Church Admits: We Beat the Drums of War Too

“How many false statements were made from the pulpits and in the Sunday school classes of United Methodist churches in the months before the war? We beat the drums of war, too.”

The question and admission quoted above were part of a speech by Jim Winkler at a United Methodist Conference called “Finding the Church’s Voice in a Violent World.” Winkler is General Secretary of the United Methodist Board of Church and Society. Following are frank admissions on how the war in Iraq was sold and how the church, the Methodist Church in this case but truly most Christian Churches, was complicit in that wanton sales job. This excerpt ends with links to consecutive issues of Faith in Action, where Winkler’s words to the peace conference can be read in full.

“(In late January), a study by the Center for Public Integrity and the Fund for Independence in Journalism counted 935 false statements in interviews, speeches, briefings and other venues by the Bush Administration prior to the war. On at least 532 occasions, President Bush or his officials stated flat out that Iraq had Weapons of Mass Destruction, or was trying to produce them, or had links to al Qaeda, or both.

“The study concluded, “The cumulative effect of these false statements — amplified by thousands of news stories and broadcasts — was massive, with the media coverage creating an almost impenetrable din for several critical months in the run-up to the war.”

It was difficult to stand up to this hurricane force and a great many of our church leaders failed to do so. How many false statements were made from the pulpits and in the Sunday school classes of United Methodist churches in the months before the war? We beat the drums of war, too.

“Before the war, a United Methodist pastor serving one of our congregations wrote to tell me that Jesus supported war and condoned the use of violence. He pointed out that Jesus had acted violently in overturning the tables in the Temple and authorized His disciples to carry swords to Gethsemane. The pastor then said, “But then, I forget, you don’t take the Bible literally — you decide what it says for yourself.”

“But as Paul Harvey says, "Here's the rest of the story": Yes, they carried swords to Gethsemane. When a disciple used his, though, Jesus intervened and, in fact, healed the wound inflicted. That's the Savior I know and love: healer, peacemaker. I believe Jesus' actions speak as loudly as his words.

“Many did stand against the hysteria and nationalist conformity that preceded this war. They have been proved right by their words of caution and peace. Our bishops have spoken repeatedly against the war. Even in the midst of their powerful calls for the war to end, 109 of our bishops signed a statement of repentance two years ago acknowledging they did not speak up early enough due to our focus on institutional maintenance.

A letter to the editor in one of our annual conference newspapers recently said, in part: “I have always firmly believed that our pastors and bishops were supposed to remain neutral and not get involved in politics,” but in the same letter the writer states, “we should be supporting the president of the United States in our decisions.” Hmmmm.

“This war must end. We are in the midst of a tragedy of historic proportions, and we will be castigated in some quarters for raising the banner of peace. So it has always been.

We have invaded a country, made the local people angry, and then said we will not leave until they’re no longer angry with us. The U.S. must leave Iraq so that Iraq can begin the process of healing because the United States of America cannot fix Iraq. We cannot bring peace to Iraq. We cannot bring democracy to Iraq. But we can stop bombing and killing the people of Iraq.

“The war in Iraq must end and we will continue to work for that end.”

Faith in Action, Feb. 1 edition. Click or paste to browser:
http://www.umc-gbcs.org/site/apps/nlnet/content.aspx?c=frLJK2PKLqF&b=3879657&ct=5011021

Faith in Action, Feb. 8 edition. Click or paste to browser:
http://www.umc-gbcs.org/site/apps/nlnet/content.aspx?c=frLJK2PKLqF&b=3891943&ct=5025025&tr=y&auid=3381395