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| William Lloyd Garrison |
I know of no other way to address the evils and wrongs of
our current society but as a Christian. This is not to say that this is the
right way or the only way, but it is at the moment the only right way I can envision.
It is the only perspective that gives me both the agency and the obligation to
speak. And I feel I must speak.
I must speak because I have seen every holiday, religious or
otherwise, become an excuse to glorify and justify war. I have seen November 11, which was
once a day to mark the end of war, become a day to honor those who participated
in war. I have seen the day where we used to celebrate our nation’s independence
become a holiday to celebrate a military whose job it has become to take away
independence from people living in faraway lands.
And I have seen Christmas, the day commemorating the birth
of the Prince Of Peace, become a day in which we are expected to pause and give
thanks to those who serve in the military far from the home and nation where
they are loved and in whose name they are supposed to be fighting, whose
freedoms they are supposed to be defending.
And so I provide you today with excerpts from the DECLARATION
OF SENTIMENTS ADOPTED BY PEACE CONVENTION Boston, 1838. Because I feel if my
Christian holidays are going to be co-opted by the war machine, then it is not
merely my right but my obligation as a Christian to provide Christian
perspectives on Memorial Day. For there is one who gave his life for not only a
nation but an entire world. My love, Christian love, transcends national boundaries. It transcends empires that are here to day and vanished tomorrow. My vision is not
for some but for all, not for that which is transitory but for that which is
eternal. Because nations rise and fall but God’s word endures forever.
From the document written by William Lloyd Garrison:
"We do not acknowledge allegiance to any human
government. We recognize but one King and Lawgiver, one Judge and Ruler of
mankind. Our country is the world, our countrymen are all mankind. We love the
land of our nativity only as we love all other lands. The interests and rights
of American citizens are not dearer to us than those of the whole human race.
Hence we can allow no appeal to patriotism to revenge any national insult or
injury…”
"We regard as unchristian and unlawful not only all
wars, whether offensive or defensive, but all preparations for war; every naval
ship, every arsenal, every fortification, we regard as unchristian and
unlawful; the existence of any kind of standing army, all military chieftains,
all monuments commemorative of victory over a fallen foe, all trophies won in
battle, all celebrations in honor of military exploits, all appropriations for
defense by arms; we regard as unchristian and unlawful every edict of
government requiring of its subjects military service.
“We believe that the penal code of the old covenant—an eye
for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth—has been abrogated by Jesus Christ, and
that under the new covenant the forgiveness instead of the punishment of
enemies has been enjoined on all his disciples in all cases whatsoever. To
extort money from enemies, cast them into prison, exile or execute them, is
obviously not to forgive but to take retribution. "
"The history of mankind is crowded with evidences
proving that physical coercion is not adapted to moral regeneration, and that
the sinful dispositions of men can be subdued only by love; that evil can be
exterminated only by good; that it is not safe to rely upon the strength of an
arm to preserve us from harm; that there is great security in being gentle,
long-suffering, and abundant in mercy; that it is only the meek who shall
inherit the earth; for those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword.”
“If, then, the time is predicted when swords shall be beaten
into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks, and men shall not learn the art
of war any more, it follows that all who manufacture, sell, or wield these
deadly weapons do thus array themselves against the peaceful dominion of the
Son of God on earth.”
"Having thus stated our principles, we proceed to
specify the measures we propose to adopt in carrying our object into effect. We
expect to prevail through the Foolishness of Preaching. We shall endeavor to
promulgate our views among all persons, to whatever nation, sect, or grade of
society they may belong. Hence we shall organize public lectures, circulate
tracts and publications, form societies, and petition every governing body. It
will be our leading object to devise ways and means for effecting a radical
change in the views, feelings, and practices of society respecting the
sinfulness of war and the treatment of enemies."
"In entering upon the great work before us, we are not
unmindful that in its prosecution we may be called to test our sincerity even
as in a fiery ordeal. It may subject us to insult, outrage, suffering, yea,
even death itself. We anticipate no small amount of misconception,
misrepresentation, and calumny. Tumults may arise against us. The proud and
pharisaical, the ambitious and tyrannical, principalities and powers, may
combine to crush us. So they treated the Messiah whose example we are humbly
striving to imitate. We shall not be afraid of their terror. Our confidence is
in the Lord Almighty and not in man. Having withdrawn from human protection,
what can sustain us but that faith which overcomes the world? We shall not
think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try us, but rejoice
inasmuch as we are partakers of Christ's sufferings."
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