Ideas

One Small Step

The euphoria of President Reagan’s summit meeting with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev is long past. It is in the cold light of day that Congress now considers ratification of the INF missile reduction treaty.

And in that cold light of day, what are evangelicals to think of the treaty? We may be helped in our judgments by the Guidelines formulated last year by the National Association of Evangelicals, under the auspices of its Peace, Freedom, and Security Studies Program.

The Guidelines are concerned to support two basic principles: religious freedom and the nonviolent resolution of international conflict. Accordingly, they are wary of the Soviet Union’s past and present policies, which certainly suppress religious and other freedoms. At the same time, the Guidelines are desirous of discussions such as that between Reagan and Gorbachev, since they affirm the universal human capacity for “reason and mutual respect.”

In principle, then, the Guidelines vigorously support prudent efforts at arms reduction. Arms reductions are clearly attempts to reduce international conflict non-violently. And prudent arms reductions will safeguard religious (and other) freedoms by not upsetting the balance of power to the point that either superpower might feel emboldened to abuse human rights in a third country—or even launch an attack on its superpower opponent.

So the important question becomes: Is the INF treaty prudent? It calls for the destruction of only 3 percent of both countries’ nuclear arsenals. This is hardly a cut radical enough to destabilize the present, uneasy “balance” of power.

The treaty also provides for the most extensive verifications of the reduction ever written into such a document. These include allowing each power to count physically the other’s medium-range missiles, as well as continuing 13-year, on-site inspections (in the USSR, at more than 100 locations). Such measures comport well with the Guidelines’ concern for realism and prudence.

Yet there are those who say the only realistic stance toward the USSR is one of threatening physical force. This is a view explicitly repudiated by the Guidelines. They deny that there can be no “change in Soviet society,” assert that “there are new realities” in Russia, and state that “there is the possibility for the establishment of more common ground between the U.S. and USSR.…”

With the affirmation, then, that the INF treaty realistically seeks an alternative to violence (and the proviso that the current congressional investigation will confirm its realism), evangelicals should heartily support its swift ratification. And they should pray that it is only the first of many steps toward, in the words of the Guidelines, more effective alternatives to “that most terrible form of human conflict, the organized mass violence of war.”

By Rodney Clapp.

Our Latest

News

Amid Fragile Cease-Fire, Limited Aid Reaches Gazans

Locals see the price of flour rise and fall as truce is strained and some borders remain closed.

News

Federal Job Cuts Hit Home as Virginia Picks Its Next Governor

Meanwhile, the GOP candidate draws from Trump’s playbook to focus on transgender issues in schools. 

Religious OCD and Me

Scrupulosity latches onto the thing we hold most dear—our relationship with God.

Why ‘The Screwtape Letters’ Is Uncomfortable to Watch

The two-actor play uses C. S. Lewis’s classic work to warn people—especially Christians—about the dangers of lukewarm faith.

News

Fewer Hong Kong Youth Interested in Seminary

Many feel disillusioned about the church and its lack of engagement amid the turmoil of the past few years.

The Just Life with Benjamin Watson

Tiffany Loftin: How Everyday People Win Big Change

A conversation about the challenges of sustaining joy while fighting injustice.

Public Theology Project

A Real Revival Is Not Controllable 

It implies a movement of the Spirit, not just a boost in numbers.

From Our Community

For Vince Bacote, the Black Evangelical Story Has Something for Everyone

The theologian behind a recent documentary on what compelled him to tell a challenging and beautiful story.

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube