2 of 3

We Christians may not do as Americans something that we must not do as Christians. As we listen to and debate arguments about going to war, note how often our Christian identity is subordinated to our American identity. We have been so formed by the collusion of the church with America that we find it difficult to even distinguish between Christian and national identity, and harder to subordinate our national identity to our identity in Christ.

Gospel pacifism believes that God primarily works in the world through the church, not the nation. The church, as the community of disciples, is called to bear witness to the one hope that we have: Jesus Christ. Most of the debates about war, even in the church, are about what the United States should do. This is natural for those who primarily find their identity as Americans. But for Christians, our debate should be about what the church should be doing.

Today, more than ever, we see that the church is the global people of God: transnational, transracial, translinguistic. As strange as it may seem, this gathering of people from every tribe and tongue and nation is the vehicle through which God acts in the world. Our inability to recognize and act upon this is a major tragedy for which we will be judged.

Gospel pacifism argues that the church compromises its mission, corrupts its life, and abandons its witness when it follows the way of death by acting out of national, racial, and cultural identity. If this is the case, God's judgment looms over the church in the West and elsewhere.

For most people in the world, the United States of America is a Christian nation. When we advertise the Christian faith of our President and others in the government, we reinforce the perception of America as "Christian." So the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan appear to be (and in many ways are) wars fought by Christians against Muslims. If there is no other Christian voice or action, then the cause of the gospel among the nations—among Muslims included—could be significantly compromised for years to come.

The form of Christian pacifism I teach, which motivated my daughter and son-in-law to join CPT in Iraq, calls for the church to resist evil non-violently. Followers of Jesus Christ who are also Americans will act in ways that seek to faithfully represent the gospel apart from the work of this nation-state. We do this not because we deny the existence of evil or the claims of justice, but because we have been claimed by the Good News of another kingdom—the kingdom established when Jesus defeated death on the Cross, which will bring justice for all creation.

Gospel pacifism bears witness to the Messiah who was raised from the dead. Although the Bible teaches that Jesus defeated death by his death, it also looks forward to the return of the risen Christ when death will be destroyed. As we wait for that event, the practice of gospel pacifism requires great patience in suffering, endurance in hope, and the firm conviction that any "peace" that comes in this age is only a foretaste of the peace of God's kingdom. So we live the way of peace today as a witness to Jesus Christ, the only one who can bring true and lasting peace to our warring world.

There are objections to this type of Christian witness, to which I would like to respond. Do you really think that this position will bring an end to war and violence? No. This pacifism is not the liberal, optimistic, humanistic pacifism. Gospel pacifism admits the deep presence of sin that is expressed through violence. Only Christ's return will bring our warfare and violence to an end. In the meantime, we who long for his return must witness as faithfully as we can to that hope we have in Christ. Without that witness, the world sees no evidence of Christ's kingdom. Rather it sees only the kingdom of sin and death. Without Jesus Christ, the only hope in this world is to be better at dealing out death than anyone else. Our call is not to be effective by the standards of this world but to be faithful witnesses to the reality of redemption in Jesus Christ.

next page... |  2 of 3

share this page

April (Web-only) 2006, Vol. 50