March 31, 2003
How should a pastor talk about the war in Iraq?
___By John Hall
___Texas Baptist Communications
___Christian leaders can encourage productive conversation about the war with Iraq by carefully explaining their viewpoints, but they may damage the efforts of the church if they espouse their opinions in an illogical or hurtful manner, theologians insist.
___Many Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant leaders have condemned the war effort. Baptist leaders who have spoken out against the war include Denton Lotz of the Baptist World Alliance, Lindsay Penn-Matheson of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America and Stan Hastey of the Alliance of Baptists.
___A sampling of Christian theologians agreed faith leaders should speak to the war issue to provide a needed Christian voice in the discussion of important moral issues. William Cavanaugh, a Catholic theologian at the University of Saint Thomas in St. Paul, Minn., believes it would be "disastrous" for Christian leaders to remain quiet on the conflict.
___Many Christians spend one hour a week at church but watch several hours of television coverage a night, Cavanaugh pointed out. Church leaders need to be outspoken in what they see as biblical stances to help people understand issues from a Christian standpoint.
___"The greatest danger is people will form their opinion based on what they see on Fox News and not what they hear in church," Cavanaugh said. "Silence is not really an option. If you do that, you're abandoning people in secular society."
___Theologians caution that leaders must carefully choose the wording of their expressions and the forum where they share them.
___Dialogue about the war should not center on political agendas but whether a stance is biblical, said Ron Smith, professor of theology at Logsdon School of Theology in Abilene.
___"The question for Christians should not be, 'Is it conservative or liberal?'" he said. "It should be, 'Does this reflect the life and teachings of Jesus Christ?'"
___The Bible provides the basis for all conversations about the morality of the Middle East conflict, Smith argued. Reflection on Scripture and researching the issue can lead to fruitful discussion that brings people together, even if they disagree, he said.
___Open conversation can help people grasp a global understanding of God's saving purpose and equip them to deal with the war without demanding one conclusion, Smith noted.
___"There are very devout people on both sides of this issue," he said. "We need to affirm these people to make a judgment."
___Christians with different opinions should discuss the topic, he urged, explaining the dialogue will help each person involved.
___"I often learn from people who do not agree with me," he said. "I may not change my mind, but I will have a better-formulated conclusion."
___While Smith views the Bible as a common base for discussion, Stanley Hauerwas, a Methodist theologian at Duke University Divinity School, believes it serves as a dividing point for many Protestants.
___The Roman Catholic Church, with its hierarchical structure, has an organized way of being unified, Hauerwas argued, but Protestantism allows room for multiple interpretations of the same Scripture.
___The lack of a final authoritative figure or structure to encourage a consensus allows Protestants to explore the Bible, but it makes finding common ground difficult, Hauerwas said.
___Although much of the discussion has centered on Just War Theory, Protestants disagree whether that is the model that should be used. For example, Hauerwas is a pacifist who disagrees with the theory.
___This confusion about how to formulate an argument and the unwise presentations of opinions by some Protestant leaders negatively impact Protestants' image, Hauerwas maintained. Protestants mirror the "moral disarray of society" in their dialogue without an agreed-upon structure for discussion, he observed.
___Religious leaders also might direct their comments in the wrong direction, Hauerwas claimed. They are not going to influence politicians, so they should speak with their congregations or constituencies, he said.
___Focusing on preaching, Smith said a pastor should not encourage one stance over another from the pulpit. Rather, that is best discussed in a teaching forum, he said.
___Above all, Christian leaders must clearly present their opinions as their own and not representative of a denomination or group, if that is the case, the theologians said.
___Aboard the USS Harry S. Truman, Southern Baptist chaplain Doyle Dunn visits with Lt. JG Cynthia Sheridan of Rock Hill, S.C. Dunn, a Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary graduate, is among a cadre of chaplains meeting the diverse spiritual needs of United States troops during the Iraqi war.
___ Jim Veneman/Baptist Press
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