AS A MATTER OF CHRISTIAN CONVICTION, WE CHOOSE A WORLD FREE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS
WE BELIEVE that we face two futures: a world without nuclear weapons or a world ruined by them.
WE PROCLAIM that nuclear weapons today are unjustifiable theologically, politically, and militarily.
WE RENOUNCE nuclear weapons as sin against God and neighbor.
WE REPENT of apathy toward devices that cause indiscriminate destruction.
WE URGE the American President’s leadership in fulfilling existing commitments toward global and complete nuclear disarmament.
WE PLEDGE our support to the elimination of all nuclear weapons worldwide, to the glory of God.
I’ve joined and signed the pledge. Will you?
Photo from karstenkneese
Nuclear weapons a sin against God? Come on really show me anywhere in the Bible that says anything like that
You shall not murder. – Exodus 2:13
You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. – Matthew 5:42-45
Love your neighbor as yourself. – Matthew 22:39
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. – John 13:34-35
Those are a few places, off the top of my head, that I believe suggest nuclear weapons (or weapons of any sort) are a sin against God.
So the act of killing or murdering is a sin. nuclear weapons are not. If the weapon is used as a deterrent to stop war and violence then it is a weapon of peace same as God using a pillar of fire to stop the Egyptians. Same as guns ” guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” Since WW2 there has not been a use for nuclear weapons but people know there power and that’s why the cold war never became a hot war. So to end this, Nuclear weapons are doing there job keeping peace not killing people. And if you want to use the murder claim. Then be against a knife, or a rock, heck ban water since it can be used to create poison.
If you ask me, the idea that we would want or even consider having a weapon capable of killing thousands of people (indiscriminately) in one strike, is a sin against God and man.
You can make arguments about Just War (which I disagree with but will accept as a “valid opinion”) but it seems like you’d be hard pressed to prove in any way that Just War would include nuclear weapons.
If “there has not been a use for nuclear weapons” why use them? Why store them? Why keep them in the military arsenal?
We have the largest military in the world – larger than the next 25 countries on the list – combined. Why do we need a weapon that leads to such indiscriminate destruction?
In addition, nuclear weapons have not stopped wars. Perhaps you could argue that because we had nuclear weapons, Russia (or other nuclear powers) never launched a nuke at us but nuclear weapons have not stopped Americans from being attacked abroad or even here in the US. Nuclear weapons have also not stopped other nuclear powers from being attacked.
For those who seek to do us harm, nuclear weapons are no deterrent. They’ll find other ways to attack and do us harm. And let’s just say that one of our enemies (likely a member of a small terrorist cell) does get a hold of a nuclear weapon and attacks a US city. Who are we going to retaliate against? Are we going to drop a nuclear weapon on a mountain range in Pakistan?
If you want a real “weapon of peace” try loving your enemies.
As an aside, if you’d like to hear some more back story on this pledge and the Two Futures Project, take some time to listen to my interview with the founder – Tyler Wigg-Stevenson: http://www.somethingbeautifulpodcast.com/podcast/tyler-wigg-stevenson-3-20/
If you go up to a terrorist and say I love you and also say that you love God and your own western way they will put you into an orange prison suit film you and cut your head off. this we have evidence of and the reporter didn’t even state his political or religious status (probably). there are people who want to rape pillage and harm other people un-justly such as the Japanese in WW2 (No Offence Japan) the nukes that the Americans dropped did stop the war. As well as this if the nukes were not dropped the war could have gone on for perhaps years longer maybe decades and even more lives would have been lost than when the bombs were dropped.