"Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God." (Matthew 5:9NIV)
"Father, why must wars be fought?" (line from "March to the witches castle" by The Funkadelic)
The question in the prayer of the song "march to the witches castle" by The Funkadelic was addressing the ending of the war in Vietnam and soldiers returning home from one hell and stepping into the nightmare of readjustment. All of this because of war.
And as we approach the 8th anniversary of 9/11/01 and the subsequent war that was launched through a pre-emptive strike on Iraq, the same question is just as valid; "Why must wars be fought?" The original question by The Funkadelic was addressed in a prayer to God but I also want to ask each of us, "Why MUST wars be fought?"
I focus on the word "MUST" because there are those who think that we have to bomb people; we have to send drone planes to KILL people we believe are apart of the Taliban or other so-called "terrorist" sympathizers. America is engaged in two wars that don't seem to have an end in sight. How do you defeat a notion? How do you destroy a thought? How does killing bring peace? How can you occupy another person's country and expect sympathy and cooperation? How do you justify unlimited funding of the war effort but extremely limited funding of social programs to lift up those stuck at the bottom of your free society?
What justifies two wars and one that has proven to have dubious reasons as to why it was started in the first place? Why is Killing so acceptable to a so-called Christian nation? If Jesus said "Blessed are the peacemakers..." then what rational do you use for sitting silent as our country fights two wars against a small segment of a country yet disrupting the whole in the process?
Does any Christian have an answer they can take to God and tell me as to Why MUST wars be fought?
Monday, August 31, 2009
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Musing about Misery and Magnificence
Isaiah 11:6 says "The wolf will live with the lamb, the Leopard with lie down with the goat, the calf, and the lion and the yearling together; AND A Little CHILD will lead them."
We hosted a powerful, gut wrenching presentation by Brothers known as the "Lost Boys of The Sudan." Their story is nothing short of epic. As I have been reflecting on that night they spoke to my congregation a question to Peter Magai Bul and his response haunts me. He was asked "How did 9, 10, and 11 year olds develop such leadership skills in the face of the incredible odds they faced?" The questioner was referring to the fact that these boys were driven from their Dinka Village of the Sudan because of illegal, unjust war and they walked over two years first to Ethiopia and ultimately to Kenya all while fending off attacks from Northern Arab (& Africans turned against their own children) Muslim militias armed by Arab states and American support to annihilate these children. Peter told how they feared walking at night because wild animals would attack and by day the human animals were prowling. Peter said he and others (9, 10, &11 year olds) took leadership and broke the thousands of boys(at least 38,000 at start) up into groups where some would have to bury their dead, others would have to gather resources and so on.
Peter responded to the question by saying he used to sit with his Father and the Men of his village quietly while the men discussed important issues of leadership. His Father eventually seeing his interest in being a man would teach him how to handle different situations and instructed him that men lead in moments of crises.
The question that rolled around in my mind then as it has for a decade now is, "What is the difference in a boy 9, 10, 11 or 12 now days and one in the 1800's like Frederick Douglass or like Peter Magai Bul in the Sudan in these present times? How come a young man, 9, 10, 11, 12 or even 16 can't take care of himself without using a female or joining a gang? For that matter why can't so many 18, 19, 20 and 25 year olds take care of themselves and rise to leadership for other brothers their age to help them not only live but thrive and overcome like Peter did and Men like Frederick Douglass during that awful night of Chattle Slavery?
The Black boys in the 1800's or the Lost boys of the Sudan had far less than the 9, 10, 11, 19, 20 and 25 year olds have today in North America, so what is the difference? I want to say right now that what ever it is it ain't their fault!!! It ain't that they just need to pull their pants up it is much deeper than that and it holds us as an adult community accountable. What is it?
We hosted a powerful, gut wrenching presentation by Brothers known as the "Lost Boys of The Sudan." Their story is nothing short of epic. As I have been reflecting on that night they spoke to my congregation a question to Peter Magai Bul and his response haunts me. He was asked "How did 9, 10, and 11 year olds develop such leadership skills in the face of the incredible odds they faced?" The questioner was referring to the fact that these boys were driven from their Dinka Village of the Sudan because of illegal, unjust war and they walked over two years first to Ethiopia and ultimately to Kenya all while fending off attacks from Northern Arab (& Africans turned against their own children) Muslim militias armed by Arab states and American support to annihilate these children. Peter told how they feared walking at night because wild animals would attack and by day the human animals were prowling. Peter said he and others (9, 10, &11 year olds) took leadership and broke the thousands of boys(at least 38,000 at start) up into groups where some would have to bury their dead, others would have to gather resources and so on.
Peter responded to the question by saying he used to sit with his Father and the Men of his village quietly while the men discussed important issues of leadership. His Father eventually seeing his interest in being a man would teach him how to handle different situations and instructed him that men lead in moments of crises.
The question that rolled around in my mind then as it has for a decade now is, "What is the difference in a boy 9, 10, 11 or 12 now days and one in the 1800's like Frederick Douglass or like Peter Magai Bul in the Sudan in these present times? How come a young man, 9, 10, 11, 12 or even 16 can't take care of himself without using a female or joining a gang? For that matter why can't so many 18, 19, 20 and 25 year olds take care of themselves and rise to leadership for other brothers their age to help them not only live but thrive and overcome like Peter did and Men like Frederick Douglass during that awful night of Chattle Slavery?
The Black boys in the 1800's or the Lost boys of the Sudan had far less than the 9, 10, 11, 19, 20 and 25 year olds have today in North America, so what is the difference? I want to say right now that what ever it is it ain't their fault!!! It ain't that they just need to pull their pants up it is much deeper than that and it holds us as an adult community accountable. What is it?
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