Biblical/Theological Rationale For Resisting a US Invasion of Iraq

Why should we oppose a U.S. invasion of Iraq? As followers of Jesus Christ, we seek first the reign of God on earth as it is in heaven. That vision of God's reign is at the heart of our Lord's model prayer. The reign of God is rooted in the rule of shalom, that is, security, peace, justice, well-being, and liberation for all nations and the whole of creation (Isaiah 65:17-25). The prophets Isaiah and Micah shared a common tradition/vision of a day when the nations will " beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks," and "nation shall not rise up against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore"(Isaiah 2:1-4; Micah 4:1-3).

This vision of God's peaceable reign is not simply a pie-in-the-sky fantasy, but biblically functions as a guiding vision that shapes our actions as God's shalom people within the here and now of politics and policies, economics and ecology. The vision of God's reign shaped the covenant God cut with the people of Israel, calling for justice for the oppressed (Isaiah 61:1-2). This covenant demanded the care of the most vulnerable in society, such as strangers or foreigners, widows, orphans, and children, like those in Iraq, who are dying by the thousands as a consequence of US sanctions. To support war and violence as a means of establishing national or international security is to take our eyes off the vision of God's reign and myopically focus on our own self-interests and national allegiances. God's reign of shalom, peace and justice, knows no national boundaries, but seeks the security and prosperity of all nations, races, and peoples. Our security is in God alone, our refuge and our strength (Psalm 46).

As followers of Jesus, we are called to trace his footsteps in our own time and context. Jesus taught his disciples to live in the peaceable reign of God, even under the harsh and oppressive conditions of an occupying colonial power, the empire of Rome. As Christians in a different time and place, we still look to the life, teachings, death, and resurrection as the model for our own journey through life: private and public, personal and political, under a different empire.

So as followers, we must ask ourselves: When Jesus says, "Love your enemies," who are those enemies for us as U.S. citizens? (Matthew 5:44) When Jesus says to Peter, "Put away the sword," and to Pilate, "If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting for me…" is he addressing war and violence today and the use of modern weapons of destruction (John 18:10,36)? When Jesus dies on the cross, rather than seeking his own welfare and security by taking up the sword and fighting his people's enemies, how does that color our understanding of his hard saying, "take up your cross and follow me" (Matthew 16:24-26)? The apostle Paul drew from the well of Jesus' teachings when he said to Christians living under the constant terrorism of Rome, "Do not repay anyone evil for evil," but "if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink…Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Romans 12:17-21). Doesn't this admonition offer an alternative Christian response for dealing with our enemies? So then, how can we support the invasion of Iraq with Jesus' words ringing in our ears and the vision of God's reign sparkling in our heads?