If you’ve missed it, there has been a debate recently regarding the issue of pacifism in swedish christian media. Bear with me as I try to summarize it in a few short sentences. I feel it is needed before I make my own contribution. Also, I will get all the important links done this way.
It started when Alf Svensson, an old member of the Christian-Democratic party, defended swedish weapon industry and export, because it creates wealth and work for swedish people.
This triggered a few responses, both in the blogosphere and in christians newspapers. The general secretary of Kristnafreds (Christian Peace Organization) responded strongly and argued that nonviolence is more effective, the newspaper Dagen thought it very strange that those that attended the seminar from Kristnafreds weren’t even allowed to ask questions.
Noticing the reactions, Alf and another member of his party, Mikael Oscarsson, tried to defend their opinion. Titling their piece “Pacifism is not necessarily the right moral”, they dodged the real questions that people asked and proclaimed that we should be building weapons, because everyone else is doing it, and we need to defend ourselves.
Then, three people from EFK UNG respond, explaining their opinion on the whole thing, and especially the latest contribution. With was appearantly too strong foreign language for some, they rightly call it bullshit. How people claiming to stand for christian values and ethics can defend the making and selling of things that have one single purpose, the killing of other humans.
But, their strong language woke up other forces within the christian media. Coming to the defence of Alf, Siewert Öholm, the editor for another christian newspaper, misses the point while criticizing and belittling them. His contribution adds but another title which I am going to make use of, freely translated it reads “Tanks aren’t christian, but christians may need them”.
The gang over at EFK UNG replies that their position is not about being left or right in politics, but is the consequence of confessing Jesus Christ as their Lord.
And that’s where I want to start.
1. Pacifism is not necessarily the right moral.
Pacifism as an ideology is not necessarily the correct one. But what Jesus teaches is non-resistance, loving your enemies, meeting evil with good, a life of servitude to others and complete obedience to God, even unto death. All this makes it hard to say anything else than that I believe what Jesus teaches is pacifism, if not something even more radical! His example clearly shows that he practiced what he preached.
2. Nonviolence is more effective.
This is what pacifism as an ideology claims, but this is where Jesus seems to go further. He did not promise us effectiveness. That our obidience to him will produce better results than the way we did things before. That we will accomplish great things or be able to create heaven here on earth. If there is anything that Jesus promises those that follow him, it is suffering and persecution.
As John Howard Yoder says in his book “The original Revolution”, the love that Jesus defined on the cross, agape seeks neither effectivness nor justice, and is willing to suffer any loss or seeming defeat for the sake of obedience.
I do believe that nonviolence is more effective though, but that is not the reason why christians should be nonviolent.
3. Tanks aren’t christian, but christians may need them.
Siewert is not the first one to claim something like this. The israels shouted thusly when they wanted a king, and an army, and horses and wagons from Egypt. Israel demanded a king and a strong army, hoping that would make them safe, and give them peace.
But the lesson that the psalmists and prophets make from the failure that followed, because the nation of Israel was (seemingly) a failure, is exactly the opposite. I could quote countless of verses to prove my point. But this one will suffice.
Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. (Ps 20:7)
They even put the two in conflict with eachother, that either you trust in the strength of your army, or you trust in God. Other verses curse, and damn those that trust in earthly powers, in violence or human kings! God even called it idolatry, saying to Samuel that it was not Samuel they had cast aside, but God himself, when the Israelites demanded their own human king.
My conclusion then, even by just reading the old testament and not counting what Jesus himself claimed, is that you, Siewert, are wrong. As christians, as being part of God’s people, we do not need tanks, or horses, or wagons from egypt, or a king, or an army. We have everything we need in God, and only in him can we find peace.
4. It is the consequence of confessing Jesus Christ as Lord.
Thank you EFK-Ung for making this point. I believe it is clear that If I am to call myself a christian, I need to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, if I call him Lord. As I said earlier, nonresistance is about obedience, but not only this. Continuing with the points that Yoder makes in his book, for the disciples’ of Christ, nonresistance, which I see as going beyond the nonviolence of pacifism, is right not because it works but because it is following our Lord, and it anticipates the triumph of the lamb that was slain. It is living out what will come, it is living out the Kingdom of God right here and now. We do this because it is obeying God, and we can do this because we trust in him to work through and with us when we do.
This is what the profets, the psalmists, and the stories of Gideon and Jericho’s Walls teaches us. This is what Jesus, and Paul and Revelation teaches us. This is what our faith is all about. This is what faith is, the willingness to accept the appearantly ineffective way of obedience, trusting God for the results.
Smalltown Poets wrote the title for this post, on their album called Listen Closely and in the song The Gospel is Peace. They sing “the Gospel is His peace” though.
