Take The Pledge

In the early 1940s, youthful members of the German White Rose were put to death for daring to cry out publicly against the evils of Nazism and its racist war machine. As members of the privileged Aryan racial group, they could have remained silent and safe. They chose instead, in spite of great risk, to make their values known to the citizens of their nation. In their memory and in the spirit of their courage in speaking out, the White Rose has been chosen the symbol for the “Take the Pledge!” campaign.

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Then things changed. Christians began fighting in the wars of their day. Yet there have always been some believers who have taken Jesus at his word, even though it regularly gets them into trouble with others who don’t agree with them.

In its early years, people being baptized into the Church of the Brethren were asked if they would “. . .refrain from the shedding of blood.” We don’t ask that question anymore, but the church still calls its members to live as Jesus taught — peacefully, seeking justice and equality for all people. And the world still badly needs people with a commitment to these principles.

Take the Pledge! offers a chance for Brethren men and women to make that commitment.

	I WILL NOT PARTICIPATE IN KILLING.
	I WILL work against injustice
	I WILL work against hatred
	I WILL work against racism
	I WILL work to make sure that everyone has what they need to live as God intends.
I JUST WILL NOT PARTICIPATE IN KILLING

It was good enough for Jesus. 150,000,000 killed in war in the past 5,000 years. “I emptied the whole clip into him; then I cried.” -Vietnam vet Eighty percent of war casualities are civilians. Better things to do with $760 billion (annual world military expense). “Do unto others...” Jesus. Gandhi. St. Francis. Martin Luther King Jr. Ted Studebaker. “Thou shalt not kill.” More important things to do with my life. Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world.

	Over 800 million people are chronically malnourished.
	Around the world, war continues to be seen as the primary way to settle confict.
	Violence is all to present in our own homes and neighborhoods, with women and children frequently the victims.
	The world is still divided along racial and ethnic fault lines, erupting in hatred and violence with disturbing regularity.
	Churches and other religious groups often fail to connect faith and life, so that questions of conflict and inequality are not addressed.

All this in a world where one billion people one fifth of the population live on less than a dollar a day. And the nations still spend over two billion dollars a day on weapons and war. Go figure.