Replies

Here's President Dunnam's statement on the war...
PRESIDENT DUNNAM'S CHAPEL ADDRESS, MARCH 20, 2003

We all come to worship today with heavy hearts. The war rages. Men and women are losing their lives. The toughest part has just begun and the end is not in sight.

Through the ages, like many other issues, Christians have differed in their response to war - and the debate goes on. The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction combined with religious and ideological conflict in the world make the issue of war more ominous than ever before in history.

Sometimes I wish I were a pacifist - and sometimes I wish I had a brilliant philosophical mind to accept and even spin a just war theory for times like these. But neither is the case - and maybe that's good - for both pacifism and just-war theories are ideology. Jesus is not interested in ideologies, especially as they keep His people from trusting completely in Him.

God understands and accepts our feeble, stumbling limitations in seeking His will. What He desires is our trust and dependence in His love and on His power.

We will continue to call the community to prayer - particularly to prayer and fasting the noon meal each Thursday. As you know, there have already been specific times of dialogue - as students express interest, we will hold additional ones. Hopefully all interested people in the community might participate.

My plea to the community is twofold. First, pray. We're hopeless in this situation - but God is sovereign. He has used occasions like this in the past to demonstrate His love and power. Let's stay on our knees. If we have not already done so, we're going to put on the tables in the dining commons a small candle - we hope that at the beginning of each meal people seated around a particular table will light the candle and pray together for an end to war, and the return of troops, and the end of oppression.

Two, exercise love, patience and acceptance of one another as you dialogue about the issue. Christians can differ in the Spirit of Jesus. We've all experienced that. I had great differences with people in my congregation during the civil rights movement of the early '60s in Mississippi. Some of you know the story that one of the men in that congregation - who years ago could not understand my position on that issue - has established a Chair of Prayer and Spiritual Formation here at the seminary, thirty-five years later. He was a Christian and I was a Christian - though we differed on a crucial issue.

Christians can differ in the Spirit of Jesus. No matter how strongly we feel about the present issue - either way - we don't have to be angry, accusative, bitter, and blaming. We are a Kingdom community. How we deal with issues like this says something about our Christian faith - but please don't allow yourself to believe that a person's position on this war is a measure of his or her patriotism. We are an international community, we're a part of a lot of different nations and most of us - perhaps all of us - love and want to serve our nation. But we need to remember that God is sovereign over all nations and we pray for His Kingdom to come and His will to be done in all circumstances.

AN OFFICIAL STATEMENT ON THE WAR IN IRAQ

March 25, 2003

We live in troubled and very complex days. At Asbury we want to make a thoughtful and sensitive response to the ongoing war. In our search for appropriate symbols, discernment tells us flags are not the most fitting way of representing the response of our campus community to the conflict in Iraq. A further confirmation of this decision was the order coming from the President of the United States, the Commander in Chief of the United States military, to lower the flag raised by Marines over Umm Qasr as a sign of respect for the Iraqi people. This war, according to those who lead the fighting, is not about nationalistic conquest but the liberation of a people under oppression.

The people who make up the seminary community hold many different interests and positions as relates to the present war. Most notably among us are numerous families who suffer as their loved ones: sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, and mothers and fathers fight on this battle field. This is not to mention the close friendships many of us have with military personnel fighting in the war. Also notably among us are persons who are of Iraqi descent, who have loved ones living in Baghdad and also fighting in their military. Ranging from war protestors to peace demonstrators to confused observers, our population here reflects the differences found in the larger society and world. As a seminary, we honor the differences of opinion held by many among us. Our highest calling as the people of God is to love one another despite and through our differences, giving witness to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. This happens as we seek to live together under the primary sign of our identity: the cross. At the end of the day, Gods people do not wave flags as the sign of conquest. We bear crosses as the sign of reconciliation.

Asbury Theological Seminary is an International community and we seek to be a Kingdom minded community. Citizen or not, we do live in the United States of America, hence the American flag appropriately flys on the flagpole on the quad as it has in all days past. Physically speaking, it is the highest symbol on our campus. We support American and Allied troops and their families. While we do not lend support to the leadership and armies of Iraq, we do stand in solidarity with the oppressed Iraqi people and we pray for a minimization of the loss of life among these people.

Concerning the war, we have elected to choose symbols that signify our hope for Peace and our role as Peace-Makers in the midst of war. The American flag will continue to fly above our campus as a sign of our humble gratitude to God to dwell in this free land. The rest of the flags from the nations of the world represented at Asbury will continue to stand together as originally intended, signifying the movement of Gods Kingdom in the World. For those among us who have loved ones in harms way, we invite you to record their names in the open journal in the front of Estes Chapel. In this way we can all intercede in a personal way. We have faithfully made intercession concerning this conflict in virtually every chapel service so far this year. Most recently we have declared the noon hours on Tuesday and Thursday as open times for prayer and fasting in Estes Chapel. This will continue. We implore your participation in these communal acts of response to God.

In the Dining Commons, a small candle sits on each table surrounded by razor-wire and a yellow ribbon. At the beginning of each meal, please light the candle and pray together for an end to war, the saving of all human life, the safe return of troops, and the end of human oppression.