My journey to becoming a pacifist lies inside my process of becoming Quaker. It’s a bit unique. Three years ago, I heard the news that Osama bin Laden had been killed. My first reaction was that of excitement and victory but a look at my Facebook newsfeed showed a dichotomy of responses that forced me to take a closer look at my beliefs surrounding war and murder.
On one side, some friends spouted victorious proclamations of the death of bin Laden. “USA! USA!” “BOOO! You suck, Osama!” “God bless America! Osama bin Laden is dead! I hope he rots in Hell!” On the other side, people expressed mourning over the loss of life. “Another one of God’s children is in hell tonight because he didn’t know the love of Christ.” “Forgive your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” “The only time death was a victory was on the cross.”
While scrolling through the endless posts, something became very clear to me: some of these people sound like Jesus – and it’s those who are mourning the death of a fellow human. If I call myself a Christian, shouldn’t I act and sound like Christ? If Jesus meant everything He said, shouldn’t I forgive and pray for my enemies? This made much more sense to me than reading the Gospels and picking what to take seriously. If Jesus was a pacifist, I should be, too.
I have a good friend who is Quaker (Jessy Hampton! She’s on a SALT trip in Israel/Palestine right now! Shout out!) and we began to talk a lot about active peacemaking and Quakerism. I really resonated with the theology so I decided to look into it more. Over the next several months, I had conversations with other respected Quakers and theology professors and did my own research. Eventually I began to consider myself a Quaker. Belonging to this denomination of Christianity means that I live out the main values of Quakerism: simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality, and stewardship. While I don’t currently attend Quaker meetings (it’s slim pickings in Seattle), I remember my commitment to the Anabaptist community when I politely abstain from communion.
Sure, peace is a nice thought, but it is realistic? In order to be an informed pacifist I felt that I should understand how pacifism and reconciliation play out in the real world – not just ideologically. Two summers ago I traveled to Rwanda (through a SPRINT at SPU) to learn more about the 1994 genocide and the ongoing reconciliation process. On this eye-opening trip I met Rwandans who survived unimaginable horrors yet found hope and forgiveness through Jesus. They are now spreading the good news of forgiveness and healing by running reconciliation workshops all over the country. From the experience, I learned that the best way to end war is to prevent it through education. Teaching tolerance and respect for all humans is key to working against hate and violence. I try to do this on a small scale in my own life through my work with kids and my interactions with peers.
Peace may be an impossible dream, but I’m willing to bet that Jesus believes in that crazy dream, too.
Tacos y Milagros 