wfn.org | Church groups react to U.S. attacks in Afghanistan

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Oct. 12, 2001  News media contact: Tim Tanton7(615)742-54707Nashville, Tenn.
10-21-71B{465}

By United Methodist News Service

Two unofficial United Methodist groups are speaking out on the U.S. military
strikes in Afghanistan, both voicing support for bringing terrorists to
justice but differing in tone regarding war.

The executive director of the Methodist Federation for Social Action said
the violence must be stopped before more innocent people in the United
States and elsewhere are killed. The Good News organization described the
current conflict as a "just war" and said it does not share the view of
pacifists within the United Methodist Church.
 
Both MFSA and Good News are old, well-established groups. Historically, they
have represented opposing viewpoints in the church on social, political and
theological issues.

"We join the nation in soberly and prayerfully supporting the decision of
President George W. Bush to begin military action against the Taliban
government of Afghanistan," Good News said Oct. 10.

"Make no mistake about it, there is nothing glorious about war," Good News
said. "Nevertheless, there are those moments, as President Bush has pointed
out, when civilized people must confront 'the outlaws and killers of
innocents.' In this instance, overcoming evil with good will take force -
even deadly force."

Good News is an evangelical renewal ministry based in Wilmore, Ky. It
publishes Good News magazine, where the Oct. 10 statement, "Overcoming Evil
With Good," will appear as an editorial in the November-December issue.
President and publisher is the Rev. James Heidinger II.

Before the Oct. 7 bombing strikes on Afghanistan, MFSA members had written
to members of Congress acknowledging anguish over the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks on America and urging restraint in launching a military response.
Based in Washington, MFSA is an advocacy group for action on justice, peace
and liberation issues facing the church and society. 

The Rev. Kathryn Johnson, executive director, issued an additional statement
Oct. 11, after the attacks began.

"MFSA shares with all Americans the desire to bring to justice those who
committed the Sept. 11 attacks and their accomplices, and joins with
President Bush in his call to respect the rights and personhood of Arab
Americans and Americans of the Islamic faith," she said.

"We believe, however, that the spiral of violence must be stopped before it
leads to further and even greater loss of innocent life both in the United
States and in other nations. Violence begets violence," she said.

The MFSA calls on the U.S. government to work through judicial processes,
the police, a broad international coalition and the United Nations to bring
those responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks to justice, Johnson said. 

"We also call for a broad re-examination of U.S. foreign policies which,
however unintentionally, may have enabled terrorists to fan the flames of
anti-Americanism in many parts of the world," she said. "We call on the U.S.
to initiate a far-reaching campaign to reduce the widening gap between rich
and poor throughout the world. 

"We recommend a shift from unilateral polices to a multilateral approach,
including U.S. support for existing treaties banning landmines and chemical
or biological weapons, and the adoption of a comprehensive nuclear test
ban," Johnson said.

In their letters to Congress, MFSA members expressed support for helping the
poor during the current national crisis and weakened economy. They also
opposed weakening civil liberties in the rush to increase surveillance, and
they opposed further funding of the missile defense program.

During an Oct. 11 televised news conference, Bush told reporters that he
supports more strongly than ever a national missile defense system. The
president is a United Methodist.

In its statement, Good News had words of caution for United Methodist
leaders. "The leaders of our denomination need to think carefully about
their response to President Bush's military action. We also caution United
Methodist leaders from attempting to give rationalizations about why this
great evil was enacted upon the United States."

Good News said it agreed with New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, that those
"who practice terrorism - murdering or victimizing innocent civilians - lose
any right to have their cause understood by decent people and lawful
nations."

"Although we respect the convictions and views of pacifists within United
Methodism - including many denominational leaders - we do not share their
view," Good News said. "Instead, we agree with St. Paul, who taught that the
governing authorities have reason to 'bear the sword' and that they are 'an
agent of wrath to bring punishment' to those who do evil.

"Furthermore, we believe that loving the neighbor - a commandment from Jesus
- sometimes involves using military force for reasons of defending the
defenseless, protecting the innocent and promoting justice." Good News cited
theologians such as Thomas Aquinas, Augustine, Martin Luther, John Calvin,
Reinhold Niebuhr and Paul Ramsey, a United Methodist.

"In accordance with historic just war teaching, we believe that the United
States has a just cause and right intentions: to bring a just peace to
Afghanistan, destroy the scourge of terrorism and punish evildoers.
Furthermore, we believe that the good produced from victory will be greater
than the evil that would be suffered if nothing were done."

In its Social Principles, the United Methodist Church holds that war "is
incompatible with the teachings and example of Christ. We therefore reject
war as a usual instrument of national foreign policy and insist that the
first moral duty of all nations is to resolve by peaceful means every
dispute that arises between or among them..."

However, war may be necessary in some situations, the church states. "We ...
acknowledge that most Christians regretfully realize that, when peaceful
alternatives have failed, the force of arms may be preferable to unchecked
aggression, tyranny and genocide. We honor the witness of pacifists who will
not allow us to become complacent about war and violence. We also respect
those who support the use of force, but only in extreme situations and only
when the need is clear beyond reasonable doubt, and through appropriate
international organizations."

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United Methodist News Service
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