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ㆍ작성일	2002-12-02 (월) 14:22

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Why I am a pacifist
Why I am a pacifist
By Esther Epp-Tiessen

I am a pacifist -- I am opposed to war. In the months since September 11th, I have heard many people say that folks like me are naive, unrealistic bleeding hearts, who are blind to the evil in the world. Some would even consider me traitorous. Those challenges have made me think long and hard about why I claim to be a pacifist. Why do I believe that war is wrong? I have concluded that I am a pacifist simply because of who I am. Here's why.

1. I am a pacifist because I am a Christian.

As a Christian I am a follower of Jesus. Jesus lived a life and died a death committed to peace. In life, he taught his followers to offer creative non-violent responses to any violence inflicted against them. He offered forgiveness to those burdened with sin and guilt. He befriended the outcasts and marginal members of society. He confronted those who oppressed the poor and condemned those who practiced injustice. He showed love to his enemies and persecutors. When faced with torture and death, he did not call upon his followers to rise up in revolt. Rather, he accepted suffering willingly. His resurrection demonstrates the triumph of good over evil, of nonviolence over violence.

If I claim to follow Jesus, I must commit myself to his way of peace. This is a non-negotiable. Peace is at the heart of Jesus' message and ministry. It is central to the Gospel of Christ. If I claim to hold Christ at the centre of my life, I have no choice but to embrace his way of peace too.

2. I am a pacifist because I am a Mennonite.

The Anabaptists came to understand that following Christ and turning away from violence went hand in hand. Menno Simons said, "The Gospel and its adherents are not to be protected by the sword, nor are they thus to protect themselves . . . Neither do they use worldly sword or war, since all killing has ceased with them." For over four hundred years, Mennonites and Brethren in Christ have tried to uphold a commitment to peace, though not always consistently.

I cherish my church's historic commitment to forsake violence. I believe that our Anabaptist-Mennonite peace convictions are a tremendous gift that we have to offer the world. This is not to say that other Christians do not have gifts to share with us. It is to say that the ministry of proclaiming and making peace is a gift and a treasure that we have been given to share with our broken world.

3. I am a pacifist because of my association with Mennonite Central Committee.

There are many things that MCC has learned through the collective experience of workers serving around the world over the past eighty years. One of those learnings is that war is a terrible scourge on humanity.

War kills the innocent. A century ago 90 per cent of war's victims were soldiers; today 90 percent are civilians.
War creates refugees. Some 25 million refugees exist worldwide; most of them have been driven from their homes because of war.
War disables healthy people, physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Unexploded ordnance, like landmines and cluster bombs, cause death and destruction long after wars have "ended."
War separates families and orphans children.
War makes it difficult or impossible for people to grow food to feed themselves and others.
War contributes to the spread of diseases like AIDS.
War causes tremendous - sometimes permanent - harm to the natural environment.
MCC is committed to preventing violence and building peace throughout the world. MCC workers have simply seen too much evidence of war's devastation.

4. I am a pacifist because of my interest in history.

The 20th century is striking for its violence -- over one hundred million lives lost. It is also striking because of the wars that were ostensibly fought to bring peace. Both World Wars I and II were supposed to "end all wars." Other conflicts, such as American military intervention in Indo-China and Central America, were undertaken supposedly to enhance global stability." Yet at the end of the century, some 40 armed conflicts were being waged around the world. We can now add to that the "war on terrorism" in Afghanistan.

The Bible teaches that violence begets violence. History bears this out. We can point to many regions of the world where cycles of violence have spiraled uncontrollably for decades. The Middle East is only the most current example of how retaliation and counter-retaliation have fed a conflict that threatens to become an all-out conflagration. If we learn our history, we learn that violence and warfare rarely, if ever, contribute to a just and lasting peace.

History also teaches that peaceful nonviolent action can be amazingly effective in bringing about political and social change. We do well to learn the stories of movements that have successfully used organized nonviolence to resist oppression and exploitation. We need to know about Danish resistance to Nazi occupation in World War II, about Gandhi and the Indian struggle for independence, about the American civil rights movement, about how Filipino "people power" brought down a dictator.

5. I am a pacifist because I am a mother.

My love for my children is so deep and profound that at times it overwhelms me. Such is the love of almost all mothers.

I know what it means to lose a child. Seven years ago our eight-year-old son Timothy died of cancer, after a long journey that, bit by bit, robbed him of his ability to see, to speak, and to move. A part of me died then too. It is only through God's grace, the love of family, friends and faith community, and the shedding of countless tears, that I have been able to experience healing.

My own loss has helped me to understand in a small way the pain and the grief of a mother whose child is blown to bits by a missile, killed by a sniper, permanently disabled by a landmine, or raped by someone with a uniform and a gun.

Author Barbara Kingsolver has said that the loss of war is a "pure, high note of anguish like a mother singing to an empty bed." Indeed, if only we could gather the tears of anguish of all the mothers whose children have been killed, disabled, or traumatized by war. What oceans those tears would fill! Perhaps then we could collectively say, "Please, no more children. Don't kill anyone's child anymore."

* * * * *
I am a pacifist. Pacifism is a commitment that arises out of my identity as a Christian, a Mennonite, an MCC worker, a student of history, and a mother. It is part of who I am.