Public Policy and Service Ministries

MOTION 3.1

RELATING TO: A Substitute Motion to replace R & C 1.5 A Call to Non-Violence

MOTION: Moved that the Eastern Synod in convention declare its support for the historic Lutheran position that, while violence is sometimes tragically necessary in pursing justice in the world, it is always preferred that non-violent solutions be sought in situations of conflict.

Therefore we commit ourselves

• To use non-violent communication in our interactions with one another;
• To encourage our communities to pursue restorative practices in instances of violence in social life;
• To encourage governments and those who protest government actions and policies to engage one another honestly and non-violently;
• T encourage the government of Canada to pursue, and to encourage other nations to pursue, non-violent solutions to international conflicts through the United Nations and other multilateral and bilateral organizations

We also commit ourselves to encourage and support those whose vocation includes the pursut of justice and peace, mediation, conflict resolution, restorative practices, diplomacy, peace-keeping and peace-making.

We therefore request Synod Council and the Director of Public Policy and Service Ministries to identify or develop resources to help congregations study and work toward restorative practices and just peace in the world, and to respond to violence in the home, at work and at school, and in that perpetrated against creation.

RATIONALE:

Violence in all its forms – in the home, in our communities, in international relations, and in our stewardship with the natural world – represents of of the chief contemporary threats to life and well-being on our planet.

1. Physically violent  behaviour in marital relations and in parenting, including spousal abuse and spanking, only reinforces the perception that might is right,
2. Although the early Christian attitude to military service is complex (W.H.C. Frend, The Rise of Christianity {London, 1984], pp. 420-21), many early Christians during the first four centuries followed Jesus’ teaching literally—do not respond to violence with violence but, rather, love your enemies, do good to them and bless them (Luke 6:27-36; similarly Matt. 5:39-42, 44-48)—by refusing to serve in the military. Prominent Christian voices were raised in support of them. Hippolytus of Rome (died ca. 236) wrote: “A soldier of the civil authority must be taught no to kill other humans and to refuse to do so if he is commended, and to refuse to take an oath; if he us unwilling to comply, he must be rejected [for baptism]. A military commander or civic magistrate that wears the purple must resign or be rejected. If a catechumen or a believer sees to become a soldier they must be rejected, for they have despised God.”St. Martin of Tours (died 397)—after whom Martin Luther was named—was a roman army officer and an early convert to Christian faith. He gave up his commission and was baptized, having difficulty (says Lutheran scholar Philip Pfatteicher) “proving that he was not a coward.” St. Martin is listed among the Commemorations in the calendar of Roman Catholic, Anglican and Methodist Churches and also in Evangelical Lutheran Worship (p. 17). Not insignificantly, the Day of his yearly commemoration is November 11. Lutheran Christians in modern times have largely forgotten this history.
3. St. Augustine of Hippo (died 430) proposed a set of standards by which warfare could be judged justifiable. Even by his so-called “just war” standards, modern warfare, with its sophisticated weaponry and its ultimate nuclear weapons of mass destruction, are simply too devastating for Christians to justify: the good” they might hope to accomplish is far outweighed by the consequences of their use, whether those are pulverised cities or mass killing (in Vietnam 85% of all casualties were civilians) or destruction of the environment. Augustine’s standards have been summarized as follows A. Extremity: Is this war truly a last resort? Have all diplomatic and economic and political avenues to avoid war been exhausted? B. Legality: Has this war been legally authorized? To be justifiable a war must not be simply a vigilante adventure. C. Winnability: Can this war actually be won? Mutual suicidal violence cannot be justified. D. Proportionality: Will the violence, loss of life, destruction, and dislocation caused by this war be less than the violence, loss of life, destruction and dislocation that the war is attempting to correct? E. Discrimination: A war must not endanger civilian populations.
4. In passing this motion, our Synod would be following the example and witness of St. Martin of Tours, Gandhi, Albert Schweitzers’s “Reverence for Life,” and Martin Luther King, Jr.