Thought for the Week beginning 8th October, 2023

The tragic events which are currently taking place in southern Israel and Gaza are almost too dreadful to contemplate. The violence inflicted on innocent civilians is particularly terrible and, as I write, the death toll and news of destruction is mounting steadily. In a world where the use of force in conflicts is commonplace (the war in Ukraine being perhaps the most recent example, but there are plenty of others) this seems to be especially bad. The reason for this, I think, is that this area was part of the cradle of western civilisation and where the three major religions of the world came into being. A place which should be associated with peace and an earnest seeking after the ways of God is, and has been for centuries, a battle ground. We might well ask why? And what has gone wrong? As Christians, as human beings, we should rightly ask where God is in all this?

The first thing to remember, it seems to me, is that none of this is what God wants. His ways are the ways of justice and peace, not violence, warfare and conflict (Psalm 85). At the beginning of Matthew chapter 5 Jesus sets out a sort of blueprint for the kingdom of God in the beatitudes, two which state: "Blessed are the merciful" and "Blessed are the peacemakers". He sets a high standard for the conduct of individuals and nations, urging us even to love our enemies (Matthew 5.44) and to turn the other cheek (5.39). Indeed, Jesus never condones the use of force in any circumstances and we are told that it is the meek who will inherit the earth (5.5). This is remarkable bearing in mind the corrupt, violent and unjust society in which he was speaking, and that he was adressing a people who had suffered greatly at the hands of conquering powers. Matters in that part of the world were no more peaceful than they are now.

We may well say to this that such an attitude and approach to life is absurd and unrealistic - a ridiculously utopian vision of how to conduct human affairs which can never work. One answer to that might be that the ways of violenec and conquest have not got us very far either. When it was suggested to G.K Chesterton that the Christian way of life was deeply impractical his response was "It has never really been tried".

However, we have to recognise that there are those who will not follow the way of peace and peaceful resolution. The early church appreciated this and the doctrine of the "Just War" was developed, following the writings of St. Augustine and harking back to the early days of the people of Israel who had to fight, quite literally, for their survival. The Psalms speak of peace but also of the ways in which God helped his people in battle. There are countless stories throughout the history of Christianity of people who placidly accepted persecution and went a martyr's death without resorting to violence, but there have been many occasions as well when Christians have stood up against tyranny, even going to war to do so. The German theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, was someone who struggled with this dilemma during World War Two  and who eventually decided that force would have to be used to rid the world of naziism.

The causes of conflicts are usually very complex and shrouded in history, often violent. What is happening today in the Middle East is an extreme example of what has been happening for a very long time indeed. What is clear, though, is that in any conflict, no matter how complex its orgins, the people who suffer most are the non-combatants - children, civilians, the poor and the weak.  That is why any use of violence should only ever be used as a last resort, and even then, in strictly limited ways. 

Jesus's strictures about this were severe and absolute, but his whole approach in his teaching was one of grace, love and forgiveness.  God knows and understands us - he is well aware of the fact that we will not always strive to follow his ways and that we will make mistakes when we do. That is not to say that we should not try, as indivduals, as peoples, as nations, to obey his commands. If we do then many of the evils of this world will be overcome.

The Rev. Tony Bushell