Taste and See
What To Do About Nukes
Hmm … a non-governmental, transnational group of people who want to build relationships and can get by in no man's lands sans government-provided comforts? Who care about the peace of this planet but also have an air of otherworldliness about them? Who wouldn't mind getting to know a drug trafficker just to get to know him? And who, in the unlikely scenario that some big transport was coming down, would be willing to tip someone off, just because they care about human life?
Even Niebuhr the realist wrote, "It would be ridiculous to assert that there can be no moral and spiritual disinterestedness in international affairs, simply because there is no political vantage point for its expression."
A number of people in the U.S. are caught up in a vision greater than any political vantage point, which infuses them with concern that each human life be lived to the fullest. They pop up as volunteer aid workers in ravaged regions, as English teachers to the poor, as micro-loan educators in Africa, as friends to all kinds of people, filling in the gaps where governments are powerless.
Who knows, maybe someday their work will prove useful in another area of world need.
Copyright © 2007 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
Related Elsewhere:
The Atomic Bazaar: The Rise of the Nuclear Poor is available from Amazon.com and other retailers.
NPR interviewed Langewiesche (Slate explained the pronunciation) and had him read an excerpt from the book, which was reviewed by the New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Christian Science Monitor, and others.
The Niebuhr Society links to Niebuhr's writings and speeches.
The Dallas Morning News published an interview on Niebuhr's philosophy of Christian Realism, which presents "the compelling idea that there's serious evil in the world. … But we shouldn't use that as an excuse for cynicism and inaction," according to Barack Obama.
Previous Taste and See columns include:
Brave New Salvation | A vision of a sinless future. (June 20, 2007)
Desire Happens | You see, you want. Then what? (March 29, 2007)
'Ordinary' Delights | Let us praise the consoling banality of good. (March 13, 2007)
Dating Jesus | When 'lover of my soul' language goes too far. (December 6, 2006)
To Russia with Fury | Sometimes charity means anger. (October 9, 2006)
What (Not All) Women Want | The finicky femininity of 'Captivating' by John and Stasi Eldredge. (August 1, 2006)
A Velveteen Apologetic | How two creatures dig a rabbit hole in my disbelief. (April 1, 2006)
What Would Jesus Buy? | Saving the world one cashmere sweater at a time. (February 1, 2006)
Taste and See
Agnieszka Tennant
Agnieszka Tennant is a former associate editor and editor at large for Christianity Today. She earned her master's degree in international relations at the University of Chicago, where she focused on how religiously-rooted norms influence world politics. Her "Taste and See" column ran from 2006 to 2007.
A Fractured and Beautiful Faith
Streaming This Weekend, May 24, 2013
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PW
It's great to hear a mainstream Christian outcry about warhead buildup around the world. It is important that we realize that we are more powerful when we show others how to show mercy than when we show others how we can create distruction. Of all the things that people remember and love about the words of God it is not the wrath, but rather the comfort. So to is it with America. We are most loved when we are most merciful. Yet we are inclined, as most humans are to fighting, sometimes for causes that need more plowshares than swords. I speak not as a person who knows everything. I am a sinner myself. But I am trying to change. I am asking for others to help America try to change as well.
Jim Frisbie
Sixth years ago the first and only hostile use of nukes happened. As the ones who did it we have a moral obligation to lead the world in nuclear disarmament...begining with our own. However, we are in the process of replacing our aging nukes with a new generation of "More effective" warheads. When will we ever learn....
Patrick Gann
Easily, the most controversial article I've yet read from Ms. Tennant. At least, that's what the comments so far suggest. It's awful how much the ignorance abounds from the average reader. I was particularly fond of this one: "I wonder if Agnieszka Tennant has ever read the Bible." Sweetheart, Agnieszka Tennant has probably read the Bible, and studied it, and learned more about it, than me and you combined. The verses you cite are irrelevant, unless you subscribe to the (sensationalized, probably false) "Left Behind" theology/eschatology. Yes, getting to know a drug trafficker would probably be dangerous, but missionaries are known to do the darndest things. All in all, Ms. Tennant, I'm not sure the rest of us are ready to hear someone say "it was a smart move for 3rd-world countries to make nukes." That's probably because we don't get it...I've always been a proponent for nuclear disarmament, but maybe all nations need to GET nukes before we all simultaneously disarm? Hmm...