Thought for the month:
We (Christians in war) are called to the hardest of all tasks: to fight without hatred, to resist without
bitterness, and in the end, if God grant it so, to triumph without vindictiveness.
William Temple, The Hope of a New World, SCM Press Ltd., 1940, page 81
Dear Friends
This month’s article can of course have no other subject than the very real prospect of war starting
in March. As was entirely predictable, this matter has divided many in the Christian world (contrast
for example the Bishop of London’s views with our newly enthroned Archbishop of Canterbury). I am
aware that this matter risks courting a great deal of controversy, but we cannot let such important
moments in our national history go past without comment. So what should be said?
Many of us reached an important moment in arriving at our own opinions when we watched General
Colin Powell giving a demonstration on television of the way the Iraqi military had been trying to hide
evidence of chemical and biological weapons from the UN inspectors. I was no exception. Who did
I believe, I asked myself - the Iraqis who claimed that the Americans were fabricating these stories,
or the Americans, who claimed that they had hard proof of Iraqi subterfuge? I had to side with the
Americans, not because I have any problem with the Iraqi people, but because of Saddam
Hussein's appalling track record over the years, both in the use of chemical weapons, and in
previous attempts to avoid being found out.
Like all difficult matters, this is a very hard subject to have a completely confident opinion about,
because of course we, "Joe Public", do not know the real truth behind all the matters we read and
hear about. We just have to decide whom to trust and believe in - and that is not always easy. In
my view we certainly need to see more proof that Iraq is evading the UN weapon inspectors - we
have been shown some proof, but not enough for me to feel with a clear conscience that war is
totally justified. We definitely must go on talking, and arguing, and persuading, and always pray
and work for peace.
However, what we cannot do is bury our head in the sand and wish that it would all go away. All
war is evil, but the dangers facing our world are on an far greater scale than anything our
grandparents could have imagined. Therefore, if it is true that Saddam Hussein is helping
international terrorists to acquire weapons of mass destruction, then that greater evil must surely be
challenged. Likewise, if it is true that Saddam is doing his utmost to build up his own arsenal of
chemical, biological and nuclear weapons, with the aim of threatening other countries in the Middle
East (particularly Israel), and in direct contravention of UN resolutions, then again that greater evil
must be challenged. The real question is - is pre-emptive military attack the only way these
dangers can be challenged? I honestly do not think that I am in a position to fully know the answer
to that question, and I doubt that any of us are as we are not in possession of the full facts. Let us
pray then that our leaders will be given wisdom and guidance as they make their mind up on that
most difficult question of all. Ultimately, only God knows the best way forward, and we must pray
that the world leaders will seek His guidance in these coming days.
In view of the critical times in which we live, I intend to start a weekly twenty minute long time of
prayer on Saturday mornings at 9.30am at the church to pray for world peace. There will be no said
prayers at this meeting. There will just be silence and the opportunity to bring before God our
corporate prayers for the peace of the world. The first prayer meeting will be on the Saturday March
8th, as March 1st has been designated as a special prayer day for Africa, when the church will be
open for prayer from 10am to 4pm.
Simon Tillotson
Old and thoughtful thoughts
November 2000
December 2000
February 2001
March 2001
April 2001
May 2001
June
2001
July 2001
September 2001
October 2001
November 2001
December 2001
January 2002
February 2002
May 2002
October 2002
November 2002
December 2002
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