"If the people raise a howl against my barbarity and cruelty, I will answer war is war… War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it… War is hell." – Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman
"You can’t get to a good place in a bad way — EVER." – Molly Baldwin
"We must recognize… that the means used determine the end achieved." – Mildred Fahrni
"The means are the ends in embryo. As you choose your means, you get your ends. That is the iron law of the moral universe." – Mahatma Ghandi
"There is no way to peace. Peace is the way." – A.J. Muste
The history of punishment is in some respects like the history of war; it seems to accompany the human condition almost universally, to enjoy periods of glorification, to be commonly regarded as justified in many instances, and yet to run counter to our ultimate vision of what human society should be. – Deirdre Golash
I spoke with a lovely lady the other day who had just been taught the difference between a peacekeeper and a peacemaker. A peacekeeper, she said, is someone who tries to keep that peace at all costs (she referenced Chamberlain). A peacemaker, on the other hand, is one who understands that sometimes you must make war to bring about peace (referencing Churchill).
I thought of these quotes (compiled by Wayne Northey). And I remembered that the book of James gives us the true definition of an authentic peacemaker: “Those who SOW in peace reap a harvest of righteousness/justice.” Jesus was so clear on this: You reap what you sow. One should not expect to grow peace-fruit on a war-tree. It doesn’t work that way … and I would say historical evidence notwithstanding, except that history DOES confirm Christ’s assertion. I wish the church were more apt to do that as well.
bj
amen