Mainline Christian Churches Speak Out On Iraq

[Alpharetta]

http://www.ncccusa.org/news/SpeakOutDraft.html

The Governing Board of the National Council of Churches USA
invites you to join them in this call to pursue peace and justice in Iraq.

A Call to Speak Out.
July 4, 2005

This year our nation is at war as we observe the 4th of July, a day that honors those founders who spoke out for independence from tyranny. Today in Iraq a cruel dictator has been deposed, yet the suffering of the Iraqi people continues. Mandated elections have been held, yet the future of Iraq remains as uncertain as ever. Day by day the cost of this war for the United States, for Iraq, for peace grows clearer. No weapons of mass destruction have been found; no link to the attacks on September 11, 2001 has been shown. It has become clear that the rationale for invasion was at best a tragic mistake, at worst a clever deception.

As people of faith, we believe in the transcendent sovereignty and love of God for creation, and that the responsibility of human beings is thus to pursue justice and peace for all. We also believe that, as the biblical prophets of old, who in faithfulness to God spoke out to a people and a nation they loved, in humility before God we too are to speak to a land and people we love. As religious leaders we invite others who share our affections and dismay to recognize the time has come to speak out.

The time has come to say:

- NO to leaders who have sent many honorable sons and daughters to fight a dishonorable war;

- NO to the violence that has cost over sixteen hundred American lives, left thousands grievously injured, and killed untold numbers of Iraqis whose deaths we are unwilling to acknowledge or count;

- NO to the abuse of prisoners that has shamed our nation and damaged our reputation throughout the world;

- NO to the price tag for this war that has rendered our federal budget incapable of adequately caring for the poorest of our own citizens; and,

- NO to theologies that demonize other nations and religions while arrogantly claiming righteousness for ourselves as if we share no complicity in human evil.

The time has come to say:

- YES to foreign policies that seek justice rather than domination, compassion rather than control;

- YES to an early fixed timetable for the withdrawal of United States troops and the establishment of a credible multinational peacekeeping force;

- YES to the honoring of human rights even for our enemies and for a restoration of our reputation as a people committed to the rule of law;

- YES to spending and taxing priorities that put the poor first, providing health care, housing, employment, and quality education for all, not just the few; and,
- YES to a restoration of truth telling in the public square and to “last resort” rather than “first strike” as the criterion for the use of force to restrain evil.

On the day we celebrate our freedom, we acknowledge that the freedom promised in the toppling of a dictator has been replaced by the humiliation of occupation and the violence of a civil war. The sacrifice of brave men and women has been used to serve policies that have diminished our nation’s prestige and our capacity to be agents of justice in the world.

It is time to speak out that this 4th of July will celebrate the best ideals of our nation for our sake and for the sake of the world.

http://www.ncccusa.org/news/SpeakOutDraft.html

[Alpharetta]

1. List of member churches

* African Methodist Episcopal Church
* The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
* Alliance of Baptists
* American Baptist Churches in the USA
* The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America
* Diocese of the Armenian Church of America
* Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
* Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
* Church of the Brethren
* The Coptic Orthodox Church in North America
* The Episcopal Church
* Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
* Friends United Meeting
* Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
* Hungarian Reformed Church in America
* International Council of Community Churches
* Korean Presbyterian Church in America
* Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church
* Mar Thoma Church
* Moravian Church in America Northern Province and Southern Province
* National Baptist Convention of America
* National Baptist Convention, U.S.A., Inc.
* National Missionary Baptist Convention of America
* Orthodox Church in America
* Patriarchal Parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church in the USA
* Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends
* Polish National Catholic Church of America
* Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
* Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc.
* Reformed Church in America
* Serbian Orthodox Church in the U.S.A. and Canada
* The Swedenborgian Church
* Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch
* Ukrainian Orthodox Church of America
* United Church of Christ
* The United Methodist Church

[xchrom]

2. now send that same communique to ceos, cfos, chair persons of the board,

wall street in general -- you know the folks who are REALLY running our lives.

put them on notice -- though a letter so nice i think would be ignored -- that the country belongs in the hands of the People, not the almighty corporation.

[chaumont58]

3. This is good, but where have they been for the first 1700?

The points they site were true two years ago.
I'm not religious so I don't know one church from another, but how many of these churches were cheer leaders for the war, like Paul Couch's TBN or Rod Parsley's Ohio ministry? A lot churches worked actively for chimpie's reelection.
Now, that it popular, they are against this war.
Don't get me wrong, I am glad they are against, but I must ask. Where have they been?

[mzteris]

4. They've been around

just not getting the press/attention the fundies are.......

NCC at a Glance: Who Belongs, How It Works and What It Does

The National Council of Churches, founded in 1950, is the leading force for ecumenical cooperation among Christians in the United States. The NCC's 36 Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, historic African American and Living Peace member faith groups include 45 million persons in more than 100,000 local congregations in communities across the nation.

******

I've posted about them before on here.

"Funny" story. I'm on a very conservative "Christian" homeschool loop (long story....) whose owner controls and/or comments on every post. I don't post much. (I used to try - but she usually sends it back saying, "not appropriate". or makes some smart-ass remark. LOL...) Anyway - during the buildup to war, I posted something from this site. She did post it - because it IS a CHRISTIAN site...... but commented that there was something obviously wrong with their "anti-war" stance as God advocates righteous wars. :eyes: