Secularist praises faith leaders’ anti-arms stance

-06/10/06

A Scottish spokesperson


Secularist praises faith leaders’ anti-arms stance

-06/10/06

A Scottish spokesperson for the National Secular Society (NSS) has written to The Times newspaper praising the action of global faith leaders in calling for stricter arms controls. But he has also pointed to dangerous religious justifications for gun ownership.

On Wednesday Alistair McBay described as an ìextremely worthy agendaî the religious leadersí appeal of 2 October 2006 for an international arms trade treaty based on governmentsí existing commitments under human rights and humanitarian law.

But he said that this is ìnow set against the tragic coincidenceÖ of the Amish [school] shootingî by a disturbed non-Amish man, and added: ìBrowse through the US National Rifle Association website, and you will see plenty of talk about God, the rights and privileges He conveys and the freedoms He confers.î

Declared NSSís McBay: ìIt will be interesting to see how the faith leaders progress their extremely worthy agenda with the US Government.î

The Bush administration, with strong support from the NRA and the religious right, has steadfastly refused gun controls and arms treaties ñ in spite of joint counter-advocacy by mainline churches, peace organisations and civil rights groups.

CBS Evening News in the USA also caused a furore this week by broadcasting accusations from Brian Rohrbough, who lost his son in the 1999 Columbine school massacre, that shootings like the one at the Amish school in Pennsylvania were a result of the promulgation of free speech, secularism, abortion and evolution.

His opinions have been criticised as ìinsensitiveî, ìextremistî and ìnonsensicalî by both religious and non-religious commentators.

Theologian Walter Wink is among those who have pointed out that the religiously-grounded myth of redemptive violence has seeped into non-religious institutions, resulting in the global ubiquity of violent images, policies and supposed solutions.

Indeed he suggests that violence itself has become a rival religion followed as much by people who do not believe in God as those who do: ìNo other religious system has even remotely rivalled the myth of redemptive violence in its ability to catechise its young so totally. From the earliest age, children are awash in depictions of violence as the ultimate solution to human conflicts.î

The issue of the using religion to justify violence, militarism, terror and global aggression is one that concerns people across confessional and ideological boundaries. The UK think tank Ekklesia, which supports the argument that non-violence should be ìa core identity-marker for followers of Jesus Christî has published a book, Consuming Passion, which examines how Christian teaching about the crucifixion can reinforce violent and punitive ideas and practices in public life.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama are among fourteen religious leaders from five faiths covering four continents who have made a passionate appeal, on moral and humanitarian grounds, for firm action against the global trade in arms.

In their own letter to The Times earlier this week, they wrote: ìSomewhere in the world, a mother will lose her child to armed violence, a young woman will be raped at gunpoint and a family will be forced from their home by conflict. Worldwide, up to 1,000 people are killed every day by gun violence, and many more are maimed or terrorised.î

The appeal continued: ìThe world is awash with weapons, including an estimated 640 million firearms, or one gun for every ten people on the planet. And all too often, weapons fall into the wrong hands and are used against innocent people.î

Conclude the faith leaders: ìThis is a global horror story, which plays itself out from the favelas of Brazil to conflict in the Middle East and to the killings in Darfur. And the vast majority of the victims are not fighters, but ordinary men, women and children.î

The United Nations is this month considering tough proposals for an international treaty on arms sales.

[Also on Ekklesia: Facing the Myth of Redemptive Violence – by Walter Wink; ‘We forgive you’ is Amish message to school killer’s father 05/10/06; Stop living by the sword, say anti-arms trade church leaders 05/10/06; Mennonites offer support to ‘resilient’ Amish community 04/10/06; Amish sustained by forgiveness after killings 04/10/06; Theologians gather to address religion, violence and globalisation; Peace anchors Gospel witness, church leaders told; Global faith gathering tackles religious roots of terror; Consuming Passion – Why the killing of Jesus really matters edited by Simon Barrow and Jonathan Bartley; Christians explore links between doctrine and violence; Christians join global war resisters gathering in the USA; Colombian Mennonite peace group wins 2006 Nonviolence prize 04/10/06; Faith leaders appeal against global arms bazaar 04/10/06; Arms trade is a new slave trade, says Desmond Tutu 03/10/06; Vatican special adviser on disarmament arrives in UK to address Trident replacement 03/10/06; Reject the warrior God-on-our-side, say US church leaders 03/10/06; Church leaders urge government to close arms export unit 02/10/06; Beware of God, says radical New Zealand church 02/10/06; Must Christianity Be Violent?: Reflections on History, Practice (Metanoia Books); Healing Violent Men: A Model for Christian Communities; Choosing Against War: A Christian View ó John Roth (book); Getting in the Way: Stories From Christian Peacemaker Teams (book); Briefing on Christian Peacemaker Teams; Jesus and Nonviolence: A Third Way ó Walter Wink (boo); Becoming a Peace Church]


Secularist praises faith leaders’ anti-arms stance

-06/10/06

A Scottish spokesperson for the National Secular Society (NSS) has written to The Times newspaper praising the action of global faith leaders in calling for stricter arms controls. But he has also pointed to dangerous religious justifications for gun ownership.

On Wednesday Alistair McBay described as an ìextremely worthy agendaî the religious leadersí appeal of 2 October 2006 for an international arms trade treaty based on governmentsí existing commitments under human rights and humanitarian law.

But he said that this is ìnow set against the tragic coincidenceÖ of the Amish [school] shootingî by a disturbed non-Amish man, and added: ìBrowse through the US National Rifle Association website, and you will see plenty of talk about God, the rights and privileges He conveys and the freedoms He confers.î

Declared NSSís McBay: ìIt will be interesting to see how the faith leaders progress their extremely worthy agenda with the US Government.î

The Bush administration, with strong support from the NRA and the religious right, has steadfastly refused gun controls and arms treaties ñ in spite of joint counter-advocacy by mainline churches, peace organisations and civil rights groups.

CBS Evening News in the USA also caused a furore this week by broadcasting accusations from Brian Rohrbough, who lost his son in the 1999 Columbine school massacre, that shootings like the one at the Amish school in Pennsylvania were a result of the promulgation of free speech, secularism, abortion and evolution.

His opinions have been criticised as ìinsensitiveî, ìextremistî and ìnonsensicalî by both religious and non-religious commentators.

Theologian Walter Wink is among those who have pointed out that the religiously-grounded myth of redemptive violence has seeped into non-religious institutions, resulting in the global ubiquity of violent images, policies and supposed solutions.

Indeed he suggests that violence itself has become a rival religion followed as much by people who do not believe in God as those who do: ìNo other religious system has even remotely rivalled the myth of redemptive violence in its ability to catechise its young so totally. From the earliest age, children are awash in depictions of violence as the ultimate solution to human conflicts.î

The issue of the using religion to justify violence, militarism, terror and global aggression is one that concerns people across confessional and ideological boundaries. The UK think tank Ekklesia, which supports the argument that non-violence should be ìa core identity-marker for followers of Jesus Christî has published a book, Consuming Passion, which examines how Christian teaching about the crucifixion can reinforce violent and punitive ideas and practices in public life.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama are among fourteen religious leaders from five faiths covering four continents who have made a passionate appeal, on moral and humanitarian grounds, for firm action against the global trade in arms.

In their own letter to The Times earlier this week, they wrote: ìSomewhere in the world, a mother will lose her child to armed violence, a young woman will be raped at gunpoint and a family will be forced from their home by conflict. Worldwide, up to 1,000 people are killed every day by gun violence, and many more are maimed or terrorised.î

The appeal continued: ìThe world is awash with weapons, including an estimated 640 million firearms, or one gun for every ten people on the planet. And all too often, weapons fall into the wrong hands and are used against innocent people.î

Conclude the faith leaders: ìThis is a global horror story, which plays itself out from the favelas of Brazil to conflict in the Middle East and to the killings in Darfur. And the vast majority of the victims are not fighters, but ordinary men, women and children.î

The United Nations is this month considering tough proposals for an international treaty on arms sales.

[Also on Ekklesia: Facing the Myth of Redemptive Violence – by Walter Wink; ‘We forgive you’ is Amish message to school killer’s father 05/10/06; Stop living by the sword, say anti-arms trade church leaders 05/10/06; Mennonites offer support to ‘resilient’ Amish community 04/10/06; Amish sustained by forgiveness after killings 04/10/06; Theologians gather to address religion, violence and globalisation; Peace anchors Gospel witness, church leaders told; Global faith gathering tackles religious roots of terror; Consuming Passion – Why the killing of Jesus really matters edited by Simon Barrow and Jonathan Bartley; Christians explore links between doctrine and violence; Christians join global war resisters gathering in the USA; Colombian Mennonite peace group wins 2006 Nonviolence prize 04/10/06; Faith leaders appeal against global arms bazaar 04/10/06; Arms trade is a new slave trade, says Desmond Tutu 03/10/06; Vatican special adviser on disarmament arrives in UK to address Trident replacement 03/10/06; Reject the warrior God-on-our-side, say US church leaders 03/10/06; Church leaders urge government to close arms export unit 02/10/06; Beware of God, says radical New Zealand church 02/10/06; Must Christianity Be Violent?: Reflections on History, Practice (Metanoia Books); Healing Violent Men: A Model for Christian Communities; Choosing Against War: A Christian View ó John Roth (book); Getting in the Way: Stories From Christian Peacemaker Teams (book); Briefing on Christian Peacemaker Teams; Jesus and Nonviolence: A Third Way ó Walter Wink (boo); Becoming a Peace Church]