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When the bombing of Serbia first began, we were told it was the only way to force Slobodan Milosevic to stop his persecution of Kosovo Albanians. It has not worked. The number or refugees fleeing Kosovo has increased by hundreds of thousands since the campaign began. NATO bombs have inflicted serious civilian casualties, including hitting a hospital, the Chinese embassy and a convoy of ethnic Albanian refugees attempting to leave the country. International hostility towards NATO actions has reached alarming proportions, with the Chinese, the Russians and the Greeks, to name but a few, all incensed by the turn events in the Balkans have taken. Perhaps worst of all, Milosevic’s position in Serbia has actually been strengthened by NATO military action: the Serbs are being forced to choose between two evils. Now we are told that, in the face of this failure, ground troops are the only means of a speedy resolution to the conflict …
What would have been the alternative to fighting? As Christians, are we not obliged to fight against injustice and oppression? And if we do believe that violence is wrong, how can we avoid it without allowing innocent people to be displaced, raped, tortured or killed?
At the start of this crisis, violence seemed to be the only serious solution that was offered. Negotiation, sanctions, peaceful means were suggested but, somehow, they had the feel of empty gestures. The answer always lay in might. Why? Because that is humanity’s way; the only one we know to love our conflicts. Self-sacrificing love, understanding and the ability to put our desires second are all alien to human nature, yet they are essential to the peaceful resolution of all conflicts and have been exhibited by human beings to an astounding degree in terrible situations throughout the centuries.
There was once a man living under a military dictatorship. He was one of the indigenous population, whom the dictators oppressed with terror and heavy taxation. The invaders spoke a different language and had no respect for the local religion and culture — both far more ancient and well-established than their own. Horrific torture and executions were commonplace and the people were so terrorized that they would betray their closest friends in order to remain off the ‘blacklist’
This man was born to be a revolutionary. The time was right. The people were crying out to be liberated. Unrest and riot were growing and repression was increasing. The man began to gather loyal followers to himself and train them in the art of guerilla warfare. Soon they were a close-knit, powerful little band who struck terror into the hearts of the authorities. They began to travel the country, getting the workers on their side through compelling speeches and acts of charity. The man's popularity grew and, at the height of his strength, he and his followers entered the capital … where he was arrested, tortured and executed.
Jesus Christ, the Jews believed, had come to liberate them from Roman oppression. He had come to drive out their enemies, the their God had when they first took possession of the Promised Land. yes this man, this promised liberator, made speeches that claimed, “Blessed are the peacemakers”. His guerilla tactics were those of love and compassion: he healed, loved and accepted the oppressed, the oppressor and, that most hated of all classes in a dictatorship, the collaborator. When he entered Jerusalem with the people united behind him it was not on a horse — the sign of a war-lord — but on a donkey — the sign of a diplomat. He was arrested, tortured, executed, seemingly defeated.
Yet, throughout the world and throughout history, people have followed his example, rejected violence and won astounding victories over oppression. They have prayed for the downfall of tyrants, they have sheltered the persecuted and gone to prison or to concentration camps or to death themselves. They have worked in underground organisations, they have advocated peaceful protest … and they have won.
There are twelve references to war in the Bible. And one hundred and two to peace. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” Refusing to use violence is not ‘sitting on the sidelines’ but being willing to do what no-one else will. It is not taking the easy options but caring for people beyond the point at which it becomes inconvenient, even dangerous. That can mean something as simple as risking the condemnation of friends and neighbours for opposing a war which they support; giving money to relief agencies; taking in refugees; going to where the oppression is and promoting peace. Missionaries from many different countries are still working in Serbia, educating the young people to change their attitudes about race and nationalism. Serbian churches have become motivated to support the missionaries, to provide relief for war victims and to shelter refugees. They are saving lives. Above all, Christians around the world are praying for an end to the oppression and none of us can fully fathom the power of our prayers to change attitudes and situations.
God hates injustice and oppression. He also hates violence. Our ways of solving conflicts are not his ways and when we fight violence with violence we become the oppressors. “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:3–5) Christ commands that we love our enemies, therefore every hateful thought is setting itself up against the knowledge of God. But our weapons have divine power to demolish hatred and oppression; a power greater than any in the world. The use of violence to solve conflicts only increases the hatred and bitterness that first caused them. What good is it to return Kosovan refugees to a homeland that has been devastated by war and where hatred for them and their ‘protectors’ runs higher than ever? But every heart that is changed, and every life that is saved, through love and obedience to God is a victory. One which will solve this, and every conflict, permanently.
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Last modified: 25th November 2005