Evangelicals love Putin.
My longtime evangelical friend doesn’t. (He voted for Biden.) In his newsletter last week, he said he wants Putin stopped before Putin does to Europe what Hitler did to Europe. My friend urged his large readership to pressure Congress to pass the stalled bill supporting arms for Ukraine.
I’m for Ukraine, I told him. But I lean Quaker.
(I’ve never gotten over my crush on a people who dress and speak simply, live and walk lightly, oppose war and slavery, promote kindness and justice, and make great rolled oats. I’m not a Quaker. But I wouldn’t mind being one if I could keep my flatscreen TV.)
I’m for Ukraine, but I’m not for endless profiteering by the arms industry. The more you feed it, the more it wants.
But what are you going to do? Let tyrants get away with crimes?
I lean Quaker, but I’m not comfortable with absolute pacifism. I understand the moral dilemma. Loving your enemies doesn’t mean letting them walk all over you or the ones you love. That’s not love. (See my April 17, 2022, post, Out of Cheeks to Turn)
My friend isn’t a warmonger. We both read Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s The Cost of Discipleship in seminary 50 years ago. We adopted Bonhoeffer as a role model. He was an avowed pacifist. And yet he participated in an attempt to assassinate Hitler. He was arrested and hanged. Last I heard, Bonhoeffer threw himself upon the mercy of God.
My friend is a popular and beloved global religious leader. He is going to Ukraine to pray with fellow Christians for a supernatural intervention to stop this war. You can count on God, he believes. But just in case, he says, keep your powder dry. Call your congressperson NOW.
My friend is a theist. So is Putin. I’m not. I lean humanist.
The way I see it, God doesn’t start wars. And God doesn’t stop them. Humans start wars. And humans can stop them.
One thing I especially like about Christianity is the idea that Jesus, a mortal, vulnerable human being, is divine.
And so are you.
Jesus fed the hungry, healed the sick, soothed the tormented, welcomed the outcast, and loved his enemies.
And so can you.
Someday, we will stop the killing and make peace. In the meantime, practice love, justice, and mercy.
It doesn’t get more supernatural than that. It’s divine.
Amen, Amen, Amen ! Let’s hope Spring will be the symbol of a rebirth of democracy, and compassion for our fellow human spirits.
I live by one of my many mottos: “Keep your head down and your powder dry.” (Once upon a time, when I was a teacher, I handed this advice out to departing seniors. Some of them thought I was talking about drugs. From then on I switched to “Live long and prosper!” No chance for misunderstanding here.) I’ve never been a pacifist, even though I’m a peaceful man. Working out problems before punches start being thrown saves a lot of time and work that must follow a violent response to the problems and the misunderstandings that preceded them. Unfortunately, there are too many people who don’t see reality this way. Especially demagogic dictators such as Putin. I believe in self-defense. But also understand that there are better ways to defuse situations that arise out of misunderstandings that more often bloom from petty differences, greed, and outright paranoia. So follow Teddy Roosevelt’s recommendation, “Walk lightly, but carry a big stick.”
Religion as a human institution fails us. The evangelicals are done with peace, love, justice and humility and democracy. The heads of the Orthodox Church in both Russia and Ukraine claim God is with them and against the other. Some of the worst atrocities in history are committed in the “holy land”. Here in America, we’ve lost the consensus on our country’s values and aspirations. The churches that hew most closely to the Gospel have turned in on themselves. The Divine is Love. Acting with love when hate and anger are all around. Loving justice like the prophets because justice is what we teach three year olds and call fairness. When our best logic isn’t enough, maybe the best the Quakers can teach us is simplicity. Love one another. As Micah said do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God.
Yes, the exact dilemma of wanting justice without using violence against bullies and dictators is what your thoughts emphasize today. Jesus had power with simple actions and words to turn a crowd of bullies/Pharisees away from stoning the woman caught in adultery—and he never asked them, Why didn’t you drag the guy here too? Can words stop people like Putin?
I saw your note about this story possibly not being true.
Yes, I know there are some who question the authenticity of the story of the woman caught in adultery, but more sources than 50% find it true. Personally, I think it is true because the Pharisees certainly acted to character by grabbing just the woman and thinking their shocking display of her could trap Jesus.
Virginia
I feel so much gratitude for your words & thots today; & those shared by others here. Keeping it simple; praying for peace, love & understanding… & learning what we can from the scriptures, from nature, and from one another.
The misuse of the fire element – meant to warm us, to purify, and to destroy that which no longer serves the greater good. Fire power used to destroy humans and the environment is abuse of this sacred gift – yet we have not yet found the way to bring about peace without it… someday we will learn… in the meantime Justice & standing up against violence & brutality brought about by murderous thugs & dictators will help save innocent lives… until love reigns once & for all.
Blessed are the peacemakers…and blessed be the meek who seek to live simply, that others may simply live.
On this beautiful Spring morning, it is a bit difficult to center on the notion of death by war. Take a blind-folded dart thrower and a world map and there is a good chance for a direct hit on a nation engaged in violence and war or supporting it.
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Perhaps we need a sign to tell us we are getting it wrong. An earthquake or the death and resurrection of the Sun might do it. Perhaps politicians of self-repute will weigh in.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, “God is sending America strong signs to tell us to repent. Earthquakes and eclipses and many more things to come. I pray that our country listens.”
In her 1911 Atlantic essay “Life Beyond Life,” Beulah B. Amram included a mention of Psalm 115:16: “The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s; But the earth He has given to the children of men.”
He turned over the deed and responsibility of caretaking to humankind. He is not a customer service representative. There is no warranty for misuse or neglect. Amran reminds us of Euripides notion,
“Sophistry is not wisdom, and to indulge in thoughts beyond man’s ken is to shorten life.”
Pray and pass the blueprints for a better world.
Was in a rush earlier, I would have liked to have put the Euripides in more modern words. For the record:
sophistry
the use of fallacious arguments, especially with the intention of deceiving
ken
the range of perception, understanding, or knowledge
Not sure that makes it any better but thought I would try.
Again, as possible , action. Great responses.
The work of peace is difficult and perplexing, especially given in the continual systems of structural injustice throughout the world, including the United States. Indeed, we may not see significant change anytime soon. As Reinhold Niebuhr observed, “Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime.” Yet we must continue to work for justice and peace. Paul Tillich has written that faith is a matter of “in spite of.” So despite these difficult days, we must practice justice and peace in our lives, remembering that we are more than labels—American, Russian, theist and humanist. Let us remember Mother Teresa’s words that “we belong to each other” as a human family and then strive to move forward in that spirit.
I am sending you 1 of my 10 second hugs. You make my heart sing… no details or definitions needed.