Tag Archives: war

posticon Churches At War

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We realize that might be a crazy-sounding title. Churches don’t go to war. Or do they?

Spirit

When Berna and Johnny were growing up in the Roman Catholic Church, the church defined what it called a “just war.” In other words, war (and all its brutality) was justified under conditions the Church defined.

Many years ago, our friend Seth said “There is never any justification for violence, for hatred, for murder.”

What’s the answer? Is there any single answer?

We will side with Seth.Read more

posticon The Insanity of War

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Michelantonio “Tony” Vaccaro was a World War 2 United States Army soldier and photographer. He survived the horrors of that war and is now 98 years old.

Tony, the son of Italian immigrants, speaks eloquently of war’s insanity and inhumanity. Accompanying his graphic photo of a German soldier his army unit had just killed, he had this to say:

It reminds me of the tragedy of mankind. He’s not a German. He’s a human being….We are humans. And nothing else.

Spirit

As Tony says, “We are humans.Read more

christmas-winter-scene

posticon The Greatest Gift: An Alternative To War

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Wisdom born of experience should tell us that war is obsolete. There may have been a time when war served as a negative good by preventing the spread and growth of an evil force . . . .If we assume that life is worth living, if we assume that mankind has the right to survive, then we must find an alternative to war. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr., The Christmas Sermon on Peace, December 24, 1967

christmas-winter-scene

 

This has been a crazy time around here.Read more

posticon Why Aren’t We Winning Any Wars? by John Cali and Spirit

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Tombstones_at_Arlington_National_Cemetery,_July_2006United States military cemetery at Arlington, Virginia, USA

In today’s world we seem to have a war on everything we consider undesirable.

We have a war on poverty, a war on drugs, a war on ignorance, a war on crime, a war on disease—not to mention the wars we wage against countries and people we disagree with.

What often strikes me most is the war on disease. I read a lot of obituaries—not out of any morbid sense of curiosity, but just an interest in knowing who’s moved on to their next adventure.Read more

posticon The Zen of War By John Cali

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Philosopher Albert Camus said “Peace is the only battle worth waging.”

War and peace are much on the world’s mind today, especially with the recent Syrian crisis. And, of course, the other conflicts raging around the planet.

Here are some of Spirit’s thoughts:

  • You will never make peace with bombs and guns.
  • If you carry any hatred, anger, resentment, or bitterness in your heart, you are making war, not peace.
  • You cannot create peace by waging war. You cannot create peace by protesting war.
Read more