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Prof: Christians cannot remain quiet during time of war Whether they support or protest war derives from prayer, reflection, dialogue, says professor who once carried a gun What is the responsibility of a Christian living in a nation involved in a war? Not to sit quietly, believes Otto Maduro, a professor of World Christianity at Drew University in New Jersey who will speak on "Being a Christian in a Time of War," March 29, 7 p.m., as part of the RPI Chapel & Cultural Center Lenten Speakers Series in Troy. Dr. Maduro has grappled with this issue personally: He once carried a weapon. As a high-school student in Caracas, Venezuela, he was recruited by an anti-Communist armed brigade. The troops attacked the houses, cars, and personal property of leftist classmates and university professors. Change of heart "We were kids being trained in the use of firearms and bombs; we were issued guns," he recalled. "Fortunately, we didn't kill anybody, but we easily could have." His change of heart came during a month-long recovery from hepatitis, when he read hundreds of pages about the Second Vatican Council and Catholic theology. He became convinced he had to put down his gun. "I started to realize that I had a very narrow understanding of what being a Christian was," he said, "and that part of the Christian response was for justice and peace." Following Jesus Prof. Maduro's goal during his talk is to consider just vs. unjust war and to "get people to ask themselves, 'What does it mean that we are followers of a tradition that has among its central, explicit tenets 'Thou shalt not kill'? More specifically, [what does it mean] if we are followers of Jesus, who was a man of peace?" He will discuss such questions generally and in terms of the war in Iraq. Prof. Maduro believes that the key to a Christian response to war comes through taking "the time to really think about what is best, develop our ability to make decisions in prayerful community, and take real time and energy to center us in God and to meditate what God, through Jesus, asks of us to do before making such a grave decision" as going to war. Resources He added that referring to a variety of sources to make an informed conclusion and acting on those conclusions are integral parts of the Christian response. That includes looking at situations in a "calm, patient way," he continued, and understanding that Christians are called to take a role in discussion and discernment by getting together in both homes and churches to read the Gospel, and engaging in dialogue with all viewpoints on the subject. Dr. Maduro advises Christians to access "diverse voices," as well to take advantage of the U.S.'s "rich choir" of thought and opinions. Iraq war Regarding the war in Iraq, Prof. Maduro said that "one of the first questions we have to ask is 'What do we want for the Iraqi people who are, like us, children of the same God? What is the best way -- not the most expeditious, the easiest, the one that counts with the majority vote -- of building a just future for the Iraqi children of God?' If we seriously ask these questions, we are going to a little more careful as to the decisions we take in relation to war." Prof. Maduro believes that "the Christian response is more complex than simply supporting our government. It might be sometimes supporting our government; it might be supporting and critiquing; it might be resisting and protesting." Christians should also continually re-evaluate a situation to make sure that the answer they've chosen is still the right one, he said. Options Prof. Maduro said that "more human ways" of achieving ends should be considered instead of armed conflict; those options include dialogue, diplomacy and mediation. "Is war ever justified, especially in these times we are living in with the kind of weapons we have?" he said. "Does God call us to something that is more difficult, more risky, more complicated than just letting things go the way they are going? "I would like people to realize that they have a responsibility as Christians in relation to what our government does in terms of armed conflict." (For more information, call the C+CC office at 274-7793.) (3/16/06) |