Christians gather in D.C. for war protests ‘An offense against God’

[Cannikin]

WASHINGTON - Thousands of Christians prayed for peace at an anti-war service Friday night at the Washington National Cathedral, kicking off a weekend of protests around the country to mark the fourth anniversary of the war in Iraq.

“A lot of the rhetoric that we hear coming from Christians has been dominated by the religious right and has been strong advocacy for the war,” Pattison said. “That’s just not the way I read my Gospel.”

‘An offense against God’

“This war, from a Christian point of view, is morally wrong — and was from the beginning,” the Rev. Jim Wallis, founder of Sojourners/Call to Renewal, one of the event’s sponsors, said toward the end of the service to cheers and applause. “This war is ... an offense against God.”

“Mr. Bush, my Christian brother, we do need a surge in troops. We need a surge in the nonviolent army of the Lord,” he said. “We need a surge in conscience and a surge in activism and a surge in truth-telling.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17655224/

[Danger Mouse]

1. Christians advocating peace instead of war?

What are they, commies?
:P
This is good to see. I'm glad that Christians are speaking out against bush and the Christian Reich. We can't let them speak for all of us.

[Cannikin]

2. I agree 100%

[LynzM]

3. I agree, dude.

Nice to see...

[Orsino]

9. Some obscure sect that focuses on...

...that old "Prince of Peace" heresy, and who take seriously "Thou shalt not kill" just because it's the first on some list of edicts.

[crim son]

4. Better late than never,

but barely. :eyes:

[realisticphish]

6. yeah

because there have never been any christians involved in the anti-war movement :eyes:

[crim son]

21. You must be referring to the three we both know.

:eyes:

Okay, there have been a few, but not enough. "Thou shalt not kill." We should have heard them screaming from the rooftops, yet all I heard was applause.

:eyes:

[RFKHumphreyObama]

5. Actually....

There have been several Christian religious representatives throughout the globe -from all denominations -condemning the war or at the very least expressing strong reservations about the war from the very beginning. Some of them were the very first to speak out. And among my group of Christian friends, I know many are disturbed by *'s foreign policy and the war and have been praying for peace for a long time. Some of them are politically active and out there trying to make a difference and promote social justice and a compassionate foreign policy.

[Initech]

7. It's great to see that there really is a Christian left movement out there!

:toast:

[GoneOffShore]

8. Always has been,

The Society of Friends, the Unitarians (not strictly Christians), and some of the other Protestant denominations. And have you forgotten the Berrigan brothers?

[Critters2]

14. The Mennonites and Church of the Brethren have been strict pacifists

for 500 years. And have suffered for it.

[u4ic]

15. Add Quakers to the list

There are a few Christian UU denominations.

[Critters2]

16. My own denomination is progressive on lots of issues, but sucks on

issues of war and peace. It's fun to go to judicatory meetings and tell people I'm a pacifist. They freak out. The way other Christians would do if I came out as bi--which is more than cool in the UCC.

[u4ic]

17. That's odd...

the discrepancy...

What denomination are you? You did tell me once before, but I've forgotten. (Or are you UCC? In Canada, the United Church is very anti-war)

[Critters2]

18. UCC.

The denomination has consistently opposed this war, but is not pacifist in general. Thanks to the liberationist wing of the denom, which always wants to hold onto violence as an option in some situations.

[u4ic]

19. Ah, okay

thanks for clearing that up. :hi:

[grannylib]

10. It's nice to see the media stooping to give the Christian left some ATTENTION

for a change. They leap all over Dobson and Robertson and Falwell and their ilk, but it's rare to see Wallis or any other left/progressive Christian activists on the talk shows or featured in the news.
The movement has always been out there, it's just marginalized or ignored or ridiculed.

[Kat45]

11. Jim Wallis is a good man.

He's the one who wrote that book "God's Politics."

[skygazer]

12. Good to see

About time the christian voices of peace were heard - all we hear in the media is the war-and-profit voice of the religious right, while they fleece their flocks for millions. As Bono once said, "The god I believe in isn't short of cash."

[Little Wing]

13. Jesus Come Latetly?

Coined first here, Little Wing :D

[Critters2]

20. About 200 of these demonstrators were arrested

They stopped in front of the White House, which is illegal (must keep moving when on the White House sidewalk). Definite number arrested hasn't been released yet. Charges were disobeying a lawful order or crossing a police line.

more...http://peacejournalism.com/ReadArticle.asp?ArticleID=17738