Glocal Christianity

Religious Clingwrapping

Religious clingwrapping - a game the whole family can play.

The scenes here are takes from Bad Boy Bubby, one of my top 5 weird assed movies of all time.

Pacifism ... or Nonviolent Activism?

"I oftentimes say in public that I'm a pacifist, but I don't like the word for two reasons. One, it's just so passive, and I think Christian nonviolence is very active confrontation with violence. Second, I think the word pacifism sounds like you have a position that is somehow separate from your worship of the crucified Savior. Christian nonviolence is entailed in the very heart of what it means to worship a crucified God. So I don't like the idea that pacifism has some further implication for my belief in Jesus."  - Hauerwas

American Drone Attacks Are Counterproductive

In a recent interview, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani talked about the fight against terrorism in his country, the future of Afghanistan and why US drone attacks do more harm than good. Something for Christian peace activists to take note of. HT to Anabaptist Association of Australia and New Zealand (AAANZ).

Killer Robot has "Software Glitch". Ooops!

Most people don't realize it yet, but right now the future of war is crashing into the present. Right now, this year, the world of conflict is undergoing a profound shift. Does it have social and ethical implications? You betcha. Just listen to this guy.

Related Articles:

Reuters: Killer Robots and a Revolution in Warfare - "You need to be an optimist to think that political leaders will opt for negotiation over war once combat casualties come home not in flag-decked coffins but in packing crates destined for the robot repair shop."

Wired for War - The Robotics Revolution - A video containing reports that children have been killed by unmanned US drones ... and a whole bunch of other stuff that will blow your mind. 

Carnegie Network - Robot's, the Battlefield and Ethics - "Can intelligent robot soldiers be designed to be more ethical in battle than human soldiers? Would you prefer a robot or a human deciding about the possibility of civilian casualties?"

Illah Nourbakhsh Lecture: Ethics in Robotics - "Are there types of robots that shouldn't be created? Should we use robots in military combat? Or is there actually nothing to worry about?"

It's for your own protection

"If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

Is the New Testament pro-war?

Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it - Adolph Hitler

Brian McLaren on War

Liked this comment from Brian McLaren:

On war ... my interest has not been in figuring out if war is ever justifiable, but rather in how war can be prevented. History teaches that one of the worst ways to prevent war is by beginning with justifying hypothetical wars. Obviously, I'd be much less against a war in which people defend themselves from unprovoked invasion or aggression than I would elective or aggressive wars. But even there, I'd rather use the words "less against" than "justified."

However, it still leaves the conversation somewhat in the hypothetical realm. I would say the more concrete question for many is this: is it ok for a Christian to enlist in the army, given that, once you enlist, yet get no choice over which wars you fight?

A descending spiral

The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that.

Martin Luther King

The New Pacifism?

I am finally getting stuck into my second hand copy of “Future Shock”. It’s amazing how prescient Alvin Toffler was on some things, and it’s amazing to think what that implies, given the theories he based his projections on.

This evening I was reviewing Toffler's 1994 interview with New Scientist, where he spoke of war and anti-war.

The basic argument is that as new civilizations emerge they bring with them new forms of warfare and new forms of warfare emerge, new forms of peacefare are required.

The Industrial Revolution did not simply industrialize the economy, it industrialized warfare. The machine age gave us the machine gun. Societies organized around mass-production, culminated in nuclear weapons, the ultimate in mass destruction. We argue that to the degree that knowledge is in fact becoming central to the new economy, it is also becoming central to the new form of war. The US Air Force has just bought 300,000 personal computers. There will be more computers in the armies of the world than there will be guns. Just as in the economy you need skilled workers, you need skilled soldiers.

It’s got me thinking back to my recent posts on the robotization of warfare, as well as viral warfare, military hacking and other stuff. What’s the peacefare equivalent that’s set to emerge, or presumably, has already begun emerging? Youtube activism and flash mobs are already emerging as alternatives to mass demonstrations, but what may happen when robotization really kicks in over the next decade. Got me thinking now.

Justice of the peace

Violence produces only something resembling justice, but it distances people from the possibility of living justly, without violence.

Leo Tolstoy

Shalom, Afghanistan

Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.

- Jesus (John 20:21)

The Endurance Test

To our most bitter opponents we say: ‘We shall match your capacity to inflict suffering by our capacity to endure suffering. We shall meet your physical force with soul force. Do to us what you will, and we shall continue to love you.’.... Jesus is eternally right. History is replete with the bleached bones of nations that refused to listen to him. May we in the twentieth century hear and follow his words before it is too late. May we solemnly realize that we shall never be true sons of the heavenly Father until we love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968), “Loving your Enemies” in Strength to Love

Peace is a fighting word

It seems that all sorts of people get upset by Christian peacemakers.

First of all, Christian peacemakers upset Christian warmakers. Nothing is more threatening to warmaking Christians than peacemaking Christians, not even the Islamic jihad, for Christian peacemakers undermine the legitimacy of Just War ethic in a way that jihadists do not. Having argued for war on the basis of pragmatism and Old Testament scripture, Christian warriors find it very disturbing to find some Christians claiming Christ is central to the war question and living accordingly. Calls for peace quickly lead to fighting words.

Second of all, Christian peacemakers upset hardened Christian critics. This seems somewhat paradoxical, but similarly, nothing is more threatening to the arguments of hardened Christian critics than peacemaking Christians. Truthfully, I have had some Atheists say to me they'd rather converse with angry Christian fundamentalists. Why, because Christian peacemakers undermine the legitimacy of claims that religion causes violence. Particularly when some of these critics, like Sam Harris, support war. Calls for peace quickly lead to fighting words.

No longer love this world

Therefore, no longer love this world or its military service, for Scripture’s authority declares that ‘whoever is a friend of this world is an enemy of God.’ Whoever serves as a soldier with the sword is the servant of death, and whenever he sheds his own blood or that of another, this will be his reward: he will be regarded as guilty either because he caused his own death or because of his sin (of killing his enemy in war.)

Paulinus of Nola (A.D. 355-431), Letter 25, To Crispinianus

Peace to this House

When you enter a house, first say, 'Peace to this house.'

- Jesus (Luke 10:5)