Confessing Christ in a World of Violence

Our world is wracked with violence and war. But Jesus said: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God" (Matt. 5:9). Innocent people, at home and abroad, are increasingly threatened by terrorist attacks. But Jesus said: "Love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you" (Matt. 5:44). These words, which have never been easy, seem all the more difficult today.

Nevertheless, a time comes when silence is betrayal. How many churches have heard sermons on these texts since the terrorist atrocities of September 11? Where is the serious debate about what it means to confess Christ in a world of violence? Does Christian "realism" mean resigning ourselves to an endless future of "pre-emptive wars"? Does it mean turning a blind eye to torture and massive civilian casualties? Does it mean acting out of fear and resentment rather than intelligence and restraint?

Faithfully confessing Christ is the church's task, and never more so than when its confession is co-opted by militarism and nationalism.

- A "theology of war," emanating from the highest circles of American government, is seeping into our churches as well.

- The language of "righteous empire" is employed with growing frequency.

- The roles of God, church, and nation are confused by talk of an American "mission" and "divine appointment" to "rid the world of evil."

The security issues before our nation allow no easy solutions. No one has a monopoly on the truth. But a policy that rejects the wisdom of international consultation should not be baptized by religiosity. The danger today is political idolatry exacerbated by the politics of fear.

In this time of crisis, we need a new confession of Christ.

1. Jesus Christ, as attested in Holy Scripture, knows no national boundaries. Those who confess his name are found throughout the earth. Our allegiance to Christ takes priority over national identity. Whenever Christianity compromises with empire, the gospel of Christ is discredited.

We reject the false teaching that any nation-state can ever be described with the words, "the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it." These words, used in scripture, apply only to Christ. No political or religious leader has the right to twist them in the service of war.

2. Christ commits Christians to a strong presumption against war. The wanton destructiveness of modern warfare strengthens this obligation. Standing in the shadow of the Cross, Christians have a responsibility to count the cost, speak out for the victims, and explore every alternative before a nation goes to war. We are committed to international cooperation rather than unilateral policies.

We reject the false teaching that a war on terrorism takes precedence over ethical and legal norms. Some things ought never be done - torture, the deliberate bombing of civilians, the use of indiscriminate weapons of mass destruction - regardless of the consequences.

3. Christ commands us to see not only the splinter in our adversary's eye, but also the beam in our own. The distinction between good and evil does not run between one nation and another, or one group and another. It runs straight through every human heart.

We reject the false teaching that America is a "Christian nation," representing only virtue, while its adversaries are nothing but vicious. We reject the belief that America has nothing to repent of, even as we reject that it represents most of the world's evil. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23).

4. Christ shows us that enemy-love is the heart of the gospel. While we were yet enemies, Christ died for us (Rom. 5:8, 10). We are to show love to our enemies even as we believe God in Christ has shown love to us and the whole world. Enemy-love does not mean capitulating to hostile agendas or domination. It does mean refusing to demonize any human being created in God's image.

We reject the false teaching that any human being can be defined as outside the law's protection. We reject the demonization of perceived enemies, which only paves the way to abuse; and we reject the mistreatment of prisoners, regardless of supposed benefits to their captors.

5. Christ teaches us that humility is the virtue befitting forgiven sinners. It tempers all political disagreements, and it allows that our own political perceptions, in a complex world, may be wrong.

We reject the false teaching that those who are not for the United States politically are against it or that those who fundamentally question American policies must be with the "evil-doers." Such crude distinctions, especially when used by Christians, are expressions of the Manichaean heresy, in which the world is divided into forces of absolute good and absolute evil.

The Lord Jesus Christ is either authoritative for Christians, or he is not. His Lordship cannot be set aside by any earthly power. His words may not be distorted for propagandistic purposes. No nation-state may usurp the place of God.

We believe that acknowledging these truths is indispensable for followers of Christ. We urge them to remember these principles in making their decisions as citizens. Peacemaking is central to our vocation in a troubled world where Christ is Lord.

Signers as of October 22, 2004. Institutions for identification only.

Name	Organization	Title
Amerson, Philip	Claremont School of Theology	President
Arichea, Jr, Daniel C.	Duke Divinity School and UMC	Bishop in Residence
Augsburger, David	Fuller Theological Seminary	Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling
Augsburger, Dr. Myron S.	Eastern Mennonite University	President Emeritus
Bader-Saye, Scott	University of Scranton	Associate Professor of Theology and Ethics
Baker, Mark D.	Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary	Assistant professor of Mission and Theology
Balmer, Randall	Barnard College, Columbia University	Ann Whitney Olin Professor of American Religion
Balswick, Jack	Fuller Theological Seminary	Professor of Sociology and Family Development
Barrett, Lois	Assoc. Mennonite Biblical Seminary	Director, Great Plains Extension
Bartlett, Dr. Anthony W.	Wood Hath Hope Bible Community	Founder
Batastini, Robert J.	GIA Publications	Senior Editor
Batstone, David	University of San Francisco	Professor of Ethics
Battle, Rev. Michael, PhD	Duke University	Professor and Episcopal Priest
Beach-Verhey, Timothy	Davidson College	Director of Programs for the Theological Exploration of Vocation
Black, Clifton	Princeton Theological Seminary	Professor of Biblical Theology
Bonk, Dr. Jonathan J.	Overseas Ministry Study Center	Executive Director
Borgman, Paul	Gordon College	Professor
Bouma-Prediger, Dr. Steven	Hope College	Jacobson Professor of Religion
Branson, Mark Lau	Fuller Theological Seminary	Associate Professor
Brawley, Robert L.	McCormick Theological Seminary	Albert C. McGaw Professor of New Testament
Brock, Brian	University of Aberdeen	Lecturer in Practical Theology
Brown, Colin	Fuller Theological Seminary	Professor of Systematic Theology
Bruner, Frederick	Fuller Theological Seminary	Adjunct Faculty
Brunk, III, George R.	Eastern Mennonite Seminary	Professor of New Testament
Buckley, Jim	Loyola College	Professor of Theology
Burnette, Carole C., PhD	Ecumenical Institute of Theology	Professor of Ancient and Medieval Christianity
Butler, Dr. Anthea	Loyola Marymount University	President, Society for Pentecostal Studies and Assistant Professor of Theology
Butler, James	Fuller Theological Seminary	Associate Professor of Old Testament
Campbell, Douglas A.	Duke Divinity School	Assistant Professor in New Testament
Campolo, Tony	Eastern University	Professor of Sociology
Candler, The Very Rev. Samuel G.	Dean of the Cathedral	The Cathedral of St. Philip
Carmer, Gregory W.	Gordon College	Dean of the Chapel
Casey, Shaun	Wesley Theological Seminary	Assistant Professor of Christian Ethics
Chancey, Mark A.	Southern Methodist University	Assistant Professor of Religious Studies
Chapman, Stephen	Duke Divinity School	Ass. Prof. Old Testament
Chittister, Joan, OSB	Benetvision	Writer
Clark, Chapman	Fuller Theological Seminary	Associate Professor of Youth, Family, and Culture
Crane, Richard	Messiah College	Professor
Crenshaw, James L.	Duke Divinity School	Professor of Old Testament
Davis, Derek H.	Baylor University	Director, J.M. Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies
Davis, Ellen F.	Duke Divinity School	Professor of Bible and Practical Theology
Davis, Dr. Lant B.	Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary	Assistant to the President
De La Torre, Dr. Miguel A.	Hope College	Professor of Religion
DeCrane, Susanne M., PhD	College of Notre Dame of Maryland	Associate Faculty
Dewey, Brett R.	Baylor University	Teaching Fellow
Donahue, Prof. John R., SJ	St. Mary’s Seminary and University	Raymond E. Brown Professor Emeritus of New Testament Studies
Dueck, Dr. Alvin	Fuller Theological Seminary	Evelyn and Frank Freed Professor of the Integration of Psychology and Theology
Dunn, Rev. Dr. James M.	Wake Forest Univ. Divinity School	Professor of Christianity and Public Policy
Eastman, Rev. Dr. Susan Grove	Duke Divinity School	Assistant Professor of the Practice of Bible and Christian Formation
Elwood, Christopher	Louisville Pres. Theo. Seminary	Professor of Historical Theology
Epp, Robert C.	UCLA	Professor Emeritus
Erdman, Chris	The Biblical Seminary	Professor of Preaching and Missional Leadership
Evans, C. Stephen	Baylor University	Prof. Philosophy and Humanities
Fackre, Gabriel	Andover Newton Theological School	Abbot Professor of Christian Theology Emeritus
Faramelli, Norman	Boston University School of Theology	Lecturer in Social Ethics
Ferree-Clark, Rev. Nancy	Duke University Chapel	Pastor
Fisher, Mary Elizabeth	Asbury Theological Seminary	Formerly Ass’t. Professor of Biblical Theology
Fisk, Bruce N.	Westmont College	Ass. Prof. Religious Studies
Fletcher, Andy	International Communities Foundation	Executive Director
Fowl, Stephen	Loyola College in Maryland	Professor of Theology
Fredrickson, Kurt	Fuller Theological Seminary	Assistant Professor
Freeman, Curtis W.	Duke Divinity School	Professor of Theology and Baptist Studies
Fretheim, Terence	Luther Seminary	Elva B. Lovell Professor of Old Testament
Friesen, Dr. John J.	Canadian Mennonite University	Professor of History and Theology
Fulkerson, Rev. Dr. Mary McClintock	Duke University (Divinity School)	Associate Professor of Theology
Garrettson, Dr. Charles	The Hill School	Educator
Geddert, Dr. Timothy J.	Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary	Associate Professor of New Testament
George, Ivy	Gordon College	Professor
Gill, David W.	Ethixbiz.com	Writer
Goering, Lisa M.	North Carolina State University	Post-Doctoral Fellow
Gorman, Michael J.	St. Mary’s Seminary and University	Dean and Professor of New Testament
Grieb, Rev. Dr. A. Katherine	Virginia Theological Seminary	Associate Professor of New Testament
Guenther, Dr. Titus	Canadian Mennonite University	Associate Professor of Theology and Missions
Gutenson, Charles E.	Asbury Theological Seminary	Associate Professor of Philosophical Theology and Associate Dean for Distributed Learning
Hagner, Donald	Fuller Theological Seminary	George Eldon Ladd Professor of New Testament
Hall, Rev. Dr. Amy Laura	Duke Divinity School/SW Texas UMC	Assistant Professor of Theological Ethics
Harrison, Nina	St. Vincent de Paul Society	Executive Director
Harvard, Susan	The Hill School	Educator
Harvey, Barry