Marginal Christianity

http://laydownyournets.wordpress.com/2013/09/04/the-rt-rev-paul-jones-syria-and-the-pax-romana/ As congress debates whether to bomb Syria for its recent use of chemical weapons in its two year long civil war, our church celebrates the lesser feast of the Rt. Rev. Paul Jones.  Now, I say “Rt. Rev.” but if you look at our commemoration of the man, it will just say “Paul Jones.”  Somewhere in the text it will say that he was the Bishop of Utah for a time in the early 1900′s.  He was forced to step down as bishop because of his views on World War I. He was against it. He said it was unchristian.  And, he said it very publicly. Saying that war is unchristian really made a lot of people mad at the time, seeing as how we were in one. There was a press outcry against him for his stance.  Now, here’s the surprising part for me.  A commission of the House of Bishops was appointed to investigate the matter and their conclusion was: “The und...

03 Sep 2013 Posted By: Greg Boyd Over the last week many of you have written ReKnew asking me to weigh in on the crisis in Syria. Does being a pacifist mean that I am opposed to America violently intervening to keep Assad from using chemical weapons against his own people? And if so, what would I say if Obama asked for my opinion on how America should respond to this crisis? The first thing I’ll say is that I don’t believe that being a kingdom pacifist (viz. on who swears off violence out of obedience to Jesus) means that one must embrace the conviction that governments are supposed to embrace pacifism. Many people assume this, and I’ve found that the implausibility of this position is one of the main reasons some people reject pacifism. After giving talks about the kingdom call to unconditional non-violence, I’ve frequently received responses like: “Are you telling me our government should just love the terrorists and ‘turn the other cheek’?” Actually, I’m not sayin...

http://catholicmoraltheology.com/the-grace-of-doing-something-in-syria/ Posted by Tobias Winright on Sep 4, 2013 in Current Events | 0 comments On Sunday, September 1 st , Pope Francis called for a Day of Prayer and Fasting on Saturday, September 7 th , for peace in Syria, the Middle East, and throughout the world. With “utmost firmness,” the pope condemned the use of chemical weapons in Syria: “I tell you that those terrible images from recent days are burned into my mind and heart. There is a judgment of God and of history upon our actions which are inescapable!” Francis’s words echo those of Gaudium et spes from the Second Vatican Council in connection with total war: “Any act of war aimed indiscriminately at the destruction of entire cities or of extensive areas along with their population is a crime against God and man himself. It merits unequivocal and unhesitating condemnation” (#80). Any war tactic that intentionally kills and harms civilians is murd...