Today we start here...

Should the church repent for the war in Iraq?

I received this email invitation today, from Jim Wallis and Sojouners. It's an interesting message and I will be discussing this on the show this week - in preparation for next week's '5th Year Anniversary' of the Iraq Invasion and battle against terrorism...or as some call it, 'war'.

Here is today's release from Jim Wallis: 

Next week will mark five years since the United States invaded Iraq. We all lament the suffering and violence that continue after these five heartbreaking years.

To commemorate this anniversary, many Sojourners board members are joining with me to issue a statement calling on the U.S. church to repent for the war and to commit ourselves to a new path toward peace.

Would you join us in signing it? Just click here.

We all share in responsibility for a war that has been waged in our names and with our tax dollars. The fact that fewer U.S. soldiers have died in recent months doesn't change the fact that this war should never have been waged. Our country should end this war, not try to "win" it, and we must help the Iraqi people build a safer and more peaceful country.

And so, in this season of Lent, I believe the time has come for us to repent for the Iraq war. But repentance means more than just being sorry. It means admitting that the course we have been on is wrong and committing to begin walking in a new direction - starting with an end to the U.S. occupation of Iraq.

Support for U.S. wars and foreign policy is still the area where Christians are most "conformed to this world" (Romans 12:2). We must commit to put our love for Christ ahead of obedience to a misguided government and ask our brothers and sisters to join us in working for peace.

That's why we've put together a statement that issues a call to the U.S. church to lament and repent of the sin of this war. We're planning to promote that call widely to Christian audiences of all theological and political stripes.

So far it's been signed by friends like Brian McLaren, Mary Nelson, Richard Rohr, Barbara Williams Skinner, and Ron Sider. But we don't just want prominent leaders to sign on - we want you.

If everyone receiving this e-mail signed the statement and recruited friends, family, and congregation members to do the same, we could show that millions of ordinary Christians are seeking a world in which our Lord "guides our feet into the path of peace" (Luke 1:79).

Click here to read and sign the statement lamenting and repenting of the Iraq war.

I hope you'll join us in committing to pray and work for peace.

Blessings,

Jim Wallis and the rest of the team at Sojourners