The Irresistible Revolution, Ch. 7b (p 204-222)
Pledging Allegiance when Kingdoms Collide
(a) I think it is powerful when parents of those killed in brutal tragedies choose to end the cycle of violence. Bob McIlvaine is a brilliant example (p 204). We'll be getting another story soon. Could I forgive if something horrible like this happened to a family member of mine? How willing am I to forgive the smaller grievances I face now?
Peaceful Tomorrows
Voices in the Wilderness
Christian Peacemaker Teams
(b) "Essentially, I went to Iraq because I believe in a God of scandalous grace. I have pledged allegiance to a King who loved evildoers so much he died for them, teaching us that there is something worth dying for but nothing worth killing for" (p 207).
What is important enough to me to die for? Would I really never resort to killing? But I am taught that hatred and murder are both evil (Matthew 5:21-22, loose interpretation). Do I have hatred festering in my life that I need to resolve? What is the first step to healing that I can take?
Pages 207-208 just blow me away. As do 204-207 and... okay, most things in this book.
(c) The story of the worship service and conversation with the bishop on pages 212 and 213 are so beautiful. How badly Christians in the U.S. need to embrace the wisdom of this bishop. Why are we so eager to embrace war as an effective means for creating a better world? War Made Easy
(d) Physicians are a bright spot in violence. Soldiers try to kill each other, but as soon as someone is hurt, doctors move in to help regardless of which side the injured person is on. It's great to see this kindness in Iraq as well. Long live Doctors without Borders. Long live the Rutba House.
(e) "Revolutionary subordination exposes the evils of power and violence without mirroring them, by gently allowing them to destroy themselves and then rising above the ruins" (p 217).
As Martin Luther King Jr. said, "nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral question of our time - the need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to violence and oppression" (Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech).
How do I respond to the little evils done to me in everyday life--the comments, gestures or actions that set me off?
(f) "Too often we just do what makes sense to us and ask God to bless it" (p 219).
The remedy Shane presents are the Beatitudes. Am I the kind of person God blesses--poor, peacemaker, merciful, etc.? What am I doing for the hungry and mournful around me? Do I have time for them, to bless them in some way?
(g) "Rebirth means that we have a new paradigm of 'us' and 'them.' Our central identity is no longer biological. And our central allegiance is no longer national" (p 221).
This is so important. The relevance of this is just barely beginning to creep into my understanding. In the words of Derek Webb (King and a Kingdom, Mockingbird):
my first allegiance is not to democracy or blood
it's to a king & a kingdom
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