1978
78-3 Resolution on Disarmament
Background
“He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide for many peoples; and they shall beast their swords into plowshares, and their pears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn way anymore.” Isaiah 2:4 (RSV)
“Disarmament, like charity, will probably have to begin at home if it is to be effective.” Jane M. O. Sharp
The present situation of an ever-increasing weapons race has reached such proportions that it can no longer be tolerable to a people professing a goal of world peace. The idea of national security as simply a function of military strength should, and is being seriously questioned. No longer can mere arms limitation be effective for nations whose nuclear stockpiles already have the capability to kill every man, woman, and child on the face of the earth many times. Nuclear armaments are an abomination. (Reference 1) They are purely instruments of destruction, and their development and production require an intolerable price in human and material resources. Highly skilled technical minds and many billions of dollars are consumed in producing devices so infernal that they must never be used lest the world as we know it be destroyed. The only possible answer is disarmament.
The nations of the third wold, understandably alarmed by their increasing helplessness in the face of this senseless arms buildup, have recognized the urgent need for disarmament and initiated a procedure to that end which resulted in the Special Session on Disarmament of the United Nations General Assembly which met from Many 23 – June 28, 1978. For the most part the effort was a failure. The United States’ contribution to the failure of such an imperative endeavor should be a source of embarrassment to all Americans. Vice-President Mondale’s speech consisted of nothing but “rehashed cliches” (Reference 2) already heard a thousand times. Press coverage of the Special Session was weak. Action by non-government organizations has been indecisive and not well connected. The Carter Administration has demonstrated a lack of leadership in activation public opinion. The power structures of American Christianity have never made a substantial program priority of disarmament. (Reference 3)
The time has come for those professing Jesus Christ as Lord of Life to repent of our appalling lack of concern, involvement, and action in working towards disarmament, and plead for God’s forgiveness and mercy, praying for grace that we may yet have time to stop and reverse the global spiral of nuclear armament development and stockpiling. We must realize that “security is fundamentally a spiritual and psychological problem. What we trust defines who we are as a nation. To develop the spiritual, psychological, and economic resources for survival and growth we will have to put our tryst in something other that weapons stockpiles which are always to small and are always obsolete.” (Reference 4)
Since 1945 and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the United States has led the way in the development and stockpiling of nuclear weapons. Other powers have always followed behind, attempting to restore a balance of power. To stop the arms race, all sides must communicate a clear intention to stop, based on the recognition that the risk of further arms development outweighs the risk of peace. Since we, as a nation, have led in the development of nuclear armaments, so should we lead in the effort to stop their continued development, and disarm. These initiatives should be significant enough to challenge other nuclear powers to re-evaluate their own approach to security and reciprocate with similar initiatives. Initiatives which pose no threat to national security (Reference 5) yet are significant include:
--the suspension of all nuclear weapons tests and the flight testing of new
vehicles for their delivery.
--the suspension of present plans to acquire new strategic weapons
systems, including the MX missile system, the cruise missile, the Trident
submarine, as well as any future production of the neutron bomb.
--a decisive change in the U. S. military doctrine, declaring that this nation
will never be the first to use nuclear weapons, and that it recognized that
they are legitimate neither as political instruments nor a military
weapons.
--an investigation into the redirection of monies and human energy now
employed in nuclear weapons production industries.
We should pray that God move us to action out of a stro9ng sense of commitment and love for every one of our brothers and sisters. We can no longer profess to embody the powerful love of Christ and yet sit by and do nothing about a problem whose ultimate threat is the total destruction of God’s creation.
Resolved
1) Information will be complied for distribution with the post-conference packet by Lutheran Ministry in the Fenway LSM, Boston, on:
a) developments in the nuclear arms race and disarmament efforts,
b) available resource materials on disarmament, and a list of local and national groups involved in disarmament efforts.
2) By adoption of this resolution, local LSM groups commit themselves to write letters urging action on disarmament to:
a) President Carter,
b) Local Congressmen and Senators,
c) Congressmen and Senators on relevant committees;
With names, addresses, and example letters supplied by Lutheran Ministry in the Fenway LSM, Boston.
3) In order to express to the world the concern of the LSM-USA that disarmament initiatives be undertaken by our nation’s government, and to encourage reciprocal efforts by other nuclear powers, it is further recommended that local LSM groups write to the governments of the Soviet Union, enclosing a copy of this resolution. Copies of these letters should be sent to the President, Congressmen, and Senators who are mentioned above. Further copies of all letters sent should go to proper news media sources, selecting from a list provided by the Lutheran Ministry in the Fenway LSM.
4) Lutheran Ministry in the Fenway LSM will circulate a copy of “A Call to Faithfulness” to be signed by interested persons and groups in the 1978 LSM Assembly.
Reference 1: LSM-USA 77-12 “Position Paper on Nuclear Arms and the Person.”
Reference 2: Anon., “Disarmament Failure,” Progressive, August 1978.
Reference 3: Geyer, Alan. “Disarmament: A Losing Cause in Need of Rescue.” Christianity and Crisis, Vol. 38, No. 7, May 15,1978.
Reference 4: Barnet, Richard J. “A Time to Stop” from The Nuclear Challenge to Christian Conscience. 1978 Sojourners Magazine, Washington, D.C., 20005.
Reference 5: Sharp, Jane M.O. “Isiah Revisited.” The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.