The responsibility to restore peace must first be recognized in churches. We, who worry about the next and bigger war must remain focused on them. And some very important and large US Christian denominations are now calling for peace. They are “turning” as we predicted, in Christian Zionism, the Tragedy and the Turning, and we need to recognize and thank them!
We Hold These Truths started our call for peace in front of Zionist-leaning churches in 2002, believing every war in the last century could have been avoided had a mere handful of Church leaders done their part for peace by demanding it. This is even more true now, in the age of secular political uprisings against the powers that coin money and spend it for war. The most recent publicized revolts are the Bernie Sanders phenomena and Trump-o-mania.
To succeed in obtaining peace in our time, more mainline churches (with something like 100 million protestant members in the US alone)–not politician– need to be the leaders against US-led “Regime Changes” and staged serial wars. WHTT has devoted fourteen years to this cause and we finally see reason for hope. It comes from several large denominations whose members are following the words of Jesus, “Blessed Are The Peacemakers”, each in its own way.
Last Saturday this writer attended a program called “Palestine Beyond the Headlines” at a United Church of Christ in Denver. It was sponsored by several local peace groups we know and work with. Five major Protestant denominations and several smaller ones were present, offering their study materials and the demand to end wars in the Middle East. A main speaker was retired pastor Jeff Wright from Fort Collins, CO, who spoke about Christian Zionism (now often called Neo-Christianity because it’s a new and distorted form of traditional Christianity) and the Scofield bible, and was right in line with the message in our award-winning video “Christian Zionism, The Tragedy And The Turning – Part I.”
Several other speakers focused on the occupation of the Palestinian people, but the call for peace was unmistakable, Israel-Palestine being the oldest and longest running war and occupation in the Middle East. Five major US denominations presented published literature, much of which was not yet in print five years ago, including The United Church of Christ, United Methodist Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA), Presbyterian Church USA, and the Episcopal Peace Foundation of the Episcopal Church USA. Each provided firm and well-stated written calls for peace. Quakers and Mennonites, who never stopped demanding peace, were represented by laypersons, and other church pastors were there listening. Yes, this is the start of the “the Great Turning!”
Wall Street’s war games far from home are easy to start as long as the public does not know they are paying the cost. Wars are financed by its captive Federal Reserve system, a private printing press primarily functioning to finance unpopular wars. But consider the high cost of a possibly longer and more devastating war with another large state–even a nuclear state–Russia. Why would our leaders consider such folly?
We must understand that big wars have become an economic necessity to save the over-extended banks and war equipment businesses. In the single-minded, self justifying view of our last four Presidents plus the next one in line, Hillary Clinton, wars are needed to save their financial friends and the military/industrial complex. To them, war is more important than the lives of two or three million Russian civilians. Never mind our own losses. If it comes to a nuclear exchange, Hillary Clinton seems to be pegged to be the first nuclear war queen, already practices, programmed and disposed to pull the trigger, as she did in Libya and Afghanistan, and as her husband, Bill, did in Baghdad. We must ask ourselves if we are willing to pay the cost of Peace? At this conference the five mainline denominations seem to have spoken, let’s have peace at any cost!
What do serial wars do to our money? The People’s Pablum is called Social Security. It is supposed to save the aged from hunger. But this is coming to an end because all the funds set aside for our futures are invested 100% in US Treasury bond and notes, issued largely to fund our past wars. These funds may become nearly worthless before the Baby Boom generation starts to live on them!
One of the first vigils for peace and justice held by We Hold These Truths in October, 2002 in Scottsdale, AZ.
We Hold These Truths took to the streets in 2002 when we brought our message to the front doors of churches who directly or indirectly supported war in the Middle East. The first, not too flattering news story written about us dubbed us Peace Mongers.
As I write this, the US has bombed another very poor country, Yemen, whose so-called “rebels” supposedly launched two “Cruise Missiles” close to an American war ship in the Red Sea, causing no damage. The ship captain may have made a Freudian error when he called them “Cruise Missiles”: how do these so-called “rebels” of this impoverished, oil-less desert state, whose former government was a puppet to Saudi Arabia, have USA-made “Cruise Missiles”? Could this be another false flag attack to justify yet another annihilation of an insignificant Arab State? Is this the start of another mini-war against a pathetically weak foe, weaker even than Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan or Libya?
On the same day the US retaliated and bombed unknown positions and unseen humans in Yemen’s desert, it was separately reported that our ally, Saudi Arabia, also bombed Yemen, murdering a reported 140 Yemeni civilians at a funeral.
Yet Yemen and Syria are only diversions compared to the open call for war with Russia. Note that the media tells us Russia and Iran support the revolution in Yemen. The Yemenis are simply impoverished victims in the path to a bigger war.
Our job as Peacemakers is cut out for us. We must continue to stand for peace, as Jesus did, and convince mainline churches and Catholics to do the same. Having said this, we thank God and celebrate the five major Christian denominations and several smaller ones, whose members have issued a call for Justice in the Middle East. There is hope in a glowing call for peace from inside these churches. Most know part of the story from their missionaries’ activities and no longer deny that Israel’s occupation of Palestine in an act of genocidal war. The Great Turning that we looked for, the game changer for peace, has arrived. Thanks be to God!
