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Just Peace Companion Just Peace Companion World CounCil of ChurChes JUST PeACe CoMPANION JUST PEACE COMPANION “Guide our feet into the way of peace” (Luke 1:79) SECOND EDITION World Council of Churches Publications Contents Preface by Rev. Dr. Konrad Raiser v An Ecumenical Call to Just Peace 1 1. VISION FOR JUST PEACE 15 An Evolving Concept 15 Peace in the Bible 19 Just Peace and the Household of God 23 The God of Just Peace 24 Church as Instrument of Peace-building 26 2. SIGNPOSTS FOR JUST PEACE 29 Interpreting the Signs of the Times 29 The Bible and Violence 33 The Faces of Violence 38 Ethical Considerations on the Way of Just Peace 41 Just Peace as a Spiritual Challenge 49 3. CONTEXTS OF JUST PEACE 53 For Peace in the Community 54 For Peace with the Earth 58 JUST PEACE COMPANION For Peace in the Marketplace 64 Second Edition For Peace among the Peoples 69 Copyright © 2012 WCC Publications. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in notices or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission 4. JUST PEACE CHALLENGES 77 from the publisher. Write: [email protected]. Alternatives to Violence 77 WCC Publications is the book publishing programme of the World Council of Churches. Founded in Beyond Just War vs. Pacifism 86 1948, the WCC promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. 97 A global fellowship, the WCC brings together more than 349 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other Responsibility to Protect (R2P) churches representing more than 560 million Christians in 110 countries and works cooperatively with the An International Order of Peace 106 Roman Catholic Church. Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, © copyright 1989 by the 5. JUST PEACE PRACTICES 113 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Peace Education 113 Used by permission. Inter-church and Interreligious Peace Work 117 Book design and typesetting: Julie Kauffman Gender, Peace and Security 123 ISBN: 978-2-8254-1567-2 Indigenous Matters 134 From Issues to Practices 138 World Council of Churches 150 route de Ferney, P.O. Box 2100 157 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland Notes http://publications.oikoumene.org Select Bibliography 161 Preface The documentation presented here is meant to be used alongside the Ecu- menical Call to Just Peace. The drafters hope that this further documen- tation will aid individuals and groups in studying and reflecting on the Ecumenical Call itself, and for that reason the Call itself is reproduced immediately after this Preface. The documentation largely follows the structure of the Call and intends to provide necessary background information as well as basic bib- lical, theological and ethical considerations to support and unfold its basic message. The documentation has been compiled by the same drafting group that prepared the text of the declaration. No individual authors are indi- cated for the different parts of the documentation, since most of these are the result of collective work. Much of the original research and theological reflection was undertaken by the first drafting group that prepared the Initial Statement towards an Ecumenical Declaration on Just Peace, which was circulated widely in 2009. The theological rationale developed in the Initial Statement had in principle been received positively among member churches and ecumenical partner groups. It was subsequently decided that the declaration should be a rela- tively concise text and that the analysis and argument behind the declara- tion should be developed more fully in a “companion document.” The initial statement then became the basis for the preparation of this docu- mentation. Where necessary, the material from the initial statement has been revised or rewritten in the light of critical comments received, but the essential thrust of the argument has been retained, honouring both v the excellent work done by the first drafting group as well as the many comments which had urged that the statement be retained. Further material has been added to this opening part of the docu- mentation, that is, the first two chapters and some parts of the fourth chapter. The third chapter places the process of preparing the Ecumeni- cal Call to Just Peace into its specific historical and institutional context, the “Decade to Overcome Violence.” The declaration and this supporting documentation are being published to mark the official end of the decade and to provide a strong impulse for the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation, which will take place in Kingston, Jamaica, in May 2011 under the theme “Glory to God and Peace on Earth.” The final chapter of the documentation focuses on “Just Peace Practices.” It is built around first-hand knowledge available and accessible to the drafting group. Information provided by churches in response to the initial statement has been used as well. It is the hope of the draft- An Ecumenical Call to Just Peace ing group that this concluding chapter will be expanded and amplified by examples of “good practice” collected during the IEPC, especially during “Guide our feet into the way of peace” (Luke 1:79) the workshops. Preamble: This call is a concerted Christian voice addressed primarily to the On behalf of the drafting group, worldwide Christian community. Inspired by the example of Jesus of Naza- Rev. Dr. Konrad Raiser reth, it invites Christians to commit themselves to the Way of Just Peace. Aware that the promise of peace is a core value of all religions, it reaches out to all who seek peace according to their own religious traditions and commit- ments. The call is received by the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches and commended for study, reflection, collaboration and com- mon action. It is issued in response to a WCC Assembly recommendation in Porto Alegre, Brazil, 2006, and builds on insights gained in the course of the ecumenical “Decade to Overcome Violence, 2001-2010: Churches Seeking Reconciliation and Peace.” Just Peace embodies a fundamental shift in ethical practice. It implies a dif- ferent framework of analysis and criteria for action. This call signals the shift and indicates some of the implications for the life and witness of the churches. A resource document, the Just Peace Companion, presents more developed biblical, theological and ethical considerations, proposals for further explora- tion and examples of good practice. It is hoped that these materials, together with the commitments arising from the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation in Kingston, Jamaica, in May 2011, under the theme “Glory to God and Peace on Earth,” will assist the forthcoming Assembly of the WCC to reach a new ecumenical consensus on justice and peace. vi JUST Peace Companion 1 1 Justice embracing peace: Without peace, can there be justice? 5 Wherever there is forgiveness, respect for human dignity, generos- Without justice, can there be peace? Too often, we pursue justice at the ity, and care for the weak in the common life of humanity, we catch a expense of peace, and peace at the expense of justice. To conceive peace glimpse—no matter how dim—of the gift of peace. It follows therefore apart from justice is to compromise the hope that “justice and peace shall that peace is lost when injustice, poverty and disease—as well as armed embrace” (Ps. 85:10). When justice and peace are lacking, or set in op- conflict, violence, and war—inflict wounds on the bodies and souls of hu- position, we need to reform our ways. Let us rise, therefore, and work man beings, on society and on the earth. together for peace and justice. 6 Yet some texts in the scriptures associate violence with the will of 2 Let the peoples speak: There are many stories to tell—stories God. On the basis of these texts, sections of our Christian family have le- soaked with violence, the violation of human dignity and the destruction gitimized and continue to legitimize the use of violence by themselves and of creation. If all ears would hear the cries, no place would be truly silent. others. We can no longer read such texts without calling attention to the Many continue to reel from the impact of wars; ethnic and religious ani- human failure to answer the divine call to peace. Today, we must interro- mosity, discrimination based on race and caste mar the façade of nations gate texts that speak of violence, hate and prejudice, or call for the wrath and leave ugly scars. Thousands are dead, displaced, homeless, refugees of God to annihilate another people. We must allow such texts to teach us within their own homeland. Women and children often bear the brunt to discern when, like the people in the Bible, our purposes, our schemes, of conflicts: many women are abused, trafficked, killed; children are sepa- our animosities, passions and habits reflect our desires rather than the will rated from their parents, orphaned, recruited as soldiers, abused. Citizens of God. in some countries face violence by occupation, paramilitaries, guerrillas, criminal cartels or government forces. Citizens of many nations suffer 7 Let the church speak: As the Body of Christ, the church is called to governments obsessed with national security and armed might; yet these be a place of peacemaking. In manifold ways, especially in the celebration fail to bring real security, year after year. Thousands of children die each of the Eucharist, our liturgical traditions illustrate how God’s peace calls us day from inadequate nutrition while those in power continue to make to share peace with each other and with the world. Yet, more often than economic and political decisions that favor a relative few.
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