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<h1 style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: left; color: rgb(0, 61, 74); line-height: 100%; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 34px; font-weight: normal; display: block;"> SYRIA,
POISON GAS, MISSILE STRIKES
AND PEACE?</h1>
<div> It has been both an
emotional and a political
roller-coaster. The
television newscasters and
the print media informed us
that a political debate was
underway as to whether or
not the armed might of this
country should be used to
punish the Syrian government
for violating the universal
condemnation against
chemical warfare that has
governed the world since the
horror of gas in the
trenches in World War I.
Pictures were released of
small children, who had been
the victims of sarin gas.
The pictures were chilling.
I enquired of a medical
expert about the effects of
sarin gas on the human body.
He shuddered even to talk
about it. His sentences were
short and declarative. “It
is deadly.” “There is no
protection.” “Suffering is
intense.” “Death is
inevitable.” For almost one
hundred years, despite
brutal wars, both worldwide
and local, with weapon
enhancements like atomic
power and cruise missiles,
the prohibition against
chemical warfare has still
been generally adhered to by
the nations of the world
until this moment. Now the
Syrian government has
breeched this taboo, in an
action widely believed to
have been ordered by its
president, Bashar al-Assad.
I did not disagree with the
official statement of facts
and yet the debate itself
struck me as deeply
irrational.</div>
<div> Condemning one tactic of
war as inhumane, while
condoning the war itself,
strikes me as a strange line
of reasoning. The nuclear
bombs dropped on Hiroshima
and Nagasaki in the last
days of World War II killed
about 100,000 civilians in
each city. There were,
however, no photographs
except that of a mushroom
cloud. We did not see
victims in the last stages
of life because the bomb
vaporized them. Estimates
are that the poison gas
attacks in Syria killed over
1400 hundred people. Well
over 100,000 people,
however, had been killed
previously in this cruel
civil war. It seems to me
that all of them are equally
dead. One wonders if the
means by which they died is
of any great significance to
the victims.</div>
<div> Nevertheless political
leaders at home and abroad
engaged this debate quite
publicly. The “war hawk”
part of the Republican
Party, led by Senators John
McCain of Arizona and
Lindsey Graham of South
Carolina quickly endorsed
the call for a military
response. Neither has ever
seen a war they did not
favor. Politics being what
they are, however, neither
could resist using their
endorsement to slam the
President for not engaging
this war much earlier and on
the side of the rebels. They
were soon joined by House
Speaker, John Boehner, but
how many Republican votes he
can control in his caucus is
always a question, not just
on this issue, but on any
other. The Libertarian wing
of Republican Party, led by
Senator Rand Paul, was
vehemently opposed to any
military intervention. They
are far too isolationist in
their foreign policy ideas
to embrace anything that
might lead to another
unpopular and expensive war.
War is also an activity of
“big government,” which they
oppose. They were joined in
this opposition by the “hate
Obama” wing of this party
which seems to infect in
varying degrees all
Republicans. These political
operatives act on the
premise that if President
Obama is for it, even if it
is an idea that was
originally a Republican
proposal, they are against
it. That is a strange way to
be an opposition party, but
that is what ideologically
driven American politics has
degenerated into being.</div>
<div> Those on the Democratic
side of the aisle did not do
much better. The tensions
within this party are
equally real. In the last
twenty-five years this
nation has been led into
three Middle Eastern wars:
Iraq I, Afghanistan and Iraq
II. All three resulted from
foreign policy decisions
made by Republican
presidents. None of these
wars was conclusive. All
were expensive. There is no
doubt that the unbudgeted
costs of these three wars
contributed both to the
out-of-bounds deficit we
still seek to get under
control and to the economic
collapse that occurred in
2008. There is, therefore,
little stomach among leading
Democrats for another
military action in another
Middle Eastern country. Many
in this nation have
discovered the unintended
consequences of war
decisions far too often to
be interested in going down
that road yet once again.
Middle Eastern civil wars
with deep religious
overtones, we have observed,
do not lend themselves to
military solutions anyway.
This decision to begin
retaliatory military
procedures against Syria,
however, came from a
Democratic president,
perhaps more importantly,
from a president who has
spent his first term in
office unwinding the wars in
Afghanistan and Iraq. Could
the Democrats ignore this
call from their own elected
leader? This president
surprisingly then decided to
do what few other presidents
have done. Before ordering
this strike he asked
Congress to authorize his
action. It was high risk to
ask this almost
dysfunctional body of
legislators to do much of
anything, making the
president clearly
vulnerable.</div>
<div> The polls showed that the
American public did not
favor a new military
engagement in the Middle
East and the Congress began
to reflect that popular
will. The Obama
administration, sensing
defeat, tried to minimize
the “punitive” response. It
would be a “surgical
strike,” they said. “It will
be designed not to destroy
the Assad regime, but only
to destroy his capacity to
use chemical weapons.” Our
purpose is only to
“degrade,” that became the
new code word, “his ability
to wage war.” Perhaps these
words helped acceptance to
grow, but that is unlikely.
These distinctions were also
non-sensical. If these
attacks were to “degrade”
Assad’s ability to wage war,
does that not lead to his
removal from power at the
hands of the rebels? Is it
not the stated public policy
of the government of the
United States to remove
Assad from power? Who then
are we fooling? Are we ready
to embrace the rebels as our
choice for the future of
Syria? Is there any evidence
that the rebels want our
endorsement? Is the devil we
know worse than the devil we
do not know? How many Muslim
terrorists, members of
Hezbollah or the Taliban
have infiltrated the ranks
of the rebel forces? The
issues are not clear.</div>
<div> If the president of the
United States asks Congress
to authorize a military
strike and Congress were to
refuse, is not permanent
damage inflicted on the
office of the presidency
itself? Would any future
president ever again ask for
congressional approval for a
military initiative? Would
that not open this country
up to a president who would
then seem to have the
unilateral power to begin a
war that no one wanted? So
the debate raged and good
options began to disappear.
Irrationality seemed to
reign supreme.</div>
<div> Then a new initiative
appeared from a surprising
source that, on the surface
at least, seemed better than
any other alternative. There
was not only a rush to
embrace that initiative, but
also a rush to claim credit
for it, despite the lack of
comfort that surrounded it.
Suddenly the only way out of
the Syrian debacle required
that we trust Russia’s
Vladimir Putin, who now
seemed to occupy center
stage. Through the op-ed
page of the New York Times
Putin was allowed to speak
to the American people. That
was more than some
politicians could manage.
Mr. Putin also ridiculed the
popular political claim to
“American Exceptionalism.”
One well known Republican
Senator told the world that
he “wanted to throw up” as
he read the Putin piece.
There were, however, no
other options on the table
around which anyone could
rally. Leaders thus held
their noses and sought to
use this offer to move the
process along. At week’s end
a tentative agreement was
reached. If it holds there
are many benefits. If it
fails there are huge
downside risks.</div>
<div> Syria’s chemical warfare
arsenal was to be turned
over to an international
body and destroyed. A
powerful message would thus
be sent to rogue governments
from North Korea to Somalia
that the civilized world was
watching and was ready to
act. Such an agreement would
surely encourage the new
government in Iran to seek
better relations with the
world. This agreement, if
successful, might actually
open the door to a
negotiated settlement to the
entire Syrian civil war. If
that were successful, then
perhaps the door would be
ajar for a much larger
Middle Eastern peace
proposal that would create a
permanent settlement between
Israel and the Palestinians,
a settlement than many
people regard as the key to
Middle-Eastern peace.
International relations do
turn on breakthrough
moments. Perhaps this Syrian
settlement will prove to be
one of those moments. Time
alone will tell us whether
this is so. If it is, then
we will have seen a new
alternative to both power
politics and to the “balance
of terror” that has kept the
world’s fragile peace since
the end of World War II.</div>
<div> That would be an
exceptional result. Perhaps
“American Exceptionalism” is
not something we are, as we
like to pretend, but
something we are called to
be, in this case
peacemakers. That would be a
new idea. Perhaps real
leadership could then emerge
both at home and abroad,
based not on political
posturing, but on solving
real problems in the service
of all the people at home
and abroad. For now let us
dare to hope.</div>
<div> If this initiative fails
or turns out to be little
more than the stalling
tactic that many fear it is,
then we would have to turn
to “Plan B.” The only
trouble is that there does
not appear to be a “Plan B!”</div>
<div> John Shelby Spong<br>
</div>
<div> Read the essay online <a style="color: rgb(68, 135, 207); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb232418480&id=01b1b9282a&e=0471473479" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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<h2 style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: left; color: rgb(68, 135, 207); line-height: 100%; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 30px; font-weight: normal; display: block;">
Question & Answer</h2>
<div> Mike Rand from Dorset, UK,
writes:<br>
</div>
<h4 style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: left; color: rgb(68, 135, 207); line-height: 100%; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 22px; font-weight: normal; display: block;">
Question:</h4>
<div> I work for the Dorset
police here in Dorset,
England. I do not come from
a Christian family although
I did attend a Methodist
Sunday School as a boy. I
have been searching to try
and make sense of the
Christian message and many
of the complex questions
that the Bible throws up. I
have read a number of your
books and I have to say that
they are the first
publications that make any
sense to me. The question of
the death of Jesus being a
method of atonement from
original sin has always been
a major block to faith for
me. I have in the past
completed the Church of
England’s Alpha courses, but
the answers given by
well-meaning clergy have
never made any sense to me.
The literalist view of the
Bible in this modern day and
age doesn’t aid
understanding. I am halfway
through your latest
publication relating to the
Fourth Gospel. I feel for
the first time a sense of
enlightenment with the view
that the life of Jesus was
to show us the vision of
what we can be and to assist
as a gateway into the
mystical union with God.
This at least gives a real
purpose to Jesus’ life and
work. My question is where
can I, and others like me,
go from here. I have yet to
find a church organization
that isn’t governed by
restrictive creeds and
regulations? If we do find a
new faith and belief, where
and what should the next
stage be to becoming all
that we are meant to be? Is
it enough just to believe in
a private and individual
way? Do we need to find a
group of like-minded people
with similar views or is it
sufficient just to go it
alone? I am coming up to
London with a good friend of
mine in October to hear you
lecture in Streatham. I am
really looking forward to
seeing you. Any advice you
can give me on my “where
next” question would be
gratefully received.<br>
</div>
<h4 style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: left; color: rgb(68, 135, 207); line-height: 100%; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 22px; font-weight: normal; display: block;">
Answer:</h4>
<div> Dear Mike,</div>
<div> Thank you for your letter.
I have great respect for
those who serve as policemen
in England. I have a nephew,
who is a Special Forces
policeman in Devizes, which
is very near you. I shall
look forward to meeting you
at the October lecture in
Streatham. Maybe I can get
him to come and introduce
him to you.</div>
<div> Many parts of the
established Church of
England are in fact
moribund. Someone observed
that rigor mortis would be
too lively a word to
describe many of its
congregations. This Church,
out of which my Episcopal
Church has come and to which
we are still related, sings
from a hymnal entitled
“Hymns Ancient and Modern,”
but “modern” barely gets to
the 19th century. It is
burdened with the structures
of yesterday, with patronage
and with a hierarchy so
bound to the establishment
that its leaders do not
realize how out of date it
is. Traditionally this
Church was divided into
three groups that were
affectionately designated
“high and crazy, broad and
hazy and low and lazy.” The
high and crazy group is more
catholic than the Pope. They
chant the mass, use incense
on every occasion and employ
a variety of worship
traditions to make sure the
13th century liturgical
forms will not be disturbed.
Like their Roman Catholic
cousins, this “high and
crazy” group does not
generally care for women
priests.</div>
<div> The “low and lazy” group
is made up of the
evangelicals who still seem
to believe that God wrote
the Bible and therefore that
it must be inerrant. They
offer salvation and the
bliss of heaven only to
“true believers,” i.e. those
who agree with them. They
publish what is surely the
worst church paper I have
ever read called “The Church
of England Newspaper.” They
seem to me to reserve their
passion for church fights to
the task of saving the
Church of England from the
pollution of both
homosexuals and women,
because they think the Bible
defines gay people as evil
or “deviant” and women as
subservient. The Alpha
course is a product of this
“low and lazy” way of
thinking in the Church of
England.</div>
<div> The “broad and hazy” group
used to be the ones who gave
the Church of England its
flavor and its entertainment
value. This group takes
religion somewhat less than
seriously, but they don’t
reject it because it is part
of what it means to be
English. They also want an
institution in which their
babies can be “christened,”
their children married and
themselves buried, not so
much because these things
are inherently of great
value, but because that is
the proper way to do things,
the English way.</div>
<div> As secularism rises, this
broad group has, however,
essentially given up
religion so that all of
England’s fierce religious
disputes are now between the
“high crazies” and the “low
lazies.” Both of them tend
to bore thinking people.</div>
<div> In England there is a
group called the Progressive
Christian Network,
originally headed by the
Rev. Hugh Dawes, one of the
most creative priests I’ve
ever known. It is now headed
by the Rev. John Churcher,
an outstanding and brilliant
Methodist clergyman. They
sponsor and support study
groups in all parts of the
UK. A constituent part of
the Progressive Christian
Network is the progressive
wing of the United Reformed
Church of England, a merger
originally between English
Congregationalists and
English Presbyterians. This
Church has produced some
great leaders, including
Fred Kaan, whom I regard as
perhaps the greatest
Christian hymn writer of the
20th century. This Church
has also sponsored national
conferences called “Free to
Believe,” where they have
encouraged lay people to
wrestle with the real
questions that Christians
living in the 21st century
need to face if Christianity
is to live and be relevant.</div>
<div> So my advice to you is to
seek contact with a group
associated with the
Progressive Christian
Network of the UK and begin
to work with one of its
groups. Perhaps some members
of that organization,
reading this response to
your question, will get in
touch with you directly or
through this column if they
prefer.</div>
<div> I look forward to meeting
you in October and thank you
for your letter. You are the
kind of person toward whom
my whole life’s work is
directed.</div>
<div> Live well!</div>
<div> John Shelby Spong</div>
</div>
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Announcements</h2>
<div> <span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="color: rgb(47, 79, 79);"><span style='font-family: georgia, times, "times new roman", serif;'><em><span style="font-size: 24px;">Find
community where
you live as well
as connect with
others around the
world!</span></em></span></span><br>
<br>
<a style="color: rgb(68, 135, 207); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb232418480&id=c8dd6be962&e=0471473479" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(128, 0, 128);">Visit
our Global Network
Directory today</span></a><span style="color: rgb(128, 0, 128);">
</span>and find other
"Believers in exhile!"<br>
<br>
Join the progressive
Christian movement and add
your name to the
directory. <a style="color: rgb(68, 135, 207); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb232418480&id=6eb554b7a2&e=0471473479" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(128, 0, 128);">Just
go to "My Account,"
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click: "show me in
directory.</span></a><span style="color: rgb(128, 0, 128);">"</span><br>
<br>
Bishop Spong will be in
the <a style="color: rgb(68, 135, 207); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb232418480&id=a9078c727a&e=0471473479" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(128, 0, 128);">United
Kingdom in October-
view the Calendar</span></a><span style="color: rgb(128, 0, 128);">
</span>for his speaking
schedule!<br>
<br>
<a style="color: rgb(68, 135, 207); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb232418480&id=7cee800ce8&e=0471473479" target="_blank"><img width="550" height="412" align="none" style="border: currentColor; width: 550px; height: 412px; text-transform: capitalize; line-height: 100%; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; display: inline;" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/b51b9cf441b059bb232418480/images/global_community_hands_earth.jpg"></a></span></div>
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