"From where in the church will fresh thinking come during this war? Who will preach Jesus in a way that opens the hearts of Americans under the spell of nationalism and seeking revenge?"

Editorial
November 2001

To think and act anew

As we finished the October MESSENGER the US was being attacked. As November goes to press, the US is attacking. In this issue we have concentrated on the church's reaction to the violence. In the future we plan to report on the church's action. What will the Church of the Brethren do in the face of the current situation? That part of the story is not yet written.

The search is on for new ideas. Commentators have quoted Abraham Lincoln, who was involved in a similar search when he addressed Congress on Dec. 1, 1862: "The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country." Historians are still arguing over how much Lincoln thought or acted anew, but his words can still remind us to listen carefully for God's voice in fresh thoughts.

Sometimes old thoughts become fresh in a new situation. The 1935 Annual Conference "Restatement concerning war and peace" rings true in its clarity and simplicity: "We believe that all war is sin; that it is wrong for Christians to support or to engage in it; and that war is incompatible with the spirit, example, and teachings of Jesus. We believe that war is not inevitable. Those beliefs are not based upon a peculiar peace doctrine of our own; they are from our application of Christian standards to all human relations, whether individual, group, class, or national. To settle conflicts in any of these relationships by war is not efficient, not constructive, not permanent, and certainly not Christian. We believe that nonviolence, motivated by goodwill, is more powerful than the sword, making possible the survival of both parties, while warfare insures the ultimate destruction of both. War is a far greater calamity to victor and vanquished alike, than would be the hazards incidental to a renunciation of war by a nation and the settlement of all their disputes by peaceful means."

Though it is not known for timeliness, the journal Brethren Life and Thought carries in its current edition some of the best reading for Brethren concerned about the current situation. In his article, "Our Conscience is Bound," historian Jeff Bach of Bethany Theological Seminary traces the history of the Brethren peace witness from Alexander Mack to the present. It is inspiring to read again of the witness of Christopher Sauer II, who in 1778 was arrested and had his printing press seized because he refused to fight the British. There are as well stories of courageous Brethren pacifism from the Civil War and from all the US wars of the 20th century.

But peace has never been easy. As interesting as the stories of heroic peace witness are Bach's accounts of all the backsliding and wavering from the church's teachings during all the wars. Today's patriotic fervor is not so rare. For various reasons, the Brethren peace witness broke down during World War I and reached new lows during World War II. "The Brethren no longer had a church that expected its members to act on its rhetoric," Bach writes. Still, a significant minority continued to act on the belief that following Jesus meant not fighting. Those who believed in active non-violence rather than war brought about the formation of Civilian Public Service, and later Brethren Volunteer Service, Heifer Project, and the Christian Rural Overseas Program (CROP).

Would we recognize a fresh idea if we saw one? John Paul Lederach, a professor in conflict resolution at Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, Va., has laid out an intriguing approach in an essay he calls "The Challenge of Terror." He asks Americans to seek to understand the root of the anger directed against the US, and to understand the nature of the organization that perpetrated the Sept. 11 violence. "We should avoid doing what they expect. What they expect from us is the lashing out of the giant against the weak, the many against the few," he writes. "What we need to destroy is their myth, not their people."

Lederach also challenges Americans to apply the power of simplicity to terrorism: "From the stand-point of the perpetrators, the effectiveness of their actions was in finding simple ways to use the system to undo it. I believe our greatest task is to find equally creative and simple tools on the other side."

Each generation of the church must revalidate its peace witness. From where in the church will fresh thinking come during this war? Who will preach Jesus in a way that opens the hearts of Americans under the spell of nationalism and seeking revenge? What congregation will find simple, creative ways to begin to heal the world? What group or organization will drop its business-as-usual attitude to galvanize the Brethren behind peace? Who will lead?