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Why does Jim Wallis (Sojourners Magazine) consider it a consensus of the Christian "faith community" that....?

....the Obama announcements of faster troop withdrawals in the Middle East "are not fast enough" and he's asking Christians to join his petition drive to have the President speed them up even more under a reasoning of "No more war!"? Nobody likes war. But why would a Christian assume that having one nation-participant withdraw would suddenly END the war? And though he quotes Jesus in the spam emails I've been receiving this week, he doesn't seem to quote any scriptures where the Bible talks of wars ALWAYS being among us and WHY they happen (because of the wars that occur inside the human heart.) Do these kinds of "peace campaigns" ignore "The Law of Unintended Consequences"? (Has every troop withdrawal in history brought about peace, an end to suffering, and no more war in that particular area?) Is is appropriate to cite Jesus in justifying our political beliefs? (Does it imply that we consulted Jesus and got his endorsement for our agenda?) The latest email appears below. It is not clear why $50,000 needs to raised. Pleas for donations always accompany such "announcements" -- but that is true for EVERY political campaign (whether religion-related or not) because promoting ideas costs money. [So anybody who blames "Religion$" for this is being hypocritical -- because the real world runs on money and reality, and religions aren't alone in asking for dollars.] BUT SHOULD WE INVOKE THE NAME OF JESUS in political campaigns of this sort? IS IT EVEN A KIND OF "TAKING THE LORD'S NAME IN VAIN"? WHAT DO YOU THINK? =========================================================== =========================================================== LATEST EXAMPLE OF PROMO EMAIL: Dear Marketing/Promotions Manager, Last week President Obama unveiled his plan for troop withdrawal. I just want the message from the faith community to be clear – it's not good enough! We will keep calling on President Obama to end the war faster. We're launching a full campaign to let the president know where the faith community stands. We need you to help us raise $50,000 by tomorrow. Your gift today and tomorrow will be matched and we’ll send you a special gift – a free “War No More” bumper sticker. Give now. Too much money has been spent, and too many lives have been lost. This war is wrong. It’s immoral, it’s not working, and it has to end now, not in 2014. The military won their goal of making the withdrawal nominal. Now people of faith – you and I – will insist together on a clear, quick, and responsible exit plan. And our work has gained supporters on both sides of the political divide. This war has already cost more than 10,000 Afghan lives and more than 1,600 American lives, as well as $100 billion for every year it’s been fought. The American people are fed up with 10 years of this war. In fact, 64% of Americans don’t believe this war is worth fighting. Neither our biblical foundation nor sound terrorism response strategy can justify this war. Join the voice of the faith community to call the president to do better. Give today to advance our call for a faster withdrawal. Our exit strategy needs to be responsible and must focus on long-term stability, development, and security for the Afghan people. It needs to respect the long-standing traditions and realities of the country (through political tools such as power-sharing), while ensuring rights and education for women and girls, who are crucial to the country’s future. There is much work left to be done. There are many more political pressures in Washington to challenge, and your involvement – prayers, activism, and generosity – is critical. Make a gift today to fund this and all of Sojourners’ work. We’ll get that bumper sticker in the mail with details on how to be in an educational video we are producing. With gratitude that we’re working on this together, Jim Wallis President/CEO

Public Comments

1. I fell asleep half way through reading. Honestly I thought this was a bed time story.