More peace this Christmas?

Editorial

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Are the wars, rumors of wars and atrocities of the past decade abating? Will Christmas 2007 be a peaceful season? Will we begin a new year with renewed hope?



Peace is not the absence of conflict, but its absence is better than its presence. This year there is  less conflict in North Korea and Iraq. Even Darfur and the Sudan seem quieter, although Khartoum must accept the new, 26,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping force if we are to see any real change in that tortured region.

Elsewhere there is hope in the Middle East: Israel and its Arab neighbors accepted an invitation by President Bush last month to sit down and talk. And it seems no one worries any longer about the former combatants in Northern Ireland.

Wars are conflagrations that ignite after years—maybe decades—of people piling on the dry brush of nationalism, ethnic pride and economic greed. That is why so many people—including Mennonite Central Committee—are trying to soak the pile of dry brush being accumulated by the U.S. government in its propaganda attacks against Iran. In early December, the White House said it had new intelligence that Iran is not building nuclear weapons. Hopefully, this information will further dampen the pile of tinder waiting to be lit.

A longtime peace activist uses an analogy about war and peace that I find helpful. When people ask him what he would have done about Hitler, he responds with this parable: A person who smoked two packs of cigarettes each day complained after 20 years that there was no cure for the cancer he contracted. In other words, World War II and conflicts like the one in Iraq cannot be disconnected from a history of causes.

Peace is the fruit of respectful relationships and dialogue, and genuine peace is breaking out in some places. Religions that in the past anathematized each other are now finding ways to talk to each other. For example, Muslim leaders sent a letter to Christian leaders entitled “A Common Word Between Us and You” (see additional notes below). Here are excerpts from the original letter:

“Muslims and Christians together make up well over half the world’s population. Without peace and justice between these two religious communities, there can be no meaningful peace in the world. The future of the world depends on peace between Muslims and Christians.

“The basis for this peace and understanding already exists. It is part of the very foundational principles of both faiths: love of the One God and love of the neighbor.”

Animosity between Muslims and Christians is a cancer that contributes to war in Iraq, despair in Darfur and the still-possible conflict with Iran. But when religious leaders actively resist the temptations of religious and cultural pride, the factors that create war are diminished.

This year, as we again celebrate God’s coming to us as an infant in a manger, we do so with the blessing of at least one other major world religion. This year, when we hear, “Peace on earth, goodwill to all,” it may be closer to what God intended than what we have known during many recent Christmas seasons.

Related Resources

Editorial: "More peace this Christmas?"

Discussion Guides:

• Discussion Resource I - Dec. 22, 2007
• Discussion Resource - Dec. 30, 2007

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Additional Notes

From Islam, with love

Last September, more than 130 Muslim leaders came together for the first time to declare a “common ground” between Christianity and Islam. Those who signed the resulting letter came from every denomination and school of thought within Islam, and every Islamic country and region sent representatives to sign the letter addressed to all Christians everywhere. The entire letter is available at www.acommonword.com. Here is an excerpt from that Web site:

“Never before have Muslims delivered this kind of definitive consensus statement on Christianity. Rather than engage in polemic, the signatories have adopted the traditional and mainstream Islamic position of respecting the Christian Scripture and calling Christians to be more, not less, faithful to it.”

Mennonite Church USA was included in the Christian groups to whom the letter was sent. Representing Mennonite Church USA, executive director James Schrag sent a response (see Readers Say, Nov. 20).
“We thank those who have issued ‘A Common Word,’ ” Schrag wrote, “and assure you that we will continue to pray and work for Christian-Muslim understanding, cooperation and peacemaking.”—ejt