COMMITTING OURSELVES TO PEACE:
A RESOLUTION OF NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT
In 1978, shortly after the first United Nations Special Session on Disarmament, the LSM-USA National Assembly committed itself to work for nuclear disarmament. (Resolution 78-2)
Unfortunately, we have also witnessed the failure of the second UN Special Session on Disarmament in June and July of this year to achieve any significant progress. In light of these developments, it is time for the members of LSM-USA to commit themselves again to the way of peace, especially to consider working for nuclear disarmament.
At this point in history, most Christians support military forces as necessary to insure national security. From this perspective, economic sacrifices may be necessary at times to meet perceived requirements for military defense. Other people of faith cannot reconcile any use or threat of military force with their religious convictions. From their perspective, the efforts of faithful people should be in non-violent approaches to conflict and social change. However, in light of the current situation, it is time for people, regardless of their views on the question on non-violent resolution on conflicts and preservation of world peace, to unite in their concern over the ever-increasing possibility of nuclear destruction. We can no longer give our military leaders a free hand to produce whatever they think is needed – many of their current programs are ineffective, unnecessary, and many jeopardize world peace.
However, true peace, the “Shalom” peace which God wills for each human begin, entails more than just the absence of war; true peace means the enrichment of life in all its fullness. Peacemaking means the establishment of national and world communities which foster social justice and human dignity. Therefore, we must raise our voices in protest when government programs for food, education and social services are severely reduced while the defense budget grows as never before.
Finally, we must realize that peacemaking is not the business of politicians and experts only, but of every man and woman of every nation. We must, therefore, make every effort to dispel the ignorance, complacency and fear which prevail. The arms race is the decision and creation of human beings; disarmament must also be willed and won by human beings.
As followers of the God of all, who loves all, we must raise serious questions about national policies of “mutually assured destruction,” first-strike capability, or those policies which make nuclear war conceivable. As people who would be peacemakers, we call for a foreign policy that is not based on inciting fear in the hears of other world leaders. We ask for a change from fashioning every must destructive “swords” to the creation of “plowshares” which will confront hunger, poverty, injustice, and war itself, so that everyone may dwell beneath their vine and fig tree, living in peace and unafraid. (Micah 4:3-4)
We feel the need to be specific in all possible forms of action in this resolution. There are many forms of commitment which we can strive for, though all may not be appropriate for each individual. Serious thought, prayer and education should take place before attempting Section 4-6 of this resolution.
THERFORE BE IT RESOVLED…
That the members of LSM-USA commit themselves to work together for peace and join with one another to make these vital commitments.
We commit ourselves to pray. Prayer is at the heart of Christian peacemaking. Prayer can change us and our relationships. Prayer begins in confession of our own sin and extends into intercession for our enemies, bringing them closer to us. We will pray, asking God to hold back the nuclear devastation so that we may turn fro our folly. Through prayer the reality of Christ’s victory over nuclear darkness can be established in our lives and free us to participate in Christ’s reconciling work in the world.
We commit ourselves to learn. Our ignorance and passivity must be transformed into awareness and responsibility. We must act together to dispel our blindness and hardness of heart. We will ground ourselves in the biblical and theological bases for peacemaking. We will become thoroughly and deeply informed about the danger of the arms race and the steps to be taken toward peace. We will become aware of the churches’ teachings on the matter of nuclear warfare.
We commit ourselves to examine our beliefs and lifestyles. To shed the light of the gospel on the nuclear situation, we will examine the basic decisions of our personal lives in regard to our jobs, lifestyles, taxes, and relationships to see where and how we are cooperating with preparations for nuclear war.
We commit ourselves to spread the gospel of peace. We will speak out and reach out to our friends, families, and Christian brothers and sisters about the consequences of the worldwide nuclear arms buildup and urgency of peace. We will take the message to the other churches in our neighborhood, to our denominations, and to the decision-making bodies to our churches on every level by speaking and writing letters to encourage an active witness on the part of the corporate church to spread the gospel of peace.
We commit ourselves to bear witness. Our call for peace will be taken into the public arena; to our workplaces, to our community and civic organizations, to the media, to schools, to government bodies of the world, to the streets, and to the nuclear weapons facilities themselves. Public witness can include such things as; letters to the President and members of Congress, editorials, leaflettering, marches, prayer vigils, worship services. Further, we affirm the right of individuals to make personal conscientious decisions which may lead them to bear public witness in ways that may include participation in and/or support for decisions to refuse to pay income taxes that go toward preparation for war, decisions to be conscientious objectors, or acts of non-violent symbolism and civil disobedience.
Many of us commit ourselves to work to stop the arms race. In light of our faith, we are prepared to live without nuclear weapons. We will publicly advocate a nuclear weapons freeze as the first step toward abolishing nuclear weapons altogether. We will act in our local communities to place the call for a nuclear weapons freeze on the public agenda by individual letters to the editor and participation in precinct caucuses during election years. We will press our government and the other nuclear powers to halt all further testing, production, and deployment of nuclear weapons, and to then move steadily and rapidly to eliminate them completely.
IMPLEMENTING THIS RESOLUTION
This resolution should be dealt with in a community process, allowing for diversity of opinion within this organization. These commitment cannot be carried out alone. Therefore, we encourage people to enter into supportive relationships with others for the purpose of prayer, reflection and action. Take time to study this resolution and to decide in which way you are able to implement it. Our hope is that this resolution can strengthen existing groups working for peace and help create new ones.
This resolution is modeled after the “New Abolitionist Covenant” as printed in the August 1981 issue of Sojourners magazine.
Sponsored by LSM-USA North Central and Dakotas Regions.