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Ron Paul: The Anti-War Candidate Who Will Start New Wars

January 23, 2012 in Nonviolence, Politics, Social Justice with 267 Comments

Ronpaul1

KURT’S NOTE: The following is a guest post from Jason Dye.  I take no responsibility for the content of this article (except for posting it on his behalf).  His piece gets at some of this issues that concern me about libertarian political philosophy.  My belief is that an unregulated market and a “small government” will lead to social Darwinism.  As Christians, we are invited to call governments to account when their actions or lack of actions lead to injustice for the most vulnerable in our society and in the world.  Read Jason’s piece and see if you begin to understand that the issues are quite complex, beyond simply being “anti-war.”

As a big-mouth anti-war person, I meet a lot of other people who are also anti-war. Some of them have a very identifiable Christian-based consciousness against all things empire-a-violence based. I count as good friends Kurt Willems, Ian Ebright,  and other Christians who are opposed to war because they believe that war opposes the person and practices of Jesus.

I also meet others who are opposed to war on principled and practical grounds, some of whom have first hand experiences of the ravages of rampant militarism and wars, which I, gratefully, do not.  Many of of these sorts of anti-war allies have recently found themselves invested in the Ron Paul story (as well as some curious Christians). I can understand their fascination with a major political candidate that is against occupational wars and is openly suggesting ceasing the costly, ineffectual, dangerous, and racist war on drugs. On these issues, I agree with Ron Paul. However, these efforts do not stand on their own, and Paul acolytes fail to see the dark side of the gynecologist’s views. I propose that while Rep. Paul wants to end very detrimental wars, he is advocating for several other annihilating wars.

War on Government Protection

While his desire to end the Dept of Ed is questionable (it needs to be overhauled, not eliminated), it’s not as dreadful as his desire to eliminate the Environmental Protection Agency.

Paul and other Free Markies trust that the Free Market would force businesses to self-regulate. However, Free Marketstry is bad faith. Business is concerned primarily with the bottom-line and needs conscionable checks against it. Consumers buy what they consider to be the biggest bang for their buck – especially when they have few bucks with which to bang. Which is why Wal-Mart, with its horrible employment practices and crappy clothes, is pulling in much more money than much more ethical companies. And why ethical and local-based companies are being run out of business.

Boycotting a product not meeting up to moral or ethical standards is not effective Continue Reading…

Nonviolent Marches are Silly Dr. King – History Wins!

January 17, 2012 in (Series) Video to Ponder, Nonviolence, Social Justice with 1 Comment

Thanks to David Fitch for pointing me to this video.

An Anabaptist Hero and Martyr: Michael Sattler

January 11, 2012 in Anabaptism, Nonviolence with 6 Comments

The following is all quoted from Anabaptists.org

After the death of Conrad Grebel (1526) and Felix Manz (1527) Michael Sattler was the most noteworthy leader of the Swiss Brethren. His martyrdom took place only a few months after that of Manz.

Michael Sattler was born about 1495 at Staufen near Freiburg in Baden.” Educated at the University of Freiburg, Sattler entered the cloister of St. Peter near Freiburg as a monk, advancing to the position of prior of the cloister. Through his studies of the scriptures and, no doubt, influenced by the new reformation theology in circulation, Sattler left the monastery in 1523 and was married.

Sattler joined with the Swiss Brethren in Zurich, from which he was banished on November 18, 1525. He labored in the faith in Horb and Rottenburg in Worttemberg, later going to Strasburg in Alsace. Returning to Horb and Rottenburg, “on February 24, 1527, Sattler presided over a conference of Swiss Brethren held at Schleitheim in Canton Schaffhausen. He presented to this conference a confession of faith which was approved and adopted without a dissenting voice, and was later printed under the title, “Bruderliche Vereinigung etlicher Kinder Gottes” (Brotherly Agreement of Some Children of God), as the confession of faith of the Swiss Brethren.” The confession was considered important enough to be refuted by both Zwingli and Calvin in separate works.

Michael Sattler was captured by the Roman Catholic authorities in Horb, tried on May 17, 1527 at Rottenburg, and was martyred on May 21, 1527.

“On the morning of that day this noble man of God, in sight of horrible torture, prayed for his judges and persecutors and admonished the people to repentance. He endured the inhuman torture stipulated in the sentence. Then his mangled body was tied to a ladder. Continue Reading…

I’m Mennonite… and Finally Became Anabaptist: Embracing our Mission to Post-Christian America

January 4, 2012 in Anabaptism, Faith Journey, Gospel, Nationalism, Nonviolence with 27 Comments

photo © 2005 Trint Williams , Flickr | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

 

I’m a Mennonite.

Yes, it’s true.  Mennonite even in the “ethnic” sense.  In fact, I often say that I have more of a family wreath than a family tree because both sides of my lineage link to the Mennonite Brethren from Prussia.  I actually broke the wreath by marrying a Russian Molokan turned evangelical – but that’s beside the point.

For most of my life, my Anabaptist Mennonite heritage was more filled with culture than the biblical values that drew this group of radical reformers together in the midst of the Reformation.  Sure, we told stories about our people fleeing peacefully from the persecuting sword in the dark of night, but for most people I interacted with – values like peacemaking, social justice, and empire subversion became the butt of many jokes.  We mostly had become mainstream American Evangelicals, with really good food and stories.  The Anabaptist way seemed outdated.

It wasn’t until I was in my twenties that this seemingly obsolete perspective on the discipleship way of Jesus began to draw me in.  I’m convinced that my Anabaptist roots offer something to a growing segment of culture that is burnt out on religion and suspicious of the so-called power-brokers of the world.  Interestingly enough, the days of the institutional church being the dominant influence in society is quickly fading (often called “Christendom”).[1] Continue Reading…

Jesus vs Jehovah – The Problem of Violence in the OT in Light of a Nonviolent Jesus (Greg Boyd)

December 30, 2011 in (Series) Video to Ponder, Nationalism, Nonviolence, Old Testament Violence with 31 Comments

Here is a great introduction on how to approach the Old Testament passages on violence in light of the nonviolent peace teachings of the New Testament. Enjoy!

Introducing Christian Nonviolence – Two Resources for the Interested and Skeptical

December 30, 2011 in Anabaptism, Interpretation, Kingdom of God, Nationalism, Nonviolence, Old Testament Violence, Politics, Recommended Resources, Roman Empire, Theology with 7 Comments

In North America, the idea of Christian nonviolence or Pacifism (meaning to “pacify” not inactive passivism) is largely unaccepted by evangelical Christianity. This is odd considering that the peace teachings of Jesus and the early church are basic to New Testament teaching and theology. I want to offer two resources to give a basic introduction into this subject. I realize that many of my readers will disagree, but if you are willing to wrestle with the following resources, I promise that you will at least come to appreciate this perspective (and who knows, maybe you will embrace it!).

1) Nonviolence 101 -Becoming a People of the “Third Way”

This is a series that I wrote earlier this year that should give you a primer on the theology of the subject. I encourage you to take 15 – 20 mins to read this carefully and to contemplate if the Bible actually might call all Christians to peace.

Part 1 – Introduction

Part 2 – Nonviolence 101 – Resistance is Futile… or the Meaning of ἀντιστῆναι

Part 3 – Nonviolence 101 – Activating the Nonviolent Imagination

Part 4 – Nonviolence 101 – Your Coat, A Longer Walk, & Love Your Enemies

Part 5 – Nonviolence 101 – Submit to the Sword, but Do Not Carry One! [Romans 12-13]

Part 6 – Nonviolence 101 – Other Key Passages that Deal With Violence [White Horses, New Testament Soldiers, & Swords]

Part 7 – Nonviolence 101 – Jesus is Irrational! [2 Myths - Christian Nation & Redemptive Violence]

Part 8 – Nonviolence 101 – 2 “What ifs” [Another Hitler or Someone Attacks Your Spouse/Child]

Part 9 – Nonviolence 101 – Concluding Thoughts and Exhortations

Continue Reading…

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