This proclamation was written by Julia Ward Howe, who in 1870 sought formal recognition for a national Mother’s Day in the US. HT: Sharon
Mother’s Day Proclamation
by Julia Ward HoweArise then…women of this day!
Posted in Peace | 10 Comments »
Arise, all women who have hearts!
Whether your baptism be of water or of tears!
Say firmly:
“We will not have questions answered by irrelevant agencies,
Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage,
For caresses and applause.
Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn
All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience.
We, the women of one country,
Will be too tender of those of another country
To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs.”
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The world I would like to leave our children, grandchildren, and for 7 generations beyond
Tuesday, May 8th, 2007You know how you can start searching for something on the internet and then wind up someplace else? Recently, I discovered this video of Bill Clinton annoucing his “wish” at the TED awards. It was on someone’s blog (http://www.matchmine.com/blog/2007/05/03/the-ted-prize).
From the blog,
Bill Clinton won the prize this year, and elected to speak about his attempts to right the non-deeds of his administration in Rwanda.
I was so moved by that statement and Bill’s speech, I had to share it wth others. I ask as you listen and watch the video that you set aside any of your preconceived notions of who Bill Clinton is.
Posted in Activism, Environmentalism, HIV/AIDS, Health Care, Peace, Poverty, What can we do? | 5 Comments »Read the rest of this news item »
A Courageous Coward
Wednesday, April 25th, 2007Wanted to draw your attention to Logan’s story. He refers to himself as a “courageous coward”. Logan realized during and after his first tour of duty in Iraq that as a Christian he could no longer justify his work. So he started the process of asking to be given non-combatant conscientious objector status. This is the first of 3 video clips on his web site. In this clip, he says
A large part of my life was destroying as much as possible of whatever I was told to–human life, personal property
I don’t think that Christians are called to kill anybody at anytime, and that put me in difficulty with regards to my job, because my professional obligations were pretty much to do that.
H T to Joe for this one.
Posted in Peace, Videos, War | 18 Comments »
Did Jesus forbid violence for self-defense?
Monday, April 23rd, 2007On the Virginia Tech and institutionalized violence thread, Janice commented:
“Also wanted to say that while I agree more and more with a stance of non-violence and peaceful resolutions, its also hard to say that if I was put in harms way that I wouldn’t lash out to protect myself or my family or my belongings. If I was walking the street and someone grabbed my purse, I’d probably take a swing and try to keep a hold of my bag. If my child was in danger, I’d do the same. I wholeheartedly agree that nonviolence makes enormous sense, I really do. I just wonder…
Does following Jesus demand I give up that kind of attempt to protect myself or my family or my belongings? Jesus may have died on a cross for a high goal….does that mean I give up mine over a handbag?”
What do you all think?
Posted in Peace, Violence | 25 Comments »
- Are followers of Jesus allowed to use violence in defense of persons or property?
- What did Jesus mean when he said, “Do not resist an evil person” (Matthew 5:39)?
- What does it mean to obey the Biblical command to “Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked” (Psalm 82:4)?
- How does a faithful follower of Christ practice peace and justice in a world of violence?
Jesus Said…
Monday, March 26th, 2007
Here is another thought-provoking piece from our favorite artist-provocateur Tim Nyberg.
Posted in Peace, War | 10 Comments »
Quote for the Day
Thursday, March 22nd, 2007“Oh! that we who declare against wars, and acknowledge our trust to be in God only, may walk in the light, and therein examine our foundation and motives in holding great estates! May we look upon our treasures, and the furniture of our houses, and the garments in which we array ourselves, and try whether the seeds of war have nourishment in these our possessions, or not.”
- Quaker activist John Woolman, 1720-1772
Hat Tip: John Lamoreau
Posted in Economics, Peace, War | 1 Comment »
People of Peace
Wednesday, March 14th, 2007Two weeks ago Jim made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. I had recently attended Seattle Mennonite Church for the first time (you can read my review here), and had gotten the impression that it was … different from most American churches I have attended. So Jim said “Why don’t you try it for 4 visits, and if you still like it, maybe you and I and Eliza can all attend, and have lunch afterwards to talk about our different perspectives.
How could I resist? A Christian (Jim), an atheist (Eliza), and an almost atheist (me)–sounds like a potentially fascinating lunch. So I’ve now been to three Sunday morning worship services, one Sunday morning adult study class, and (per nxcian’s suggestion) one Thursday evening two hour drop in time for the homeless.
I thought I’d share some reflections/impressions.
1. I’ve noticed that for Mennonites, being Mennonite, and thus being Christian, trumps being American. That is, my impression has been that these are people who see themselves as Mennonite and as Christian much more radically (that is, at root) than they see themselves as American. This is unique in my experience of American churches. In other churches I’ve been at in this country, (not that I’ve been in *that* many, but I’d definitely run out of fingers and toes, even if I had hexadactyly), my impression has been that being American was at least co-equal in people’s self identity as being Christian, and often, perhaps, being American trumped being Christian in their self identity. For instance, many American churches, even larger mainstream churches, have an American flag in the front of their sanctuary. My lovely daughters were being taught to say the pledge of allegiance at a Christian pre-school at a very large non denominational church in Bellevue. etc. etc. I rather enormously like the Mennonite take on this–it reverberates in synchrony with my own thoughts and feelings.
Posted in Peace | 16 Comments »
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Movie Review: Red Dust — What is Forgiveness?
Friday, March 9th, 2007We have the right to say that it hurt.
-Alex MpondoRed Dust is a movie about apartheid, truth, forgiveness, and reconciliation. It’s a combination of mystery and morality play that kept me riveted from beginning to end.
The movie really helped me cement my new, post-evangelical understanding of forgiveness. It’s a much more demanding forgiveness which requires both victim and perpetrator to fully inventory the exact nature and consequences of harm, and then choose to re enter relationship. It’s a dizzying, overwhelming, intense, gut wrenching type of forgiveness which requires a lot.
As the movie progresses, you can see that these characters, in the process of wrestling through memories they had forgotten, and would rather continue to forget, are becoming more alive, and more human.
Having looked the beast in the eye, having given and received forgiveness, let us shut the door on the past, not to forget it, but to allow it not to imprison us.
-Desmond TutuIt seems to me that international peace is impossible without this type of forgiveness. What do you think?
*warning: this movie contains graphic depictions of brutal torture
Posted in Forgiveness, Movie Reviews, Peace, Torture | 12 Comments »
