The War and The Christian Mystic
May 22nd, 2007 by Brian Robertson
For the past ten years, ChristianMystics.com has dealt with the practices and writings of Christian Mystics, traditional and contemporary. I’ve stayed out of politics on purpose at the main site, at least directly, but I’d like to offer a small voice with this posting on the Christian Mystics Blog:
Christianity possesses a characteristic unique to most religions. There have been some rather horrible atrocities committed in Jesus’ name, of that you can be certain. Yet, within Christianity have always been the voices, often of mystics, who acknowledge those mistakes and atone for them. We must always remain a religion with a conscience, otherwise we have abandoned the very heart of Jesus.
Clearly to 75% of those in America, Iraq was a horrible mistake, a bait-n-switch sale exploited by leaders. We have given over the gasoline to those who would torch bonfires of hatred against us, be we Americans or Christians or both. We have edged the world closer to a religious war. We have abandoned justice for personal revenge. We have forsaken our ideas and example for blindness and fear.
Two different identities exist here. The first is American, the second, Christian. Despite the blustering of America’s leaders who mix their metaphors and call the event a religious “Crusade” and militarily invite the enemy to “bring it on,” these two identities are not the same thing, although they may, at times, share certain values.
Romans 12:21 states what is obvious in Jesus’ life: “Overcome evil with good.” This is a universal spiritual truth transcending all religions. For example, the Buddha said, “Hatred does not ever cease in this world by hating, but by love;… Overcome anger by love, Overcome evil by good. Overcome the miser by giving, overcome the liar by truth.” It is as unbounded a law as the law of gravity.
America and Christianity share one basic truth in common, that people must be inspired and helped to become what they can be. When America falters as it has, Christianity must uphold the banner. That basic truth is hinted at in Ben Franklin’s quote, “A lighthouse can be more useful than a church.” America’s strength has never been in its military, it has been in its ideas. America has usually offered itself as a lighthouse, a beacon of hope and propriety. Yet, we have abandoned the “high ground” in both foreign as well as domestic issues. The military action has displaced our role as the beacon of conscience. Just as obvious are the examples here in our country — the plight of hurricane victims, the existence hunger, poverty, the lack of free access to basic medical help, the frightening threats to civil liberties and more.
If we falter as Americans, what about our spiritual identity? Are we not, in our personal lives as Christians (and non-Christians), even more bound to the concept of living our lives in such a way as to love, to protect, to aid, to heal, to comfort another? In our small life, we cannot change geopolitics, but we can change the world that is in front of our eyes, within the reach of our hands and within the distance our feet can take us in our journey. These are the peacemakers Jesus spoke of in the Sermon on the Mount, not the leaders who march in exactly the opposite direction.
In our lives, we must act on spiritual insights and translate them into action. On a national level, this is not done by the sword, but by the heart and hands and by example. On a personal level, we each must decide if we are to live as though Truth matters, as though God in ourselves and in others matters. We must walk in this world radiating and expressing hope and love, joining together on principles, not on labels. Are we to be vigilant? Of course. Harmless as doves but wise as serpents? Definitely, for there is such a thing as evil, and Jesus never told us to be stupid, only to live in the world without fear.
After all, in every healing that is reported in the stories, Jesus says two things: Be completed. Be not afraid. We can pray and act so that both the world and the people in it are thus healed.
Blessings,
Rev. Brian Robertson
Tags:
This post was so beautiful and powerful, words cannot adequately how it’s touched me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for posting this, Rev.
It brought to mind a Chinese proverb: “Don’t curse the darkness - light a candle.”
On my own blog I wrote a piece called, “War, Lies and Faith” where I attempted to describe how THIS particular president and THIS particular war contributed to a personal 9/11 of faith that I was going through.
Your piece here is an excellent reminder to me: Light More Candles! (and bite my tongue when I feel that curse coming on…)
THANK YOU!
Breathtaking. Thank you for your thoughts and I’ll do the best I can to make sure as many people as possible read this.
Dylan
This is deep, Brian. It’s heartbreaking how many people in America have abandoned the high (spiritual) ground for the low (illusory).
We need to counter all this national hatred with love. I also posted on my site “Time to Wage Peace” with a referral to “One Million Blogs for Peace” (thanx to my fellow commentator Grace).
There was a reason why Jesus said, “blessed are the peacemakers.”
Peace!
I would like to respond to your essay by saying that I, as do most Christians, fall into the trap of mixing the the Infinite (God/Spirit) with the finite (man/the world). There were two Adams in the bible; the Adam of the Spirit and the Adam of dust. There was a duality attributed to Jesus as he was called the “son of man” as well as, the “son of God”. Jesus and Jesus “the Christ”; IN this world but not OF it.
Right now, radical Islamists do not have the same conception of a God of love and peace as do most Christians. When I am in the world, I do not want to be killed by ignorance of the Word. I will defend myself, my family and my country. When I am trying to be transcendant, I pray for my enimies to come to the Word. I am not far enough into my spiritual journey or enlightenment that I feel God will, where I am on my path today, protect me from bullets, biochemical or nuclear warfare. Thus, if called upon I will do my duty but, with the prayer that someday I will have the Presence so in-dwelling in me that warfare will not be a possibility in my experiance.
I understand completely, Mark, and no one can fault you. Jesus said we should be “wise as serpents” not “dumb as bricks.” For me, there are times when one must defend one’s family and loved ones, and I realize such things can become necessary options.
However.
Ask for a moment. If the half a trillion dollars spent so far on the war had been spent — or part of it — to feed the poor in the region, to help with education, to build hospitals; if we had taken care of the health needs of our children, responded with compassion and wisdom to the events in New Orleans; if we had, in short, taken seriously our ability to stand for something and to radiate Christ’s love rather than to sink to the level of that which we now fight, how much better off would we be? How much better off would the world be? What we have done is to go against the principles on which we once showed ourselves to be different and trying, as imperfect as we are bound to be.
Whose side would Jesus be on? Us? Them? My own answer is something akin to this: the side of any who suffer, who bleed, who starve, who are left alone by deaths of parents, brothers, sisters, who are victims of injustice and who long for God’s Presence. Who would he stand against? Those who say “the will of God” and yet they do nothing of the sort, only the will of Man. Those who profit from the suffering and deaths of others. Those who control the souls and spirits of their citizens, their army.
War does not beget peace. Peace begets peace. That was underneath what I wrote earlier, at least for me. Your point is something else entirely — am I, as a Christian, supposed to defend those I love? Speaking only for myself, I’d have to say yes. There is evil in the world, but, I say, there is also using evil to fight the evil in the world of which no good — Divine or otherwise — can come.
Thank you for your thoughtful comment and I pray for you and your family to continue to grow in what is obvious love and concern, a need I and everyone else shares.
May God give you peace,
Brian
“Fighting wars changes maps, fighting poverty maps change” Muhammed Ali
http://www.naked-heart.com
From one lover of Christ to another!
Beautiful site!
Anakha
The human race has made human death the final answer to the worst of our problems.
If human death was not an option our thinking would cultivate new ways to solve our problems. Peace on earth would be possible.
For many in America the situation does not affect us directly and we have the feeling of indifference. We are very busy with living.
Thank you for speaking out about how you feel. It fills me with hope that Christ charity is still alive in society.
I too would protect my family from harm but I have a real problem with sending my child to murder and war to protect me and my freedoms. I should have tried harder to make a Christ like difference of love in my society and government.