The Church: Reform or Die

“I can’t stand your religious meetings. I’m fed up with your conferences and conventions. I want nothing to do with your religion projects, your pretentious slogans and goals. I’m sick of your fund-raising schemes, your public relations, your image making. I’ve had all I can take of your noisy ego-music. When was the last time you sang to me? Do you know what I want? I want justice-oceans of it. I want fairness-rivers of it. That’s what I want. That’s all I want.” Amos 5:21-24

Membership in Mainline Protestant churches on the decline, while many charismatic/fundamentalist churches are currently growing-they will eventually hit their peak and then they too will begin to eventually decline.  Especially with the rise of the “nones” those who consider themselves unaffiliated with any particular religion. Many denominations and churches are trying to do damage control-they are desperately trying to remain relevant, yet how can one expect to grow when one insists on the same old, same old? More and more people are getting tired of religious institutions.

While some argue that the declining interest in church attendance is because young people want a “buffet” spirituality where they can adhere to the parts they like and discard the tough, difficult parts, I argue, how many churches are truly theologically relevant? Socially relevant? How many churches preach Sunday school theology-where most of the congregation are Biblical illiterate or simply resort to Biblical literalism, since that is the default option in American Christianity? How many pastors have gone to seminary, learned about the historical critical method of studying the Bible and about the various authors/editors throughout the centuries that have changed/added/subtracted from the Biblical text yet have members in their congregations that still thinks the Bible was literally written by God, is error-free, and that every member of the clergy believes as they do? Many pastors maintain that their congregations are not interested in the “academic” side of Biblical studies or they feel that what they learn academically is irrelevant to the lives of their parishioners. An interesting concept if one thinks about it-so the text-considered to be sacred by many in your tradition- is not important enough to be studied, to be examined? If the congregation-many of whom consist of those who had been attending the same church for years-are not interested in learning about the Bible, then how can you expect someone who is younger and has no such commitment to the church to even want to stop by for a service? Of course academics needs to be tied in with practical experience-such as helping and advocating for the poor-but being interested in what you claim to hold dear is vitally important.

As someone who received her BA in Religious Studies and plans on going to Divinity School in the fall, I find it disheartening how little basic knowledge many members have about the Bible. (This is a problem that affects churches regardless of their theological leanings).  And the worst part is they don’t really seem to care. Even in denominations and churches where the Bible is elevated to divine status, they have a serious lack of historical background in regards to the formation of the Bible. They don’t want to know because it might cause them to question their interpretation; they don’t want to know because they don’t truly care about what the Bible says, but only about being able to prove to others that they are right.  More and more young people are getting tired of attending churches where the Bible seems to evoke nothing more than a yawn or where it is wielded like a weapon to cut down all those with differing opinions.

Others argue that this generation is too independent or selfish to want to get involved in the messy work of congregational life. Perhaps that true for some, but I argue that many young people don’t see the point in getting involved in an institutional whose main purpose seems to be to reinforce the status quo. In many mainline churches, (not all) the emphasis is on tradition-which is not necessarily a bad thing-but whose tradition are they trying to preserve? Read through many of the hymns, find out the information of the authors. How many owned slaves? How many were upper class? How many were in favor of the subjection of women? How many people in the congregation can even answer these questions or even care enough to ask? I am not suggesting we discard tradition, but to be aware of whose tradition we are preserving. As a Hispanic female, I am not necessarily interested in hymns written by slave owners.

As for the conservative/fundamentalist churches, many tend to uphold the status quo of men as head of household and in positions of power, and heterosexual identity. Sorry to disappoint you but women are earning advanced degrees at a higher level than men and more and more women are gaining positions of power outside of the home and are becoming the primary bread winners for their family. Furthermore, the LGBT community is vocal. Even in conservative educational institutions such as Wheaton College, the LGBT community is making their voices heard. More and more people—including young evangelicals are in favor of same-sex marriage. Why would people want to attend a church that wants to set back society and nullify human rights?

Even mainline churches, which are often viewed as more “open” are still struggling with ordaining an open member of the LGBT community, and even though mainline churches have been ordaining women since at least the 70s’, many female clergy members continue to be underpaid and shuttled to congregations that cannot afford a male clergy member.

There have been exceptions-there are always exceptions. One cannot forget the vital role that the church played in the civil rights movement, one cannot forget the individual churches and pastors that have stood up for LGBT rights, comprehensive immigration reform, healthcare reform, veterans support, and who are questioning the nation’s pathological need for violence and war. However, unlike many who find comfort in the church, I find myself identifying more and more with those who have left. Those who are have decided that enough is enough. There are those who have been called to reform the church, to act as a prophetic voice, but more and more are deciding that the Church has had more than enough time to change, more than enough time to heed the prophetic voices calling out to them but have by and large chosen to ignore them.

The Church has done good and will continue to do good, but the Church has also done incredible harm. In fact for some people, a relationship with the Church can be termed abusive. When the Church demeans you because of your race, your sexual orientation, or even your mental health status then I firmly believe people have the right to decide they would rather disengage then try to reform it. In my opinion the Christian Church in America has two options reform or die. And quite frankly, it is those who are in love with the concept of the church’s responsibility to ensure it survives. As for me, I find it much more exciting to wonder if Christianity can exist outside of the traditional Institutional church, and if so how? It does excite me to see organizations and churches who are doing their own thing, who are stepping outside of the institutional status quo and who are embracing change. I can imagine myself working with such congregations and organizations, but with the majority of churches that seem to be intention preserving the status quo? Quite frankly, I am not interested and neither are most of my peers. And I don’t really think that’s a bad thing.

Shake off our apathy and hypocrisy

The Body of War is a 2007 documentary chronicling the frustrations of then 25 year old Iraq war Veteran Tomas Young who was injured shortly after deployment when he was shot through the spine and paralyzed. The movie chronicles the physical, mental and emotional challenges he faces as well as the disintegration of his first marriage and the awakening of his political activism as he speaks out against the Iraq war and the reasons for going to war. Fast forward a few years and things have gone from bad to worse. A few months after the film came out, he developed a blood clot in his lugs which damaged his brain, hands, and impaired his speech. His mother, Cindy Smith told NPR: “To be a paraplegic, deal with that, and then wake up and you’re a quadriplegic and you can’t use your voice, which is what you were learning to use. So many people wanted him to speak, and he couldn’t speak anymore.”

About the film Young says: “I’m glad that it came out and people saw the reality of war. But now I can’t even watch it, because it serves as a reminder of what I used to be able to do.” A tragic statement considering that the documentary records his struggles with his physical injuries from being unable to get and maintain erection, to needing help to insert a catheter so he can urinate, to his struggles with PTSD.

As a result of his deteriorating health and despite having gotten married about a year ago, Young has decided to end his life. He has decided to remove his feeding tube and stop taking his medicine which according to NPR, amount to almost 100 pills a day.

Young has written a last letter to former president George W Bush and Vice-president Dick Cheney. He says in part,

I write this letter, my letter, to you, Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney. I write not because I think you grasp the terrible human and moral consequences of your lies, manipulation and thirst for wealth and power.  I write this letter because, before my own death, I want to make it clear that I, and hundreds of thousands of my fellow veterans, along with millions of my fellow citizens, along with hundreds of millions more in Iraq and the Middle East, know fully who you are and what you have done. You may evade justice but in our eyes you are each guilty of egregious war crimes of plunder and finally of murder, including the murder of thousands of young Americans-my fellow veterans, whose future you stole.

While Young places the blame squarely on the former president-and vice-president if we were to be honest with ourselves- as a society and as a nation-we need to admit that we are also partly responsible for the devastation of war.

Our apathy, our blind acceptance of the myth of redemptive violence, our unwillingness to think critically  and hold our politicians accountable, all lay the ground work for unjust wars and untold violence and devastation. Those who claim to follow Christ, should know better but unfortunately more often not we prefer to remain silent on issues of justice, because it is easier and less risky. Christians are often parodied as people who think uncritically, who take an ancient book written thousands of years ago with various errors and contradictions, at face value and literally. Of course that is a blanket statement, Christianity is varied and different ways of interpreting  the Bible abound, but too often Christians have simply checked out from the world-even those who claim to have social justice as their main tenant.

Christians who consider themselves to be “progressive” often ridicule conservative Christians for being close-minded, and uncritical yet many “progressive” Christians fall into the same trap. They align themselves uncritically with a political party-they use the gospel-just as conservative Christians do to push certain agendas while ignore the atrocities committed by their favorite party.  They, just as conservative Christians confuse the gospel with political affiliation.  Some progressive Christians also demonstrate a shocking disregard for those of other nations. For example, they will advocate for equal rights in the United States while refusing to hold their party accountable for the deaths of hundreds if not thousands of innocent children in another country. They quote bible verses to discuss God’s love for the poor, and members of the LGBT community in the United States but ironically ignore the poor and oppressed in the Biblical lands. Christians regardless of their political affiliation need to decide who their true allegiance lies, with political thugs or with the gospel which advocates social justice and compassion?  Christians need to stop trying to hide their allegiance to the powers that be with pithy biblical verses and be honest with themselves. If they truly want to follow Christ they need to be willing to advocate for accountability from those in power and be willing to push for justice for all people-not just those they deem to be worthy. I find it disgusting that Christians are willing to advocate for a certain group of people while ignoring the deaths and cries of another group of people in another country. Last time I checked the gospel knows no boundaries on compassion based on a person’s nationality, ethnicity, sexual orientation-however, political allegiance tends to set strict boundaries on those considered to be worthy of compassion.

As a nation-comprised of Christians, atheists, agnostics, Muslims, Judaism, and a variety of other religious and belief systems we need to confront the myth of redemptive violence. Violence is seeped into our culture-from the gun control debates, to the bloated Department of Defense budget to how common place violence is in our media. While I am not one to say that violent video games or movies cause one to act violently, it does serve to reinforce the military-industrial complex and the false notion of redemptive violence. In fact many people, especially those who do not fight it, view war as a movie where our side (the good guys) defeat the bad guys (whoever we are fighting against) and we win. The problem with buying into the myth of redemptive violence is that it enables us to be lazy and refuse to find other solutions for our difficult complex problems. It asserts that violence and will solve any problem and will save us. Tomas Young’s story is just one example of thousands (or hundreds thousands if one counts the civilian causality of war) of how redemptive violence has failed us, individually, as a society and as a nation.

It is time that we each decide who want to be- a nation of apathetic and uncaring “Christians” or a nation of citizens embolden by compassion and the thirst for justice.

My time at Brite Divinity School

The institutional church has failed in many ways.  More and more people are finding the message of the Church to be irrelevant. It’s not just the stereotypical theologically conservative or fundamentalist churches that have caused pain and suffering, but mainline churches and more theologically progressive churches have done their damage. In fact just as dying animals can become more vicious the closer they approach death, mainline and progressive churches have lashed out, forcing out anyone who thinks or acts differently or who might pose a threat.

However, my trip to Brite Divinity School reminded me about all the reasons why I have not yet completely abandoned the idea of the institutional church.  During my time at Brite I was able to talk with professors, deans, and faculty who both view the institutional church and theology in a critical light yet who have not given up on the institutional church. They may be angry, they may be frustrated, they may have been hurt yet instead of simply walking away from a broken institution they have chosen to continue the hard work of trying to bring about reform.  I had the opportunity to talk about how certain theological notions contribute to violence and to the militarization of society.  I was able to talk with two of the people responsible for launching the soul repair center-a think tank focused on bringing awareness to the public and to congregations about moral injury and how it affects veterans.  I enjoyed talking about how theology is in fact relevant to popular culture and how certain tv shows or movies often espouse a certain type of theology-even if no deity figure is explicitly mentioned.

I met LGBT students who had never thought they would discover a welcoming school like Brite which is in of all places Texas.  I attended a service where an African American gay Pentecostal pastor preached. He proudly affirmed his Pentecostal roots as well as his love for his partner. As someone who grew up Pentecostal, he would not have been accepted at my childhood Pentecostal church. He would have been allowed to attend church, yet for him to be considered “saved” he would have had to change his sexual orientation or at least not act on it. He would have had to deny himself the ability to love.  Those churches who are more progressive or liberal would have proudly affirmed his love, yet they would have looked with disdain upon his Pentecostal roots. Yet here he was, studying at Brite and still holding onto the institutional church. While I disagree with his theology, I found the fact he enjoyed his time at Brite to be comforting. Conservatives, liberals, and progressives (theologically and politically) tend to get caught up in a box. They want to establish clear boundaries of who is “in” and who is “out.” Brite seems to not be afraid of tension and paradoxes.  I do not want to waste my time attending a church or institution where everyone is “encouraged” to have the same views on theology, politics, and social justice. I want to be able to meet others who have a passion for social justice but whose theology will challenge my own assumptions and stereotypes.

Additionally I sat in on a class. I enjoyed listening to the Professor discuss his experiences with various forms of churches-including the regimented form of worship available on the various bases he lived in as a military child and the experimental Christian community he lived in briefly while in college. He also discussed how he found his home in an Episcopal church.  Other students chimed in with their experiences and talked briefly about their church internships and their struggles.

I enjoyed my time at Brite, and while I am still a bit apprehensive about living in Texas, (not just the political environment, but also the extreme heat in the summer) I do feel as if Brite is the right place for me. I inquired about public transportation which seems to be decent (better than in southern California), so I will be able to get around. (I hope to earn my license either before starting school there or sometime during my studies. Though being able to buy a car is a long way off…)

Every institution has its challenges, and I know that a day is not enough to get the full character of a school. I am also aware that an institution always places its best foot forward while courting perspective students. However, Brite feels authentic; it feels right in my gut. Brite feels like home.

Mennonite Peace Retreat 2013

The Mennonite peace retreat was held at Spruce Lake retreat from Friday Feb 8-Sunday February 10th.  While one might wonder what can be accomplished during that short time, Dr. Kelly Denton-Borhaug did an excellent job in presenting to us the dangers and consequences of war culture and it’s religious underpinnings. During the retreat Dr. Kelly Denton-Borhaug presented us with examples of how war-culture is deeply intertwined into our everyday life. For example she played clips from various military recruitment commercials which demonstrated not only the link between the entertainment industry and the military, but also how notions of sacrifice are extolled. For example in the national guard’s “warrior” music video Kid Rock enthusiastically praises the courageous warrior while clips of national guardsman performing heroic feats are shown. Kid Rock sings:

So don’t tell me who’s wrong and right
When liberty starts slipping away
And if you ain’t gonna fight
Get out of the way

‘Cause freedom ain’t so free
When you breathe red, white and blue
I’m giving all of myself
How ’bout you?

The song is simultaneously a challenge for american citizens to give their all by joining the national guard and a command tfor those who might question the validity of the military’s actions to shut up and get out of the way.

Dr. Kelly Denton-Borhaug also played excerpts from Twila Paris song, “What Did He Die For?”which explicitly links Christian understandings of sacrifice with the deaths of american service members in war. Twila Paris’ uses the same refrain to depict the death of a service member in World War II with the death of Jesus:

What did he die for?
When he died for you and me
Made the sacrifice
So that we could all be free
I believe we will answer each to heaven
For the way we spend a priceless liberty
Look inside and ask the question

Dr. Denton-Borhaug also discussed the various redemption images available in Christianity,and how penal substitution is not only one of the later images to have developed but is currently the image most frequently used in Christianity in the United States. Penal substitution maintains that Jesus needed to sacrifice himself for our sins. In the same way military personnel need to sacrifice their lives in order for the rest of us to enjoy freedom.
Dr. Denton-Borhaug explicated that such intertwining of religious understandings of sacrifice with the military makes criticizing war and the military extremely difficult. Even those who are against a particular war or wars in general still sue the notion of sacrifice to describe the deaths and physical and mental injuries of military service members. Such framing of their deaths leaves the idea of war-culture and the myth of redemptive violence intact.

In a future blog post I will go into further details and examples about the dangers of sacrificial constructs and provide an alternative framework for understanding the deaths and injuries of service members.

In addition to describing how religion undergirds war culture, Dr. Denton-Borhaug also talked about how to avoid getting overwhelmed. While the damage of war obviously  causes those who participate it, their families, and “enemy” civilians the most and the pain and suffering; for those of us who are passionate about advocating for peace and for supporting our veterans it can be extremely disheartening to encounter the general apathy of american society. It is also frustrating to understand the full scope of war culture and it’s consequences. We as a society are beginning to realize how damaging war is as we become more aware of the staggering mental and physical costs of war. Yet even then, many are not questioning war culture or the redemptive myth of violence. Dr. Kelly Denton-Borhaug and the other participants discussed various ways in which to avoid becoming overwhelmed. Some of the suggestions include:

• Use commonsense; increase our own awareness; find allies
• —Tell the truth about war-culture
• —Counter dominant messages and practices (i.e. war video games)
• —Talk with people across differences: interfaith, rural/urban, civilian/veteran
• —Seek ways to avoid paying war taxes
• —Question and resist war-culture’s norms (i.e. requisite patriotic gestures)
• —Study and question images of Christian salvation; resist and challenge religious images/language used to glorify or mystify war
• —Study, and develop creative means to counteract recruitment strategies
• —“Follow the money!” Engage in economic analysis of war-culture
• —Emphasize forgiveness, not retribution; starting afresh, not wallowing in the past

Not only did Dr. Kelly Denton-Borhaug do a great job in lecturing and facilitating discussion but the other participants were fantastic. They were deeply engaged and wrested with the new information they were given. Their commitment to veterans and peace was evident.

To understand Dr. Denton-Borhaug’s perspective on the retreat please read her blog

I am the one with the blue camera case and Dr. Denton-Borhaug is the one with the purple sweatshirt.

The National Tragedy and Shame of Military Suicides

No matter how often William Busbee washed his hands, the blood would not come off.  In his guardiannews.com article, US military struggling to stop suicide epidemic among war veterans Ed Pilkington chronicles the tale of William Busbee’s pain and suffering, which ultimately culminated in his suicide..  Busbee was deployed to Afghanistan three times and each time he returned, his mother Linda noticed a difference. He became a recluse and was uncomfortable among civilians. Pilkington quotes Linda as saying: “I reckon he felt he no longer belonged here.”  He was haunted by what he saw and did during his deployment, telling his mother that she would hate him if she knew what he had done. He also told her “The son you loved died over there.”Busbee felt abandoned by the army when after a suicide attempt he was presented with the ultimatum to leave or face a medical discharge. Busbee chose to leave and in despair he told his mother, “I’m nothing now. I’ve been thrown away by the army.” Shortly before he died he stated: “I don’t want to be buried in my uniform – why would I want that when they threw me away when I was alive.”

Sadly, stories such as Busbee’s have become an all too common occurrence within the last few years.  According to an extensive study released by the Department of Veterans Affairs which investigated suicides from 1999-2010, a veteran commits suicide every 65 minutes, a much starker figure than the popular and often cited estimate that a veteran commits suicide every 80 minutes. 2012 saw a record high of 349 service members commit suicide. According to Pilkington “For the first time, the majority of  those who killed themselves had been deployed. That’s a watershed that is causing deep concern within the services.” Before, the majority of those who committed suicide were from those who had never deployed, but the trend seems to be reversing itself.

The situation is alarming. In a 2011 study published by the Center for a New American Security entitled Losing the Battle: The Challenge of Military Suicide stated that: “although only
1 percent of Americans have served during the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, former service members represent 20 percent of suicides in the United States.”

The suicides of service members and veterans, especially of those who have served in a war zone, represent not only a tragedy and devastation for their loved ones but a moral failure on our nation. While suicide is often presented as an individual choice, the reluctance on the part of political and military leaders to adequately address the issue and the apathy of the general american public is immoral. A service members or veteran’s suicide might become media fodder for a few days, but deep substantive change are slow to come by. A part of which can be traced to the continuing reluctance to let go of the myth of war as a glorious adventure and a simple case of good vs. evil.

It is always easier to hold on to our mythical constructions of war than ask the difficult questions and listen to the uncensored stories of veterans and military personnel. We as citizens either ignore completely their experience and remain uninterested in listening, or we ask insensitive questions such as, “did you kill someone” and “how did it feel.” We ask those questions not because we are interested in hearing the truth but we want to satisfy our fetish and appetite for violence.

The issues related to the suicides of female veterans and service members often, but not always, contain the added layer of addressing military sexual assault. Anuradha K. Bhagwati, executive director of Service Women’s Action Network (SWAN) explicates in a March 20, 2012 opinion piece for the New York Times that:

Over 19,000 sexual assaults were committed against service women and men last year alone. Military sexual assault does not elicit the same outpouring of support as the narrative of men and women returning from war, and many sexual trauma survivors suffer in silence. Getting a V.A. claim based on sexual trauma is an enormous hurdle. In our experience, when these claims are rejected, veterans are at additional risk for suicidal thoughts. In fact, only 32 percent of post-traumatic stress disorder claims based on sexual trauma are accepted, while 53 percent of claims based on combat trauma get accepted. Not being compensated in any way for the military’s betrayal can lead many veterans on a tragic downward spiral.- Challenges for  Service Women

Suicide often occurs when one feels as if there is  no other way to end his or her pain. The pain that results from depression, PTSD, and trauma can be extremely isolating and for the small number of Americans who deploy to a war zone, their experiences can isolate and separate them from the rest of american society. Military sexual assault and an apathetic nation can further foster a sense of isolation.

It is time that we listen deeply to those who are suffering, and ask difficult questions regarding war, and our treatment of veterans and service members.

How do people of faith address such a complex issue? Here are two simple suggestions.

1) Acknowledge there is a problem and seek to address it.  We need to be willing to take the time to do the research and to pay attention to the devastating suicides plaguing the military and veteran population. Simply glancing at a news article, and shaking one’s head is not enough. Allow the stories you read to touch you deeply. Yes life is complicated and we are all struggling with various issues, but take the time as you go about your day to remember those service members and military personnel who ended their lives. Let their stories cause you to question how we as a nation view war and what types of services and support we provide for those who have gone to war. The facebook page Stop Soldier Suicide is a good place to be find articles and personal blogs detailing the agony some service members and veterans experience when they return from war.

2) Work to end the stigma. The way people who struggle with suicidal thoughts are treated by various institutions is horrendous. If you are part of a church or other religious institution, examine how your church leaders and fellow congregates treat those they know who struggle with such thoughts. Unfortunately some congregations and religious institutions prefer to ignore the reality of suicide or they expel those who openly struggle with such thoughts. Such congregations care more about maintaining the status quo than truly effecting change.

Such steps will not immediately put a stop to the number of preventable deaths, but it will begin the process of turning our hearts of stone into hearts of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26)

Re-thinking Our Treatment of Veterans/Military Personnel

 

The response that people of faith and congregations have towards veterans/military personnel who have served in a combat zone is varied and influenced by geography, by the number of people in the congregation who have served in a combat zone or who knew/know someone who did, and by their theology. Churches that are more conservative and fundamentalist tend to view military service as a heroic adventure and an embodiment of their theology-which often includes an  us vs them mentality. Anyone who is American, anyone who agrees with our theology is with us while everyone who disagrees is a threat. Christians who serve in the military are often viewed as defending God’s people against the enemy, furthermore, their deployment to a war zone is viewed as an opportunity for them to share the gospel to their fellow service members and even to members of the occupied country. For example the Military Missions Network explicates that one purpose for their existence is to “seek to encourage Christians who are connected to the military to actively and respectfully share their faith and to live as kingdom-minded servants wherever they are stationed worldwide.”

Militaryministry.org,  associated with Campus Crusade for Christ, provides various resources for veterans, current military members, their families and congregations about PTSD healing trauma, marital counseling, and the stress of deployment, however said resources are all from a “Christ-centered” perspective, which often offers unhelpful platitudes such as, “Jesus heals” or “God forgives all sins.” Militaryministry.org maintains that it is primary purpose is “share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with military men and women, veterans and military families.” They proudly share on their website that: “Hundreds of military members receive Jesus Christ into their lives every week as the Holy Spirit works through Military Ministry staff and volunteers.”

In many conservative evangelical and/or fundamentalist congregations and ministries, those who serve in the military are portrayed as heroes and their experiences and sacrifices are compared to Jesus’ death on the cross. For example, Cythia Odom writing for militaryministries.org, states in her article: Independance Day=Freedom that: “On this Independence Day I am reminded of all those who have sacrificed for my freedom, following the example of your Son, Jesus Christ. Let me not take my freedom, both physical and spiritual, for granted. May I always remember that my freedom was purchased with a very high price. My freedom cost others their very lives.” (Emphasis in the original).

Many evangelicals and fundamentalists place a heavy focus on jesus’ death-often to the exclusion of his life. Comparing Jesus’ death and his mission (to save humanity from an eternity of hell) to the supposed purpose and mission of sending service members to war (to save Americans and to a certain extent humanity in general from evil people and ideologies)  discourages criticism of the nation-state’s agenda and reasons for going to war. Just as one should not question or critique Jesus’ sacrifice, one should not question or critique the reasoning behind the servicemembers “sacrifice.”
On the opposite extreme, the response to veterans/military personnel who have served in a war zone is often met with deafening silence by those from mainline churches.  There is a perception that mainline churches tend to be virulently anti-war.  There are some historic peace churches that retain a staunch anti-war and pro-peace position,  however, most traditionally defined mainline churches simply remain silent on the issue of war and peace or perhaps. To be sure the denomination might make statements. For example the United Church of Christ advocates “Just Peace” and there are a number of congregations who advocate for peace and provide a nurturing and safe space for veterans and military personnel. However, the silence in many  individual congregations can be deafening, especially in areas of the country where active military personnel and the veteran population is low. In those areas,  military personnel and veterans are ignored except perhaps for Memorial Day and Veterans Day.

How should those who identify as followers of Christ treat veterans and military personnel? On the one hand blind allegiance to the nation state can be dangerous and allows the nation-state to send service members to war with little adequate justification, and on the other hand ignoring veterans and service personnel demonstrates a lack of compassion, not fitting with the gospels and the Hebrew prophets’ affirmations for social justice. Below are some general suggestions.

1) Be invested and listen.  Giving blanket statements of praise to veterans and servicemembers is ineffectual and inadequate. Viewing military personnel as simply another vehicle for evangelism is degrading. In order to adequately support veterans and military personnel,  we need to be be willing to listen. Especially in areas where military and veterans population are low, it is easy to simply go about our daily lives ignoring the reality and consequences of war. Yet as people called to demonstrate compassion we need to be willing to listen to those who are want to talk and who are searching for a safe place. We cannot and should not push people to talk, especially if we truly do not care about hearing their stories and simply want to reinforce our own political ideologies. If we truly want to support our troops and veterans we need to put aside our own political and personal agendas and just listen

2) Be informed. However, laying aside our own political agenda does not mean that we do not question and criticize politicians’  justifications for war. Considering that service members and their families will shoulder the burdens of war, we as a society need to be highly critical of the drive to war. We need to take the time to examine and research the possible motives that politicians have for advocating war outside of the standard refrain of national security. Furthermore, we need to demand that if our politicians send service members to war that they will allocate adequate resources and money to ensure they get the services they deserve for the rest of their life.

3) Be an advocate and demand that veterans and military personnel receive the treatment and care they were promised. For example the VA is chronically understaffed with backlogged claims that require veterans to wait for years.  It is not just veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan war that suffer, but veterans from Vietnam and the Korean War are struggling to receive the treatment for injuries and illness they sustained during their time in a war zone. People are dying before the VA has a chance to respond to their claims. We need to demand that politicians on both sides of the isle back up their campaign promises with action. Instead of simply providing a nice photo op with a few injured servicemembers and veterans, they need to take action and work together to ensure that those returning from a war zone and their families are adequately supported.

For those of us who attend places of worship, let’s encourage our congregation to take practical steps in providing a supportive environment for veterans and military personnel and their families. Let’s encourage our congregation to become more knowledgeable about how  moral injury, and PTSD effects not just the service member but their families. Not all service members who return from war will suffer from PTSD, however, the transition period back home will still require some adjustment and as people of faith we should try and offer any support that is needed.

As people of faith, let us do the hard work of offering support to our veterans instead of the cliche “thank you for your service” offered during Memorial Day and Veterans Day or the blinding silence of  apathy.  Of course one must be careful not to be patronizing or condescending. Unless we have served in a combat zone or know family members and friends who have done so, we will never fully understand the struggles that military personnel, veterans, and their families go through. Nevertheless we can practice  deep listening and act on what we have heard and learned.

Why focus on war, veterans, and theology?

Going to Arlington National Cemetery was not a “touristy” attraction I had to make sure I experienced during my time in the DC/Virginia area. I was not interested in seeing the memorial to JFK or the gravestones for famous generals and military leaders. Instead I walked around in search of section 60 where those who served in Iraq and/or Afghanistan are buried.  Most of the people I saw around me were interested in the “big name graves” and they were excitedly chatting and walking along with the knowledge they can check off another item on their list of what to do in DC/Virginia area.

After searching and trying to use the map provided as a guide, I finally arrived at section 60. It was quiet, with only a few people scattered about visiting loved ones. I walked around a bit, looked at the names, dates, the pictures and mementos so carefully and loving placed near the markers.  So many of those who died were around my age, some even younger, and others only a few years older than me. Overcome by emotion I found myself unable to look at the names and pictures for long. After a few minutes I walked past the markers and found a spot a few feet away from the graves and sat down. Part of me wanted to leave, but part of me didn’t.  Part of me wanted to join the other tourists and take a picture near a famous gravestone or memorial and then go about living my daily lives forgetting that Arlington is filled with the remains of young people who often saw and experienced unspeakable horrors and whose lives were snuffed out much too soon. I wanted to leave, I didn’t belong there, but I also wanted to stay. I saw family members and friends crying as they visited loved ones. I wanted to look away but I also wanted to hug them, but I knew such sentiments would ring hallow from someone who has not experienced the pain of losing someone as a consequence of what they have seen or experienced in war. I walked around again. Maybe, I thought, if I started at the gravestones long enough, I could impart the names into my mind.

I am not a veteran, I have not served in the military, and I do not have close friends or family members who have served in a war zone.  For all practical purposes, I have no reason to be interested in examining why our nation sends service members to foreign nations to kill and occasionally die.  Why should I care about the emotional, physical, and mental consequences that service members experience after returning from war?  What invested interest should I have in the family members and friends left to pick up the pieces of their shattered life after losing a loved one?

In all honesty, for many years  the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan only registered in my mind every once in awhile; when the news reported brief updates or when a scandal denominated the media for a day or two-such as when the deteriorating  conditions at Walter Reed or the torture taking place at Abu gubi were revealed.  However, during my undergraduate years at Moravian College, I worked closely with Professor Kelly-Denton-Borhaug on examining war culture and how Christian theology influences and undergirds the nation’s obsession with war and military culture and the apathy towards those who fight, kill, and die in said wars.  It was through working with her that I realized how my own complicity and disinterest contributes however indirectly to the deaths of service members and the pain and suffering of those who survive war and who are left behind to pick up the pieces.  As citizens in a democracy-when our political leaders decide to send our service members to war-they do so on our behalf-despite our personal opinions about said war

Once I was exposed to that knowledge, I could no longer hide behind my ignorance. Not caring was no longer an option. Here were people-many of whom were my age, if not slightly younger or slightly older who are having to confront dangerous circumstances and who kill, die, or are injured supposedly on “behalf of a grateful nation.” Mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, husbands, wives, and partners are forced to bury their loved ones-occasionally physically other times the burial is more figurative.  Whether their loved one returns in a coffin, physically wounded, or mentally and spiritually shattered, the life that they knew before is over. Most service members will return home changed after seeing combat.  The high PTSD, depression, and suicide all bear witness to the fact that war changes those who participate. Even those who do not suffer deliberating depression, PTSD, do not return as the same person they were when they left.

As an American citizen it is my job to care about those wounded physically, mentally, and spiritually by experiencing war. I have an obligation to care about the pain and suffering their family members go through when their loved one is deployed and the anguish that occurs when their loved one returns hurt or not at all.  While I will never be able understand what service members and their families have experienced, I feel that the least I can do is listen and to think critically about the reasons our government give for going to war. The least I can do is to research deeply how war impacts those who participate in it and their families.

How does theology play a role? Christianity plays a key role in American politics and as a result it has a major impact on our daily lives-whether we identify as Christian or not. For example, Just War Theory is deeply rooted in Christian Theology, and as my mentor Dr. Kelly Denton-Borhaug has pointed out in her research, Christian notions of “sacrifice” as expressed through Jesus’ death, have been used to support and reinforce war culture.

It is time that as a nation we ask ourselves difficult questions regarding war, the treatment of veterans and service members, and theology. It is time we put aside our apathy and move beyond the simple, “thank you for your service.”

Taken in Fall 2011