Veteran's Day was last week. I would say this is an interesting day on the calender. I by all means support the people in our military and I thank them for their service. I honor and respect them for so many reasons. However I find this an interesting time again to ponder my view on war as a whole and the fact that while I support the people in our military I find it harder and harder to support the military itself. I have stated a few times on this blog how I have been ever growing towards being a straight up pacifist and I think the journey is complete. However, just because I have made a decision on my viewpoint does not make it something I have stopped pondering and thinking about in my mind. With this new found viewpoint I definitely feel out of place in America especially considering that even within the church (which seems to be more Nationalistic than ever) we are very much within the American mindset that it is our duty to police the world and to spread democracy to all nations (wait...I thought we were supposed to disciple all nations...) While we should strive to bring peace everywhere, I think our current way of doing it is flawed and flat out wrong.
The following is an article written by Shane Claiborne, the instigator of my change of viewpoint. If you ever get a chance to read his books, "The Irresistible Revolution" and "Jesus for President," take that chance. While I do not agree with Shane on every issue (biggest thing I disagree with is I think he operates from a poverty mindset instead of one of royalty, authority, and wealth that we are given from heaven), these books remain two of the most radical books I have ever read. They do not fall in line with most of the American church today (though strangely enough they seem to fall in line with the Bible) and they bring up many things that are often overlooked even within so said "on-fire" believers. Please comment with your thoughts.
Here's the article,
When Soldiers Become Saints
