Posted on 03/02/2003 10:45:38 AM PST by willieroe
In recent months, Americans have been asking each other a vital question:
Should we go to war?
Many of America's church leaders are responding to a different question that seems more to the point:
Should we start a war?
No, say leaders of the United Methodist Church, a denomination whose members include President Bush and Vice President Cheney.
"A preemptive war by the United States against a nation like Iraq goes against the very grain of our understanding of the Gospel, our church's teachings, and our conscience," wrote Sharon Brown Christopher, president of the United Methodist Council of Bishops.
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Should we start a war?
No, say leaders of the Episcopal Church, a denomination whose members include Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Powell.
"We believe a preemptive strike against Iraq, with the overwhelming force such a strike may require to attain an expedient victory, may have many unintended consequences, including unacceptable civilian casualties. Further, in this instance, we do not support a decision to go to war without clear and convincing evidence of the need for us to defend ourselves against an imminent attack," wrote the House of Bishops.
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Should we start a war?
No, say leaders of the Church of God in Christ.
"We do not find any moral justification for a preemptive strike in the absence of an attack, or real threat of an attack, upon the United States. A military strike of this nature puts the United States in the posture of aggressive warfare, not defense, which is precisely the behavior we, and your administration, deplore in the Iraqi regime," the COGIC Board of Bishops wrote to Bush.
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Should we start a war?
No, say leaders of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
"Our bishops' conference continues to question the moral legitimacy of any preemptive, unilateral use of military force to overthrow the government of Iraq. To permit preemptive or preventive uses of military force to overthrow threatening or hostile regimes would create deeply troubling moral and legal precedents. Based on the facts that are known, it is difficult to justify resort to war against Iraq, lacking clear and adequate evidence of an imminent attack of a grave nature or Iraq's involvement in the terrorist attacks of September 11," wrote Bishop Wilton Gregory.
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Should we start a war?
No, say leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Orthodox Church in America, the Christian Church (The Disciples of Christ), the United Church of Christ and the American Baptist Churches in the USA.
No, say leaders of the National Baptist Convention, the Progressive National Baptist Convention and the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
No, say the Quakers, Mennonites, Brethren and Unitarians.
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Should we start a war?
I can't find a single major Christian denomination that says yes.
Contact columnist David Waters at 529-2399 or e-mail waters@gomemphis.com. Faith Matters runs on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Gregory is a man of small worth who owes his postion to his skin color. He's the one who filled the sex-abuse oversight board with politicians, many of whom are Rats such as Robert Bennett; that Californian Congressman who was Clinton's chief of staff; and Anne Burke the judge whom the newly elected Rat governor of Illinois invited to swear him in.
Sorry, but those churches in my area are also preaching anti-war sentiments.
Have them call my southern baptist pastor
I agree with Bishop Gregory. But before you flame me, let me explain.
He is right about the possible criteria for a "just" preemptive strike:
1) the threat of an imminent attack of a serious nature, and/or
2) involvement in past terrorist attacks.
So now the question becomes: Is there evidence that the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq meets either or both of those criteria?
If the answer is yes, then a preemptive, measured strike--with the goal of removing Saddam from power, defeating his forces, and eliminating the threat of his weapons--is indeed justified.
As to threat of imminent attack, an analogy can be made to a deranged, dangerous individual who hates your guts and now has a gun aimed against you and your family. He needn't have already pulled the trigger for you to act in self-defense.
And as to involvement in past terrorist attacks--by "involvement" I mean sponsoring, supporting, or sheltering the terrorists, and by "past attacks" I include not just 9-11 but also the 1993 WTC bombing, the USS Cole, etc.--if Saddam has been involved in past attacks against the United States, then a military strike by us would not really be "preemptive" or a "first" strike, would it?
Furthermore, in carrying out a military action, it is necessary for our government to proceed in a legitimate, orderly way, according to the established authority. Under our Constitution, then, it is incumbent upon the Bush Administration to present the evidence to Congress (this can be done without compromising our intelligence operations) and to receive a formal Declaration of War (not just some previous 9-11 "resolution").
Oh, I happen to be a Lutheran minister (Missouri Synod, the "conservative" Lutherans, in contrast to the extremely liberal ELCA mentioned in the article). The Lutheran Confessions do permit a "just war," as it has historically been defined. As far as the current Iraqi situation, though, I speak only for myself and not for our church body, since we have not taken an official position on it.
Another special prayer time will be held tomorrow between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. at my church. Others are participating, also. No Christian I know really wants war, of course, but there are plenty of us who support the removal of evil from this world; a task that can only be accomplished with God's blessing and assistance. Scripture is clear: we'll never be rid of all of it, but we'll do our part to remove what we can.
You sent your post just as I was sending mine (which see; it follows yours). LCMS bump.
Nowhere in the constitution does it state a specific format for a declaration of war. If the Congress authorizes the President to use force, that is more than adequate.
The US has used military force many dozens of times in its history. In only a very few of those was there a formal declaration of war. Vietnam, Korea and Gulf War I being only the most obvious examples.
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