http://xristocharis.wordpress.com/2008/07/21/elephant-and-ass-a-rant/ “To endure the cross is not tragedy; it is the suffering which is the fruit of an exclusive allegiance to Jesus Christ.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer Tue, 02 Dec 2008 11:56:04 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 http://xristocharis.wordpress.com/2008/07/21/elephant-and-ass-a-rant/#comment-57 xristocharis Sun, 17 Aug 2008 06:48:10 +0000 http://xristocharis.wordpress.com/?p=73#comment-57 I think there were very legitimate reasons why in antiquity it was even frowned upon for Christians to be in positions of political power. I think this is one of them. How can we be faithful to our calling to be "peace-makers" if we voluntarily place ourselves in a system of violence? The hard thing is I don't want to come across as a hard ass saying that Christians simply <i>can't</i>; but on the other hand it seems more difficult to see how one <i>can</i>. In other words, I don't want to judge anyone, but I just have a difficult time imagining how these things could ever be reconciled without ultimately having to make a choice as to who is one's master and lord: Caesar or Christ. I think there were very legitimate reasons why in antiquity it was even frowned upon for Christians to be in positions of political power. I think this is one of them. How can we be faithful to our calling to be “peace-makers” if we voluntarily place ourselves in a system of violence? The hard thing is I don’t want to come across as a hard ass saying that Christians simply can’t; but on the other hand it seems more difficult to see how one can. In other words, I don’t want to judge anyone, but I just have a difficult time imagining how these things could ever be reconciled without ultimately having to make a choice as to who is one’s master and lord: Caesar or Christ.

]]> http://xristocharis.wordpress.com/2008/07/21/elephant-and-ass-a-rant/#comment-56 dcrowe Sat, 16 Aug 2008 23:38:33 +0000 http://xristocharis.wordpress.com/?p=73#comment-56 I love this post. It describes me very well, albeit I am tired of considering myself "liberal." I am a recent ex-senior staffer for a member of Congress playing a key role in the presidential race. I left D.C. two months ago because I had become convinced of Jesus' seriousness regarding nonviolence, and even though the Democrats used anti-war enthusiasm to gain power in Congress, the narrative is not "war or not?" but rather "war: which ones and how? Oh and don't worry we won't cut Defense Dept. spending!" I couldn't write press releases that were at peace with killing people in one country on our behalf versus killing them in others. I love this post. It describes me very well, albeit I am tired of considering myself “liberal.” I am a recent ex-senior staffer for a member of Congress playing a key role in the presidential race. I left D.C. two months ago because I had become convinced of Jesus’ seriousness regarding nonviolence, and even though the Democrats used anti-war enthusiasm to gain power in Congress, the narrative is not “war or not?” but rather “war: which ones and how? Oh and don’t worry we won’t cut Defense Dept. spending!” I couldn’t write press releases that were at peace with killing people in one country on our behalf versus killing them in others.

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