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Do you think that it really makes sense for America to be pacifist? No. "America" names a nation-state that exists partly through violence and the threat of violence. By God's grace, America does many good things, and we should grateful for them. But as soon as Christians focus on this country, then warfare and violence are inevitable. That doesn't mean that the warfare and violence escape God's judgment. Scripture shows that God regularly used the ambitions and violence of earthly empires, but God still judged them for their violence and injustice. Pacifism makes sense for Christians in America only when we allow the gospel to transform our identity, when we see the church as the primary agent of God's work in history.

Doesn't your position result in more people dying than if we go to war? No. As hard and harsh as this next statement may seem, we all die. Gospel pacifism challenges us to think about how we die and whether or not we kill. How we answer those questions reveals what we think the greatest power in the universe is. Do we worship the God of life or the god of death?

Isn't gospel pacifism just a way to abdicate responsibility and isolate yourself from the world that the rest of us live in? No. That may be a natural way of thinking about pacifism, but pacifism is not passive; it should be active peacemaking. It vigorously and nonviolently resists evil. It is engaged in making peace, not dodging war. Followers of Jesus Christ should be in the midst of conflicts bearing witness to and working for God's reconciliation. The most violent places in the world host Christians who are working non-violently toward peace and justice.

Aren't pacifists dependent for their lives on the military powers that they oppose? We could argue about this. But beyond that question, gospel pacifists believe that we are all dependent upon the grace of God. So gospel pacifists ask those who are waging war, "Aren't you dependent for your life on God's grace, which you oppose in your warmaking?" As believers in the God of grace, we must live in such a way that we bear witness to the Good News of God's love for all in Jesus Christ. That love is faithfully embodied in nonviolent resistance to evil.

Jonathan R. Wilson is a U.S citizen who currently teaches at Acadia Divinity College in Nova Scotia. His book Why Church Matters: Worship, Ministry, and Mission in Practice will be published this fall by Brazos Press.

Copyright © 2006 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Jonathan Wilson recently reviewed The Great Giveaway.

Christianity Today's coverage of CPT includes:

What Was CPT Doing in Iraq? | The original vision of a peacemaker force from the man who started it. (March 28, 2006)

Standing for Peace on the Eve of War | Christian group seeks nonviolent solution in Iraq. (March 12, 2003)

Risking Life for Peace | Caught between rebels, paramilitaries, and crop-dusters, peacemaking Christians put their lives on the line in violent Colombia. (September 7, 2001)

Hebron's Peacemakers Find No Shalom in Olive Branches | Christian Peacemaker Teams, a social-justice group working overseas, is testing the boundaries of nonviolent intervention in its mission to Hebron, one of the Mideast's most troubled cities. (September 16, 1996)

More in pacifism includes:

Ancient Christian Commentary on Current Events: What Is War Good For? | What early church leaders thought of Christians and the military. (Oct. 28, 2003)

Wielding the Sword | Early believers were not as troubled as we are by the use of force. (Feb. 20, 2002)

Rethinking Pacifism | Many peace-church leaders, shaken by attacks, reexamine their beliefs. (Nov. 16, 2001)

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April (Web-only) 2006, Vol. 50