25th March: The struggle for peace and justice goes on

25th March 1965

On 25 March 1965, when I was far too young to be aware of it, Martin Luther King led thousands of non-violent demonstrators to the steps of the capitol in Montgomery, Alabama.

52 years on it seems as though the struggle for peace and justice is every bit as needed as it was then.

Images of peace and terror

This past week seems to have thrown up an incredible mix of good and evil: of terror, injustice, violence and greed combined with equally powerful images of peace and reconciliation.

I am left with images of our emergency services fighting to save the life of a man who had just killed four innocent people; of politicians and leaders on both sides of the Northern Ireland conflict gathering to honour Martin McGuinness – a man who had once been a source of terror and violent, but who had become an equally powerful force for peace; of President Trump being forced to back down from his attempt to reverse a policy which has brought better health security and welfare to millions of the least privileged in American society; of EU leaders gathering in Rome to celebrate the anniversary of a union that has, at the very least, been a major contributor to over 60 years of peace in Europe.

All those images leave me marvelling at the crazy, mixed up world in which we live: where so much of Martin Luther King’s dream has been achieved, and yet so much more remains to be done.

The image of five faith leaders standing together in a vigil to remember the victims of the Westminster attack stands alongside that of members of the Jewish community in Victoria, Texas, who handed over the keys of their synagogue to their Muslim brothers and sisters whose mosque was burned down on 28^th January, just hours after Donald Trump announced his plan to ban immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries (Time Magazine, 2.2.17[1]).

“I want in terms of values, to refer to something that seems to me to go deeper, to something that is really at the foundation of our own understanding of what our society is about… That speaks of – at this time of year as we look forward to Holy Week and Easter – of a God who stands with the suffering, and brings justice, and whose resurrection has given to believer and unbeliever the sense that where we do what is right; where we behave properly; where that generosity and extraordinary sense of duty that leads people to treat a terrorist is shown; where that bravery of someone like PC Keith Palmer is demonstrated, that there is a victory for what is right and good; over what is evil, despairing and bad.” – Archbishop Justin Welby, 22.3.17

Terror may continue to shout… but the quiet voice will still be heard

Terror may continue to shout – whether in the form of a radicalized religious fanatic, or through the voices and actions of those from all backgrounds who promote intolerance. But the quiet voice of those who struggle in non-violent ways for peace and justice will still be heard.

[1] http://time.com/4657876/texas-mosque-fire-jewish-christian-communities-help/

December 29, 2016December 31, 2016

Rebellions are built on hope

Rogue One

Earlier this week I went to see Rogue One, the new Star Wars movie, with two of Lois’ grandchildren. It is a great movie and fills in one of the crucial gaps in the whole Star Wars nonet (although perhaps it should now be a decet?)

How did the Rebel Alliance get hold of the plans for the death star in the first place?

The audacity of hope

The overriding theme of the movie is one of hope: Rebellions are built on hope. It is hope that keeps the rebels fighting for what they know to be right. In spite of the seeming futility of their task; In spite of the overwhelming odds of failure that the droid K2-SO keeps reminding them of – they keep striving to overcome.

Hope is audacious.

And yet, the characters in the movie cling to that hope, ultimately sacrificing themselves for it.

A crucial turn in the narrative occurs when the Council of the Rebel Alliance votes on the course of action they must take. The options before them seem bleak: they can rally arms against their invincible foe, using violence to combat violence; or they can submit to the Empire’s dominion, each person looking out for themselves and hoping to stay under the radar enough for some sort of oppressed existence.

A third way

Or they can trust the audacious testimony of one young woman, Jyn Erso, who claims to have been given a message of hope. That third way will inevitably lead to sacrifice with no guarantee of success.

In the end, the Council rejects Jyn’s third way and each chooses to go their own way: to fight or to submit.

Except for a small group of rebels who have the audacity to hope.

Hope in a post-2016 world

I wonder whether – in our post-2016 world – we, too, have similar choices ahead of us. The violence and greed that has seemed to dominate our global culture threatens to overwhelm us all. Democracy seems to have failed and our politicians have let us down. Fundamentalist beliefs continue to rise, exacerbating the terror, injustice and oppression.

In the face of all that we can respond with yet more violence and greed: individuals protecting their own; nations responding with an escalation of violence, a renewed arms race that promises yet more destruction. Or we can accept the status quo, believe the myth that there is nothing we can do, and live within the prevailing culture, each one of us making sure that we are ok, and never minding everyone else.

A non-violent rebellion built on hope

But as we go into 2017, perhaps there is a third way: the way of rebellion built on hope.

And maybe that is what the Christmas story brings: the unbelievable testimony of a young woman who had a vision; of insignificant shepherds who heard an angel’s message of peace and goodwill; of a vulnerable baby who became a vulnerable man, proclaiming a message of non-violent resistance – neither submitting to the oppressive culture of his day, nor responding to it with yet more violence, but bringing instead a gift of hope.

This third way is a way of sacrifice, of going against the status quo, but I believe it is the only way of hope.

It is the way of people like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, the Dalai Lama, Aung San Suu Kyi, Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

It is a non-violent rebellion built on hope.

September 7, 2016

The violence of the motorcar

Last night I ran over a cat.

There was nothing I could do as it dashed into the road and under the wheels of my car.

I pulled over, shaken and upset, and was relieved to find that the poor thing was at least alive and limping off the road to hide in a doorway. We managed to locate the neighbour and I just hope that the vet has been able to set her to rights, fix any broken bones and relieve some of the pain and shock.

I may not be a great cat-lover, but I really wouldn’t wish such suffering on any innocent creature. So it was somewhat pertinent that my meditations this morning brought me to Psalm 73:

‘All in vain I have kept my heart clean

and washed my hands in innocence.’

Over recent years I have found myself increasingly trying to walk a road of non-violence – to embrace Gandhi’s principles of Satyagraha; to embed the values of Jesus’ Beatitudes; striving to be meek, to be merciful, to be pure in heart; longing for justice; seeking to be a peacemaker.

And then I run over a cat.

So is it all in vain? My blogging on justice issues, voting to remain in the EU, urging my MP to speak out against the Trident programme, joining the Green party?

It seems to me that, no matter how hard we try, the reality is that we live in a culture of violence and greed. And I, too, have bought into that. I try to live simply, but the reality is that my lifestyle is extravagant, even by the standards of many in my own country. I speak out against injustice, and yet the luxuries I enjoy are bought on the back of oppression.

Even the car, on which I am so dependent, is itself a tool of violence: guzzling up fossil fuels with every mile I travel; pouring forth its CO₂ and other pollutants into our atmosphere; disrupting the peace of my evening with its penetrating background noise; luring me into an ever-more frantic pace of life; and harming innocent felines as it goes.

April 9, 2016

Banksy on the mount II: Being salt and light

Now when he saw the crowds,

he went into the urban jungle

and began to paint…

You are the salt of the earth.

But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?

You are the light of the world…

in the same way, let your light shine before others,

that they may see your good deeds

and glorify your Father in heaven.

I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

You have heard that it was said,

“Do not murder”…

But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother

will be subject to judgment.

You have heard that it was said,

“You shall not commit adultery.”

But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully

has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Again you have heard that it was said to the people long ago,

“Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the oaths you have made.”

But I tell you,

do not swear an oath at all:

either by heaven, for it is God’s throne;

or by the earth…

All you need to say is simply “Yes,” or “No”

You heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.”

But I say to you:

don’t use violence to resist evil.

Instead, when someone hits you on the right cheek,

turn the other one towards him.

You heard it said, “Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.”

But I tell you: love your enemies!

Pray for people who persecute you!

More reflections from Banksy on the Mount

January 23, 2016January 23, 2016

The anarchism of the Gospel

The BBC's adaptation of Tolstoy's War and Peace — BBC’s adaptation of Tolstoy’s War and Peace

Giles Fraser’s latest Guardian column on War and Peace is one of his finest yet.

It is a while since I read Tolstoy’s great epic, and I found myself uninspired by the first episode of the BBC’s adaptation of it, but I remember at the time thinking that there was great truth and wisdom in its pages. Giles Fraser captures this magnificently, pointing out how Tolstoy’s practical, non-violent theology was a threat to both the church and the state.

“War and Peace is an extended argument for that most foolish of moral wisdom: pacifism”

With some of my recent blogs and Facebook posts, trying to explore issues of social justice, non-violence and radical hospitality, and through friends around the world who are standing up for similar principles, I have become acutely aware that such a path is often seen as both foolish and threatening.

“Tolstoy reminds us that to be a Christian is to be a fool and a social outcast, that anyone who wishes to follow Christ has to be prepared to die as an enemy of the state, nailed to the cross. It’s a little bit more than a few verses of Shine, Jesus, Shine on a Sunday morning.”

I would really encourage you all to read Giles Fraser’s piece:

Tolstoy’s Christian anarchism was a war on both church and state

November 29, 2015

Fighting terror with terror: a letter to my MP

Dear Mr Cunningham,

I am writing to you as I am increasingly concerned by the way the debate in Parliament on military action is going, and the direction in which Mr Cameron seems to be taking our country in his proposed response to the Paris terrorism attacks.

We have all been horrified by the indiscriminate brutality of the Paris attacks. Like the rest of the population, I would not want to see such atrocities take place in Britain, and I would want to stand in solidarity with our neighbours in France.

However, I cannot see how military action in Syria can do anything but escalate the crisis, and cause even further suffering for thousands of innocent people. I understand that the death toll in Syria after four years of civil war is now over 250,000, nearly half of them civilians, and over 12,000 children. The lessons of Iraq tell us clearly that, no matter how technologically advanced our weapons, the reality is that we cannot accurately target terrorist groups in these countries, and that the more the fighting escalates the higher the civilian death toll will rise. If we respond to the terrorist threats with airstrikes and bombs, innocent civilians and children will inevitably die. We cannot take that risk.

It is also difficult to see how military action could possibly do anything other than strengthen the cause of terrorists. Writing in the Guardian on 27.11.15, journalist Jürgen Todenhöfer pointed out that in 2001 there were perhaps a couple of hundred terrorists in the Hindu Kush; following George Bush’s war on terror, and the loss of as many as one million Iraqi lives, there are now an estimated 100,000 terrorists posing a threat to the international community. Isis was apparently created six months after the start of that invasion. If the West continues to drop bombs on Syria, killing civilians in the process, this will only provide welcome ammunition to Isis and result in the alienation and radicalisation of yet more disenfranchised people.

The lesson is clear: we cannot beat terror with terror.

I recognise that there are no easy solutions to the threats posed by terrorist groups, nor to the ongoing oppression of unjust regimes in Syria and elsewhere. However, there are alternatives to the escalation that would come with air strikes. I would suggest four key strategies in which we could positively engage: to stop Gulf states delivering weapons to terrorists in Syria and Iraq; to help Turkey seal its long border and prevent the flow of new fighters joining Isis; to support moves to give the Sunni population in these countries a voice; and to fully invest in social and economic development in Syria and its neighbours.

Wardah Khalid, Peace Fellow in Middle East policy at the Friends Committee on National Legislation in the States makes similar proposals:

‘Create a comprehensive, multilateral strategy with our allies, including the Arab League and the U.N., that includes such tools as a regional arms embargo to prevent weapons from going into the wrong hands, penalties for purchasing illicit oil that funds the Islamic State group and more money for diplomacy and humanitarian aid. A political solution to Syria and its President Bashar Assad must also be revisited, as the power vacuum there is what allowed radicals and their foreign backers to first take hold.’[1]

So I would ask you, for the sake of the many suffering children and adults in Syria, and for the sake of our own national security, to please vote against any military action in Syria.

Yours sincerely

[1] http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/world-report/2015/02/18/stopping-the-islamic-state-group-without-the-bombs?src=usn_tw

November 11, 2015November 11, 2015

Satyagraha – A forgotten stream of true spirituality

Last week Lois and I watched the film Suffragette: an extremely powerful portrayal of one woman’s part in the non-violent struggle for women’s rights; and, interestingly, a pertinent exploration of the parallel processes of alienation and grooming that accompany any form of radicalisation. The main (fictional) character, Maud Watts (Carey Mulligan), gradually finds the courage to speak out and act against the violence, abuse and oppression that she and so many of her contemporaries were suffering in early 20^th century Britain.

Alongside the grim reality of gross injustice, and the moving, personal story of one family, what struck me most in all of this was the powerful testimony to the courage required of a non-violent struggle against oppression. While the suffragettes may have gone beyond non-violent resistence in some of their methods, the testimony of many of them stands strong. This is a testimony mirrored in the lives of people like Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Oscar Romero, Aung San Suu Kyi, Malala Yousafzai, or the unknown man who, on June 5^th, 1989, stood in front of a column of tanks in Tian an Men square.

Continue reading “Satyagraha – A forgotten stream of true spirituality”