Church leaders push for nonviolent opposition to terrorism
8/24/1998 by United Methodist News Service Executives of two United Methodist agencies and two ecumenical organizations have rejected retaliatory acts such as the recent U.S. missile strikes in Sudan and Afghanistan as a means of opposing terrorism.
"While we deplore the bombings of the U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, we equally deplore the recent missile strikes by the U.S. government . . . particularly where the use of such force results in casualties among innocent citizens who are not perpetrators of terrorist acts," said the Rev. Thom White Wolf Fassett, general secretary of the United Methodist Board of Church and Society.
Fassett called on President Bill Clinton to find nonviolent solutions to terrorism and to work through the United Nations to bring to justice those responsible for the embassy bombings. He cited positions expressed in the United Methodist Book of Resolutions in rejecting an "eye-for-an-eye approach" to fighting terrorism.
Fassett's statement coincided with others by the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, the National Council of Churches (NCC) and Church Women United (CWU). The statements were issued Aug. 21, the day after the U.S. missile strikes. The attacks were made in retaliation for the Aug. 7 bombings of the two U.S. embassies in Africa.
The Rev. Randolph Nugent, general secretary of the Board of Global Ministries, cited the denomination's Social Principles in saying the church "rejects war as an instrument of national foreign policy."
The United Methodist Church, he said, "insists that the first moral duty of all nations is to resolve by peaceful means every dispute that arises between or among them."
Nugent also appealed to President Clinton to work with the international community "to find peaceful methods to protect not only the interests of the United States but of all nations and peoples."
"As long as peoples and nations suffer from poverty, exploitation, persecution and war, violence will be an instrument of provocation, defense or retaliation; and, innocent men, women and children will die," he said.
The Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, general secretary of the NCC, observed, "We live in a dangerous world where violence is a constant threat. . . . In such a world, there may be moments when military action is legitimate. We do have reservations about the effectiveness of relying on military strikes to counter terrorism."
She, too, urged nonviolent means - including addressing the political, social and economic conditions that breed extremism and terrorism - to increase security. "In our highly interdependent world, cycles of violence, once sparked, are nearly impossible to contain."
Campbell suggested that the United States take seriously its role as a world leader by committing substantial resources to creating a global environment of mutual respect and dialogue. She cited the "Blessed are the peacemakers" phrase from the Bible, adding that the country will be blessed with peace only if it actively works for it.
She expressed appreciation for the president's emphasis that Muslims are not the enemy. "Now more than ever, people of faith must work together for peace and justice," she said.
CWU, a national ecumenical movement that includes United Methodist Women, expressed "deep sorrow over the bombing of Sudan and Afghanistan by U.S. military forces."
These surprise attacks "fly in the face of CWU's long-standing commitment to peace-building and nonviolence," said Susan Shank Mix, national president, and Kathleen S. Hurty, general director, in a joint statement. When the CWU began, shortly after the Dec. 7, 1941, bombing of Pearl Harbor, the organization called for the United States to "help build a world order based on love and justice without which there can be no durable peace," they said.
"Church Women United is outraged that the Clinton Administration, with the support of congressional leadership, has decided to confront terrorism with terrorism," the women said. "This tactic is not only in conflict with our Christian values, but it is also practically ineffective."
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