On the side note, I was very engaged with the question. There is one chapter discusses about peace making and I spent the Fri night (instead of going out Salsa) to work on this....
Second Question:
Stassen & Gushen in Chapter 7, Just War, Nonviolence and peacemaking, encourage us to take on the peace making principles. They also challenge us to discern which stance we take and encourage discussion on just war and nonviolence theories in our community and being a clear witness to the government.
From the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spent a huge portion discusses the needed to reconcile with our enemies by actively promoting peace (Matt. 6:38-42, An eye for an eye, and Matt 6:43-48, Love for Enemies).
And in Jesus' context, it is cleared why Jesus taught what He taught. Israelites hated the Roman occupation and Zealots were rising up in insurrection and rebellions. Stassen & Gushen continued to use this context throughout the chapter to discuss the implication of us and our enemies.
As I read this chapter, I cannot help to think about Canada's role on international peace keeping. What's should be our stance and action as a Christian?
As I read this chapter, I am reminded of a book, Shaking Hands with the Devil, by Romeo Dallaire. It is his account as a UN Peacekeeper in Rwanda in 1993. His task was to monitor and give updates to United Nations. The situation deteriorated quickly. UN and supporting nations failed to act and Romeo Dallaire was left with a small contingent force to police a nation on the verge of civil war. Without adequate support from UN, Romeo Dallaire and his team witnessed one of the most horrifying massacres in the 20th century. 800,000 civilians were eliminated in a systematic and brutal method in 100 days.
It is a horrific reminder that racism exists. It is even more threaten and question our humanity (and our faith) when the neighboring nations standby goes un-notice.
In chap 6, Stassen & Gushen proposed that the Sermon of the Mount is a practice norms which Christians are taught and live. They are more than rules for us to follow; Jesus is giving practical real-life examples and preventive steps to break from the vicious cycle.
What type of deployment and strategies be use to promote peace?
The enemies have guns and arms. Should the peace makers armed themselves? To what degree? A hand gun for a hand gun. A machine gun for a machine gun. A rocket launcher for a rocker launcher. One can see the danger of this thinking in this view as one can easily tempted to start an arm race for the purpose of peace keeping. Today's technology and weapons can wipe out a huge population before a clear assessment of the situation can be made.
One can also see the contradiction action as the intent is to maintain peace and preserve life and weapons have only one purpose, to kill.
Does the idea of arming in order to protect peace coincide with what Jesus said in Matt. 10:34 ("Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth, I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.") and oppose the authors interpretation that the passage is really an impending of persecution? Granted the persecution is among two warring parties, not between them and us.
As Edmund Burker said ""All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
What steps shall we, as Christians, take to prevent war and bring peace in a nation that has no desire to live together? What national measures, shall we endorse our government in order to be proactive in peace making? Note: It is coincidental that the election is right around the corner :) ).
And I find this is the toughest question to discern. In the scenario of Rwanda, we have two parties on the verge of massacring each other. Each side has pile up arms (guns and machetes). The government (Hutus) has trained and prepared a plan to eradicate the minority (Tutsi). They have no desire to fight against the Western Countries. In fact, each parties wanted the rest of the world to live them alone as they execute atrocities.
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