At 75: Behind but Proceeding On!

The quote below, from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German Lutheran theologian, was in a devotional I read this morning.  I suppose I was about 6 or 7 years old when he wrote this from the Nazi prison where he would later be executed.  

"God is being increasingly edged out of the world now that it has come of age.           Knowledge and life are thought to be perfectly possible without God." Letters and Papers from Prison.

Now, at the age of 75 years, I am increasingly aware that I am living in a world bursting with new knowledge, technology and discoveries.  I am way behind and getting more behind every day.  

Scientific knowledge and technological research is answering a lot about the "what" questions.  But I spend lots of time these days reflecting on the "why" questions that have to do with meaning, purpose and relevance.  I grew up in another era, one in which I was taught that life really is not possible without God.  Somehow life experiences and new knowledge has not changed that for me.

Interesting term that Bonhoeffer used back then, in the midst of a world that seemed to have gone mad...   "a world come of age?"   The quote seems even more true today.  Much of the world really seems to think we have come of age and God is irrelevant - especially post-modern Europe and USA.

I woke up this morning to a "Happy Birthday" greeting and kiss from Judy.  

Judy is a good cook and prepared foods from many places we have lived - Vietnam, Peru, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Hawaii and Arkansas - and we shared in the joy of conversation, laughter, wine and delicious food with some of our good friends.

It was a good day. I am thankful  to have been so blessed with health and a good life, wife, friends and family, and meaningful things to do for so many years. 

I don't have all the answers but I plan to keep on wondering - and laughing, singing, and enjoying good conversation.

With friends Steve and Steve - local ranchers

Songs that bring back memories

Last Sunday afternoon I sang some songs at an old fashioned ice cream social in our village - ballads, folk songs and even a love song, "The Rose".  Some said "that was one of my favorite songs, it brings tears to my eyes."  

Ever notice how a tune will bring back memories and you can almost feel the time and place you used to hear it?  Whenever I hear Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony I am brought back to a particular spring time in Decorah, Iowa and memories of one of my best friends, Doug Peterson.  

Bob Dylan and Joan Baez bring back the feel of the '60s for me.  On Sunday I sang Guantanamera in Spanish, and even though no one knew the Spanish words, many of those present chimed in on the refrain...  Those who lived through the 60s remember that one.

These days the Tom Paxton 1960s song "That was the last thing on my mind".. is going over and over in my head and I am memorizing and singing the words.  It's about leaving "without a word of farewell".  It has brought tears to my eyes just singing it.  

When I sing in public I usually get stage fright but recently I have gotten some others to back me up.  Getting 'back up' helps when singing as it does in a lot of other ways in life.  I am thankful for many people in my life who have backed me up!!

 Singing can be a form of prayer, whether alone or with others.  Mostly I just sit and strum my guitar and sing to myself...  

Me getting backed up

Me backing up

Concientious Objectors I have known

 

My good friend and former colleague, Gregory Rake, wrote this from Kolkata, India, and I post it with his permission.  

Most of those whom I have known who were conscientious objectors to war were either Mennonite, Quakers or Church of the Brethren.  But there have been a few Lutherans and others along the way, very few. 

Growing up Lutheran in a rural community of Norwegian ancestry in Minnesota, I never even knew about the peace tradition within the Christian church.  It was just a given that I would "sign up" and do my military stint after high school.  Vietnam changed my opinion on many things.  When we got to Vietnam and worked with many Conscientious Objectors doing alternative service, we learned the story of the long tradition of service in many places of need and war by young men and women from the peace churches. 

 

 

Thanks for your post on the possibility of war and comments from others. In the early 70's I went through all of the doctrinal statements as a young Lutheran applying to be a CO. There were Mennonites who guided me, but it was my parents love for others and the message of Jesus that continually directed my ways. Like you, I want the terrible situation in Syria to stop and then I look around me in India and see so much violence every day. It is violence based on caste, class, gender and whatever differences people find. The violence results in hunger, maiming, rape and countless other atrocities...and the answer when working on my personal position of faith more than 40 years ago still seems relevant - you cannot fight violence with violence. And while we will feel uncomfortable as bystanders, it should be a call to get involved to stop the violence with peaceful actions wherever we are and work against all kinds of violence that are far from us.  Gregory

Some Comments on Syria and the Just War Theory

 I got more response to the Just War Theory post than to any other post so far.  Here are just a few comments....  This is a longer post than I normally make, but read as much or little as you want.  Good thoughts here.  There are several others I may post later that give good contextual and historical background.

           From Earl Martin,  Harrisonburg, Virginia

Jerry,

Interesting that you went and explored "just war" theory. I must admit that as one who has generally felt I would be terribly hard-pressed to take the life of another human, I have not always felt "just war theory" is adequate for me. But even taking "just war" guidelines in this case, I personally think it would be very difficult to justify military intervention in Syria. I'm wondering how likely it would be that US intervention would end up killing fewer than the reported 1,429 killed in the gas attacks. So this raises questions for me on the "proportionality" leg of "just war arguments."

And given the likely response of Syrian to respond to US attacks by threatening further attacks against US and Israeli interests in the region, it is far from clear that the likelihood of success is present, another just war tenet.

Article on Syria

Here is on of the best articles I have seen on the Syria situation.

.http://www.timesdispatch.com/opinion/their-opinion/columnists-blogs/guest-columnists/byler-don-t-strike-shame-the-perpetrators/article_f8a21f45-c6b9-52bc-a12d-45636c3051fd.html

Just War Theory

As you watch the evening news and hear broadcasts about the terrible situation in Syria, what are your reactions?  If you are like me the reports and scenes are gut-wrenching and I feel like a bystander who wants to reach out but with little to do.  Helpless and hopeless, maybe?  The least I can do is write a check to an aid organization but that feels minimalist. The massive number of refugees and displaced is overwhelming.

Now the debate about military strikes against the Assad regime.  I struggle with this.  Though I feel that most of the wars the US has waged for the last several decades were not justified, (i.e. Vietnam and Iraq) there are moral and ethical arguments here because of the use of nerve gas on the civilian population.  Not being a theologian but wanting to understand the issue from my stance as a Christian, I looked up some articles on the internet about the Just War theory.  I got bogged down in the various arguments and treatises of the theologians.. so I didn't read very far into this...   But here is a synopsis from one website

Not that my opinion on this will have any weight, except the call I can make to my senators, this review does help a bit for personal clarification.  In this case I tend to lean toward the President's position - surprising to me as one who almost always opposes the US tendency to over react and use military power. 

Each one of the bullet points below could be used to debate this issue. See where you come out on this.. 

"Just war" is the name of a tradition that believes that war is permissible but only if it satisfies a set of moral or legal rules. Though in origin a Christian doctrine, Francisco de Vitoria based his arguments on reason and so put the tradition on a more universal basis.[1] The rules applied may be ethical, religious, or formal (such as international law). The rules classically cover the justification for the war (Jus ad Bellum) and the conduct of the participants in the war (Jus in Bello).
Just war theory has ancient roots. Cicero discussed this idea and its applications. Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas later codified a set of rules for a just war, which today still encompass the points commonly debated, with some modifications.
In modern language, these rules hold that to be just, a war must meet the following criteria before the use of force:
(Jus ad Bellum)

• War can only be waged for a just cause, such as self-defense against an armed attack.
• War can only be waged under legitimate authority. Usually the constitution and the laws of a nation state specify the institutions and personnel authorized to make war decisions. The U.N Charter authorizes the Security Council to make the international community's war decisions. Citizens at their own will cannot attack another country without the permission of the legitimate authority. Conversely, in a democratic nation state, statesmen with legitimate authority will need to convince citizens that their course of action is legal and proper.
• War can only be waged with the right intention. Correcting a suffered wrong is considered a right intention, while material gain is not. Thus a war that would normally be just for all other reasons would be made unjust by a bad intention. Right intention requires that democratic statesmen accept the decision of their nations' courts and electorates on the legitimacy and the justice of their action.
• War can only be waged with a reasonable chance of success. It is considered unjust to meaninglessly waste human life and economic resources if defeat is unavoidable.
• War must be waged with proportionality in mind. The suffering which existed pre-War should not be overshadowed by the suffering the War may cause.[2]
• War can only be waged as a last resort. War is not just until all realistic options which were likely to right the wrong have been pursued