JWJeffery.com

Greetings and Merry Christmas Everyone!

I got some great Christmas presents this year. I received:

Barton Stone, A Spiritual Biography by Newell Williams

Disciple of Peace: Alexander Campbell on Pacifism, Violence and the State by Craig M. Watts

The Romance of Tristan and Iseult by J. Bedier (Adapter), Hilaire Belloc (Translator).

Tristan and Isolde (The Movie).

The Nativity Story.

I’m looking forward to reading and watching and sharing my thoughts with you.

Josh

In Ephesians 2, Paul speaks to a Gentile audience, reminding us that at one time we were cut off from citizenship, but now, through the blood of Christ that we are “no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household.”

This got me thinking about what the implications are of being a citizen of God’s Kingdom. A few thoughts come to mind:

• Christ is our king, our ruler.
• Our allegiance is to Jesus’ Kingdom.
• We don’t have dual-citizenship.
• As citizens in the Kingdom, we are foreigners and aliens in our own land.
• As aliens in this nation, we must obey the law, and pay taxes.
• As aliens in this nation, we should not vote.
• As aliens in this nation, we should not bear arms for the state.
• As citizens of the Kingdom, we must work towards advancement of the King’s will.
• As aliens in this nation, we should not work towards the advancement of the state.
• Finally, as citizens of the Kingdom, we must adhere to the Commands of our King above the laws of the state.

Josh

Hello,

I just finished reading, finally, two books on the subject of warfare. The first, War of the World by Niall Ferguson, examines 20th Century conflict, specifically the World Wars. The second book, A Persistent Peace by John Dear, is a memoir of John Dear’s work in the Peace Movement.

Reading the two works together was extremely helpful. John Dear makes some great (and sometimes not so great) biblical and theological arguments for peace and pacifism, and occasionally throws in a story to illustrate the horrors of warfare…but most of his illustrations are weak when it comes to polemic value. Reading Dear’s arguments and struggles, juxtaposed to the horror that Ferguson artfully describes in War of the World, placed John Dear’s message in the proper perspective. It was especially useful to read Ferguson’s level headed critiques of American Foreign Policy after reading Dear’s critiques of those same policies…Dear comes off as a standard American liberal, while Ferguson comes off as more of an impartial observer of American Imperialism and brutality.

After reading both books and spending considerable time thinking about these issues, I have come away more committed to creating a witness for peace and kingdom values within Churches of Christ.

Josh

Hello,

There is a nice discussion going on right now over at Bobby Valentine’s Stoned-Campbell Disciple blog about “Stupid Wars”, the just war theory, and pacifism. Check it out.

Josh