Wednesday, December 7, 2005
From the letter posted at the Presbyterian News Service and signed by Rick Ufford-Chase, moderator, 216th General Assembly (2004) and The Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, stated clerk of the General Assembly:
The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has spoken forcefully about our conviction that there was no justification for the U.S. Government’s invasion of Iraq. Presbyterians pray daily for the innocent Iraqi civilians, U.S. soldiers, and all others whose lives are at risk at this time. Further, we have spoken clearly about our grave concern for those who have been detained by U.S. forces, and for their families...
This article in The Layman pulls no punches:
Moderator, stated clerk blame kidnappings on U.S.
The PCUSA leaders' statement was unusually harsh in condemning U.S. involvement in Iraq – even when compared with pleas for the release of the hostages by the National Council of Churches and Islamic groups...
The NCC and Faithful Americans did not, like the PCUSA, blame the plight of the CPT members on the U.S. involvement in Iraq...
The Presbyterian leaders alone blamed the "United States' war against Iraq" for endangering the hostages. Currently, there is no "war against Iraq." The U.S. involvement, whether supported or denounced, is focused on protecting a fragile Iraqi democracy against Iraqis and insurgents who oppose democracy.
The four peace activists were kidnapped by a heretofore unknown group, the Swords of Righteousness. The group has said it will kill the four on Thursday if all prisoners in Iraq are not released by then.
The Presbyterian leaders, after emphasizing their opposition to the U.S. role in Iraq, did mildly state their opposition to the kidnappings by the Swords of Righteousness. "We believe that all violence is wrong, and that the action of kidnapping cannot be justified under any circumstance," they said.
Uggh.
This serves to illustrate the moral bankruptcy of the current leadership of the PC(USA).
"We believe that all violence is wrong,..."
This is the sentence in the letter that shocked me.
All violence. Some churches take this position, notably the Quakers and Mennonites. The Presbyterian and other Reformed churches never have.
All violence would include self-defense when assaulted, the sometimes necessarily violent actions of the police, and all defensive wars. It would mean that nations attacked by imperial conquerers should simply surrender. That Charles Martel should have laid down his sword and allowed the jihadis to conquer Christiandom. That England should have allowed Nazi Germany to cross the channel and enslave England. That Israelis should have allowed themselves and their children to be murdered by the Arab Legion in 1948. And, yes, that on Dec. 7th 1941 the United States should have allowed Japan to conquer and enslave the people of Asia, Australia, and Hawaii.
Thank God Clifton Kirkpatrick was not president of the United States in 1941.