2 of 2

For his part, John Paul Lederach is in for the long haul. "Peacebuilding is tough, complex work," he says. "I don't expect to have overnight accomplishments. Many of the conflicts we face have been going on for generations and may take generations to resolve."

But terrorist assaults on civilians are different from attacking standing armies in battle. Ron Mock, director of the Peace Learning Center at George Fox University, an evangelical Quaker school in Newberg, Oregon, has reexamined his own commitments, because a terrorist attack may happen anywhere, anyplace.

"For instance, if I had been on Flight 93 over Pennsylvania, I believe I would have joined the assault on the hijackers," Mock says. "But I think that would have been a Christian pacifist thing to do—though it's hard for me to explain exactly why, and I'm not fully comfortable with it."

Copyright © 2001 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

John Paul Lederach's "Quo Vadis? Reframing Terror from the Perspective of Conflict Resolution" is online at Mediate.com.

At the end of September, Christian History Corner ran an excerpt from a document written by Hans Schnell in about 1575. It retains immediacy because it still sums up the position of many Christian pacifists, and because among the enemies early Anabaptists refused to fight were aggressive Ottoman Turks—a serious Muslim threat in Europe.

Christian History Corner also examined Augustine's "just war" theory that still guides the west.

In a Weekly Standard article, J. Bottum criticized "soft pacifism" among American evangelicals.

For a more modern defense of Christian pacifism, see Don Murphy's 1986 article, "Can a Christian Be a Pacifist?" from the Dominican journal Spirituality Today.

A Christianity Today Weblog shortly after September 11 examined what Christian leaders were saying about just-war theory and pacifism.

Previous Christianity Today's essays and editorials on Christian response to September 11 include:

Blame Game | Seeking mercy is a better response to 9/11 than seeking meaning. (Nov. 8, 2001)

Rally Round the Flag | America may not be God's chosen nation, but it does have a mission that churches can support. (Nov. 7, 2001)

Wake-up Call | If September 11 was a divine warning, it's God's people who are being warned. (Nov. 5, 2001)

Where Was God on 9/11? | Reflections from Ground Zero and beyond. (Oct.23, 2001)

Judgment Day | God promised that calamity would follow disobedience. So why are we quick to dismiss it as a reason for the September 11 attacks? (Sept. 25, 2001)

Now What? | A Christian response to religious terrorism. (Sept. 21, 2001)

To Embrace the Enemy | Is reconciliation possible in the wake of such evil? (Sept. 21, 2001)

After the Grave in the Air | True reconciliation comes not by ignoring justice nor by putting justice first, but by unconditional embrace. (Sept. 21, 2001)

Taking It Personally | What do we do with all this anger? (Sept. 14, 2001)

A Wake-Up Call to Become Global Christians | The deadly attacks on America will provoke many responses, but Christians are commanded to love our neighbors. (Sept. 12, 2001)

God's Message in the Language of Events | In the face of evil, we must focus on keeping our hearts right. (Sept. 11, 2001)above all else.

When Sin Reigns | An event like this shows us what humans are capable of becoming—both as children of darkness and of light. (Sept. 13, 2001)

Fear and Hate | In times like this, as in all other times, Christians have a responsibility to love above all else. (Sept. 11, 2001)

first page |  2 of 2

share this page

December 3 2001, Vol. 45, No. 15