days that followed, a mysterious quote began flying around the internet. Many people, including me, posted this quote, attributed to Dr, Martin Luther King Jr. Here's what it said:
That quote, as I said, was posted by millions of people in the days following the death of bin Laden.
The only problem was, Dr. King didn't say all that. He said some of it, just not all of it. The first sentence, it turns out, was posted by a young Penn State graduate named Jessica Dovey, who currently lives in Japan. Her original first sentence reads:
"I will mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy."
Got somehow attached to the real words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, which are:
"Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."
But what's interesting to me about this is not that it was "fake," or "real," or "half-fake, but that clearly spoke to a very real feeling millions of people had:
"I will mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy."
I think many, many people felt that way as they watched the celebrations....whether it was justice...whether it was closure...whether it was vengeance...celebration at the death of another struck many as a very disturbing development.
But even if Dr. King didn't say all of it, long ago the scriptures did. Much thanks to theologian and historian Dr. Diana Butler Bass who reminded us of Proverbs 24:
Even if that quote was not real, that emotional reaction against gloating was very real. Another verse from Ezekiel points to this too:
God does not revel in the deaths of anyone. God does not find joy in murder. Or suicide bombers. Or even armed conflict.
As the true part of the quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. puts it:
I have said for years that violence begets violence. And I still believe that to be true. But one of the things that September 11th did for me was to help me understand that I am not a strict pacifist. It seems to me that World War II did this for many Christians in a previous generation.
I happen to believe that there can be such a thing as a so-called "just war," and I realize that this view will put me at odds with some of you who are strict pacifists. It seems to me the experience of World War II showed us that sometimes nations can develop evil intentions, and sometimes only a collective response will do.
I've had a very interesting occasional conversation with a member here at Northaven over the past several years, who argues that the principles of non-violence only seem to work in a situation where there is a respect for the rule of law. Non-violence worked here in the US in the 60s, because the mass of the people, the laws of the state, and the leadership of the nation all collectively agreed to support a change to the rule of law, not throw out of the rule of law.
Perhaps we are seeing the same thing in Egypt right now? Leaders who, again, respect their people and respect their laws enough to not allow the situation to descend into violence, and to agree to social change through non-violent means. Unfortunately, it's not happening now in Libya, where more dictatorial leader is fighting back..and the situation is descending into civil war.
In other words, the principles of non-violence do seem to require certain pre-existing assumptions: that leaders will cede power, willingly, and use power sparingly, and agree, even if begrudgingly, to the demands of the people.
How Justice and Vengeance Got Jumbled Up
So, it has always seemed to me you can make a very good case that the search for Osama bin Laden and the masterminds of September 11th, was a just cause.
The problem is, of course, all of this got wrapped up with the War in Iraq. And it's now forever wrapped up in our various emotions and memories of the past ten years. We were told, for so long, that the two were connected that even those who never believed they were now have a hard time unwrapping everything. The past ten years all jumbles together in our memory, as we unpack these things.
Many of us believed, from the beginning, that War In Iraq had no moral underpinning. Saddam Hussein was a dictator, using fear and intimidation to control his people, and one of those methods was allowing the world to believe he might have weapons of mass destruction. He played poker (a game of chicken) with the world over this "might have." (This has now been fairly well established; namely how he played this game of poker for his own internal political reasons. I blogged about it here back in 2008)
With only that weak "might have WMD" as moral justification, we entered into a full scale war that has led to the deaths of thousands of Americans and tens of thousands of Iraqis. The Iraq War, it seems to me, was a text-book case of how NOT to engage a so-called "Just War." It has been ten-years of a war that cause many of us nothing but deep and abiding tears.
As such, I have a final theory about the "celebrations" that horrified so many after bin Laden's death. (This my theory. It is a theological and social theory of my own imagining, as I search my own feelings about this situation...)
I believe that:
a) If you can strip away the horror of the War in Iraq, many Americans, and many Christians, believe there was, theologically, a justification to seek justice against Osama bin Laden, but that
b) Many Americans, in the privacy of their own hearts, are profoundly disturbed by the War in Iraq. Whether many people even know how to express it fully, they sense that that war was unjust. They feel, frankly, morally "dirty" about it.
We hear this almost endlessly from soldiers coming back from Iraq...soldiers who are left to struggle about what they were called to do there, and what greater purpose it served. To this day, people weep bitter tears over the actions of our nation in Iraq.
Still others, I believe, would never weep tears, but are deeply conflicted about the War in Iraq, in ways that come out as anger. They are conflicted between what they believe is a duty to support the troops and what they feel, internally, is an unjust cause. For some people, this dissonance cannot consciously overcome in their mind. (I happen to believe you can support the troops, while still naming the war in unjust. But I realize many people have hard time with that, and become angry even thinking about it)
So, after ten years...after the horrors of Abu Garib, carpet bombings, beheadings and mass executions...after ten years of no WMDs being found in Iraq...after all that....finally, "closure" in the situation that many people believed was a true cause of justice: the hunt for Osama bin Laden.
My theory is that some of the celebration was from young people who were overjoyed at finally not having to feel completely dirty about the actions of their government. For once, they believed we were following a "just case."
Again, that's my theory. Some of you who are more pacifist than me may feel "dirty" because of this action. I understand that. Other may not carry any sense of this at all, and find this analysis bizarre and off base. I get that too. It's my theory.
I do believe that immediate moral question arise about the War in Afghanistan. Given that we didn't find Osama bin Laden there, given that this was the primary reason for that war, it should most certainly come to quick end.
The Quick Bottom Line:
I find that I am not a pacifist in all cases. But I also find that I cannot support the use of force in as many cases as my nation and our leaders might wish. This was neither the purest form of justice nor pure vengeance either. Like many moral decisions, it's more challenging and nuanced.
To me, the story of the Exodus in instructive. Pharoah, for whatever reason, is portrayed as a leader with a hard heart who will not give the people justice. After trying every other avenue available to them, the people finally flee across the Red Sea, Pharoah's Army is completely engulfed. It's a scene of horrible violence, for a supposedly just end.
But there is a story that comes to us from the Mishnah, the ancient teachings of the Rabbis. As Pharoah's Army is covered up with the sea, the people start to rejoice and sing. Some traditions say, the angels even start to break out their heavenly instruments.
But God rebukes them all, saying "Do you not see that my children are perishing?"
It's a cautionary moment for us all. It challenges us to remember that God will not glory or invite us to gloat over the deaths of anyone. Vengeance is not ours. Nor will God allow us to claim that we own justice, and that the "closure" of this situation means all is well. This hasn't brought a total end to all terrorism, and perhaps there will even be more violence that to come from this violence. That is possible.
One of the scripture readings for the morning was Psalm 23, one of the most famous of all the Psalms:
"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want..."
It's a pastoral psalm we teach to children. We revel in its discussion of "still waters," and "green grass."
But the truth is, shepherding is dirty grungy work. It's hard to keep the sheep going in one direction. And, the psalm itself hints at conflict: the fact that there are enemies to sit down with at table.
My seminary professor, Dick Murray, used to meditate with us on the meaning of a shepherd's crook. He reminded us that it has two ends. One is crooked, and is used to gently lift the errant sheep and put it back on the path. The other, long straight end, is used to whack them on the butt, to help put get back into line.
Perhaps this is what God wants of all God's children. For us to find a way to peace, where we are all on the same path of respecting each other in love.
To that end, we should continue to pray for our troops, pray for the ones lost on September 11th, pray for our enemies, pray for Osama bin Laden, pray for all those on all sides of these conflict. For all of us are sheep that God would have following in the direction of peace, in this very imperfect world where we live.
Finally, no real justice, no real social change, ever happens quickly. Rienhold Niebuhr was a theologian of another generation whose brand of "Christian realism" deserves our attention in the midst of our challenging time. (He's best known for penning the prayer known as "The Serenity Prayer" of Alcoholics Anonymous)
Niebuhr was neither a strict pacifist, nor a strict believe in "just war theory." But he did believe that World War II clearly proved the case that standing against who with evil intentions was sometimes necessary.
One of the facets of his realism is that real change, real hope, real justice can take a long time. Dr. King, or course, agree with this too, when he reminded us that the "arc of history is long, but bends toward justice."
In fact, Niebuhr said a very similar thing once, and it's a powerful reminder as we meditate on the ongoing state of our world:
How do we put the killing of Osama bin Laden in some spiritual and moral perspective? More than a week later it continues to reverberate inside many of us, pushing deep, moral questions to the front of our psyche, forcing us to look at who we are as a nation, and what we believe and value as individuals.
Over and over, I have heard people say: "There's no many conflicting emotions that get brought up with his death."
Well, of course there are!
As a minister and theologian, it seems to me the deepest questions we must ask and answer don't have to do with who Osama bin Laden was, but rather who we are, what we value, and what values to we stand for.
His death also forces us to reexamine an important question for us as people of faith: Are we, in all cases, "strict pacifists?" Or can we conceive of a situation where military force is an acceptable option? Do we believe there is such thing as a "just war," or is war, always, by definition, unjust?
These are big issues, and our faith calls us to unpack them.
In the days immediately following bin Laden's death I heard the following juxtaposition of opposite thoughts:
People said "Justice has been done."
People said "This was pure vengeance."
While I can understand both positions ---how somebody could claim this was pure justice, and others could say this is was only vengeance-- I find myself strangely unable to affirm either in an unambiguous way.
Was this Justice?
I appreciated the President's speech the night of the raid that killed bin Laden. But the one line that caused me to cringe was when the President confidently asserted "Justice has been done."
What I thought was, "Well, closure, has been brought."
But, to me, I cannot say it was the highest form of justice. As a Christian minister, I think we must speak to this. There is often a difference between what is politically and practically possible on the ground, in a combat situation, and what would be morally superior in a so-called "perfect world." This situation is akin to a murder suspect being shot while being taken into custody. Yes, it's closure. But, no, we can never say this is the highest form of justice.
To me, in a "perfect world," Osama bin Laden would have been captured and put on trial for his alleged crimes against humanity. I have been told, repeatedly, that this naive. And I am willing to admit it may well be.
I am willing to note very clear that I wasn't there on the ground, that this was a ten-year search, that the entire mission (as conceived) was exceedingly dangerous, and that there may have been many other good reason why he could not have been captured.
I am willing to cede all that.
But as a Christian minister, I am still obligated to point out that the highest "good" would have been a trial according to the rule of law.
What better message to send our world than the fact that we believe in a rule of law?
That we respect a rule of law?
That we admit that military might is not our highest value, but the constitution and rule of law is?
That, ultimately, we confess violence is only ever partially able to mete the justice the world most desperately needs?
I'll note here that this week the news breaks of the conviction of an alleged Nazi war criminal in Germany. The man lived in the US for years after the war. It took years for him to be brought to justice, but he was. I don't know any of the facts of his case. Just that he was tried and convicted. And I know that this shows that a rule of law....the judicial system....CAN mete out justice...and should. It was good enough for Timothy McVeigh, for this alleged Nazi, it would have been good enough for in Laden.
I can hear people say: "But he didn't deserve a trial. He didn't deserve that respect."
And at this, I will point out what I think we often overlook, when we have this specific debate:
Ultimately, it's not about what bin Laden does or doesn't deserve. It's about who we are, what we value, what values we want to lift up to the rest of the world.
We had that opportunity before us, at least theoretically, and for a myriad reasons we were not able to avail ourselves of it. As I've said, I can't second-guess those who were on the ground and working out this situation. And I do not want to minimize one iota of the danger and risk that was present.
But the highest good would have been a trial, and it's my job to point to that truth.
Was It Vengeance?
The other thing I have heard others says in recent days is that this act on our part was pure vengeance. And, again, while I can understand the emotion, I do not agree with this either.
To say this was pure vengeance assumes that there was no initial wrong to be made right. But there was. To say it is pure vengeance ignores the other options that were considered and rejected. I was pleased, for example, that the President over-ruled military leaders who simply wanted to "carpet bomb" the compound. We have seen, over and over these past ten years, that this strategy almost never works.
I was pleased to hear a team of personnel was ready to receive Osama in Laden, should he have been captured...interpreters....interviewers....other professionals, ready to process him on the ship. This also mitigates against the idea that this act was pure vengeance.
To my mind, where people began to associate this action with vengeance came when we saw the "celebrations" afterwards. Many people were horrified to see huge crowd outside the White House, Ground Zero, and elsewhere, seemingly reveling in bin Laden's death.
Then, something really interesting happened. In the days that followed, a mysterious quote began flying around the internet. Many people, including me, posted this quote, attributed to Dr, Martin Luther King Jr. Here's what it said:
"I will mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."
That quote, as I said, was posted by millions of people in the days following the death of bin Laden.
The only problem was, Dr. King didn't say all that. He said some of it, just not all of it. The first sentence, it turns out, was posted by a young Penn State graduate named Jessica Dovey, who currently lives in Japan. Her original first sentence reads:
"I will mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy."
Got somehow attached to the real words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, which are:
"Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."
But what's interesting to me about this is not that it was "fake," or "real," or "half-fake, but that clearly spoke to a very real feeling millions of people had:
"I will mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy."
I think many, many people felt that way as they watched the celebrations....whether it was justice...whether it was closure...whether it was vengeance...celebration at the death of another struck many as a very disturbing development.
But even if Dr. King didn't say all of it, long ago the scriptures did. Much thanks to theologian and historian Dr. Diana Butler Bass who reminded us of Proverbs 24:
"Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles, or the Lord will see it and be displeased."Other translations say: "Do not GLOAT when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles"
Even if that quote was not real, that emotional reaction against gloating was very real. Another verse from Ezekiel points to this too:
"Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?"
God does not revel in the deaths of anyone. God does not find joy in murder. Or suicide bombers. Or even armed conflict.
As the true part of the quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. puts it:
"Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."
I have said for years that violence begets violence. And I still believe that to be true. But one of the things that September 11th did for me was to help me understand that I am not a strict pacifist. It seems to me that World War II did this for many Christians in a previous generation.
I happen to believe that there can be such a thing as a so-called "just war," and I realize that this view will put me at odds with some of you who are strict pacifists. It seems to me the experience of World War II showed us that sometimes nations can develop evil intentions, and sometimes only a collective response will do.
I've had a very interesting occasional conversation with a member here at Northaven over the past several years, who argues that the principles of non-violence only seem to work in a situation where there is a respect for the rule of law. Non-violence worked here in the US in the 60s, because the mass of the people, the laws of the state, and the leadership of the nation all collectively agreed to support a change to the rule of law, not throw out of the rule of law.
Perhaps we are seeing the same thing in Egypt right now? Leaders who, again, respect their people and respect their laws enough to not allow the situation to descend into violence, and to agree to social change through non-violent means. Unfortunately, it's not happening now in Libya, where more dictatorial leader is fighting back..and the situation is descending into civil war.
In other words, the principles of non-violence do seem to require certain pre-existing assumptions: that leaders will cede power, willingly, and use power sparingly, and agree, even if begrudgingly, to the demands of the people.
How Justice and Vengeance Got Jumbled Up
So, it has always seemed to me you can make a very good case that the search for Osama bin Laden and the masterminds of September 11th, was a just cause.
The problem is, of course, all of this got wrapped up with the War in Iraq. And it's now forever wrapped up in our various emotions and memories of the past ten years. We were told, for so long, that the two were connected that even those who never believed they were now have a hard time unwrapping everything. The past ten years all jumbles together in our memory, as we unpack these things.
Many of us believed, from the beginning, that War In Iraq had no moral underpinning. Saddam Hussein was a dictator, using fear and intimidation to control his people, and one of those methods was allowing the world to believe he might have weapons of mass destruction. He played poker (a game of chicken) with the world over this "might have." (This has now been fairly well established; namely how he played this game of poker for his own internal political reasons. I blogged about it here back in 2008)
With only that weak "might have WMD" as moral justification, we entered into a full scale war that has led to the deaths of thousands of Americans and tens of thousands of Iraqis. The Iraq War, it seems to me, was a text-book case of how NOT to engage a so-called "Just War." It has been ten-years of a war that cause many of us nothing but deep and abiding tears.
As such, I have a final theory about the "celebrations" that horrified so many after bin Laden's death. (This my theory. It is a theological and social theory of my own imagining, as I search my own feelings about this situation...)
I believe that:
a) If you can strip away the horror of the War in Iraq, many Americans, and many Christians, believe there was, theologically, a justification to seek justice against Osama bin Laden, but that
b) Many Americans, in the privacy of their own hearts, are profoundly disturbed by the War in Iraq. Whether many people even know how to express it fully, they sense that that war was unjust. They feel, frankly, morally "dirty" about it.
We hear this almost endlessly from soldiers coming back from Iraq...soldiers who are left to struggle about what they were called to do there, and what greater purpose it served. To this day, people weep bitter tears over the actions of our nation in Iraq.
Still others, I believe, would never weep tears, but are deeply conflicted about the War in Iraq, in ways that come out as anger. They are conflicted between what they believe is a duty to support the troops and what they feel, internally, is an unjust cause. For some people, this dissonance cannot consciously overcome in their mind. (I happen to believe you can support the troops, while still naming the war in unjust. But I realize many people have hard time with that, and become angry even thinking about it)
So, after ten years...after the horrors of Abu Garib, carpet bombings, beheadings and mass executions...after ten years of no WMDs being found in Iraq...after all that....finally, "closure" in the situation that many people believed was a true cause of justice: the hunt for Osama bin Laden.
My theory is that some of the celebration was from young people who were overjoyed at finally not having to feel completely dirty about the actions of their government. For once, they believed we were following a "just case."
Again, that's my theory. Some of you who are more pacifist than me may feel "dirty" because of this action. I understand that. Other may not carry any sense of this at all, and find this analysis bizarre and off base. I get that too. It's my theory.
I do believe that immediate moral question arise about the War in Afghanistan. Given that we didn't find Osama bin Laden there, given that this was the primary reason for that war, it should most certainly come to quick end.
The Quick Bottom Line:
I find that I am not a pacifist in all cases. But I also find that I cannot support the use of force in as many cases as my nation and our leaders might wish. This was neither the purest form of justice nor pure vengeance either. Like many moral decisions, it's more challenging and nuanced.
To me, the story of the Exodus in instructive. Pharoah, for whatever reason, is portrayed as a leader with a hard heart who will not give the people justice. After trying every other avenue available to them, the people finally flee across the Red Sea, Pharoah's Army is completely engulfed. It's a scene of horrible violence, for a supposedly just end.
But there is a story that comes to us from the Mishnah, the ancient teachings of the Rabbis. As Pharoah's Army is covered up with the sea, the people start to rejoice and sing. Some traditions say, the angels even start to break out their heavenly instruments.
But God rebukes them all, saying "Do you not see that my children are perishing?"
It's a cautionary moment for us all. It challenges us to remember that God will not glory or invite us to gloat over the deaths of anyone. Vengeance is not ours. Nor will God allow us to claim that we own justice, and that the "closure" of this situation means all is well. This hasn't brought a total end to all terrorism, and perhaps there will even be more violence that to come from this violence. That is possible.
One of the scripture readings for the morning was Psalm 23, one of the most famous of all the Psalms:
"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want..."
It's a pastoral psalm we teach to children. We revel in its discussion of "still waters," and "green grass."
But the truth is, shepherding is dirty grungy work. It's hard to keep the sheep going in one direction. And, the psalm itself hints at conflict: the fact that there are enemies to sit down with at table.
My seminary professor, Dick Murray, used to meditate with us on the meaning of a shepherd's crook. He reminded us that it has two ends. One is crooked, and is used to gently lift the errant sheep and put it back on the path. The other, long straight end, is used to whack them on the butt, to help put get back into line.
Perhaps this is what God wants of all God's children. For us to find a way to peace, where we are all on the same path of respecting each other in love.
To that end, we should continue to pray for our troops, pray for the ones lost on September 11th, pray for our enemies, pray for Osama bin Laden, pray for all those on all sides of these conflict. For all of us are sheep that God would have following in the direction of peace, in this very imperfect world where we live.
Finally, no real justice, no real social change, ever happens quickly. Rienhold Niebuhr was a theologian of another generation whose brand of "Christian realism" deserves our attention in the midst of our challenging time. (He's best known for penning the prayer known as "The Serenity Prayer" of Alcoholics Anonymous)
Niebuhr was neither a strict pacifist, nor a strict believe in "just war theory." But he did believe that World War II clearly proved the case that standing against who with evil intentions was sometimes necessary.
One of the facets of his realism is that real change, real hope, real justice can take a long time. Dr. King, or course, agree with this too, when he reminded us that the "arc of history is long, but bends toward justice."
In fact, Niebuhr said a very similar thing once, and it's a powerful reminder as we meditate on the ongoing state of our world:
"Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in a lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone. Therefore we are saved by love."
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