Wrapping up War & Violence
Hello Everyone,
I enjoyed being with you yesterday, talking about "Just War Theory." I wanted to give you the quotes for a couple of stats that we talked about yesterday.
- According to Chris Hedges in What Every Person Should Know About War, "Of the past 3,400 years, humans have been entirely at peace for 268 of them, or just 8 percent of recorded history." (p. 1)
- Hedges also writes that in the 1990s, 75 to 90 percent of all war deaths were civilians. (p.7)
Lastly, I wanted to share with you the United Methodist position regarding war. I found this information online at www.umc.orgthe Social Principles state:
We believe 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; that human values must outweigh military claims as governments determine their priorities; that the militarization of society must be challenged and stopped; that the manufacture, sale, and deployment of armaments must be reduced and controlled; and the the production, possession, or use of nuclear weapons be condemned. Consequently, we endorse general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control.
Thanks for inviting me to be with you. Peace be upon us all.Merrilee Wineinger