Introduction: Blessed are the Peacemakers
Derek Poole

Comment
Mark Houston

From the Director
David Porter

Peacemaking
Arthur Chapman

Gentleness: An attribute of Peace
Graham Cheesman

A Long Road to Healing
David Porter

All Taigs are Targets
Neil Smart

God's Holy Warrior
Alwyn Thomson

Book Reviews
Alwyn Thomson David Porter

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PEACEMAKING ... Requires the Courage to Overcome Our Fears
'Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.'

The principle of maintaining and fostering peace is one which is considered an essential element of the Christian message, especially in our present age. No one would deny its validity, but in order to bring it about positive action needs to be taken. It tends to be accepted as a fine ideal rather than an imperative which needs to be applied to every situation and above all in circumstances where established social loyalties are likely to be disturbed. Peace between men will not come automatically but requires effort, hence our Lord's exhortation to be peacemakers. One of our many sins of omission lies in this sphere.

What are the factors which blunt our resolve and cause us to miss opportunities to implement this programme? They all seem to be related to fear — fears associated with our Christian faith and particularly our Christian fellowship. They can be identified as follows:

• Fear of weakening our commitment to individual devotion and personal salvation.
• Fear of contamination with evil — the belief that politics is a dirty game and that we should keep ourselves unspotted from 'the world'.
• Fear of disloyalty to the group of which we are a part. Fear of isolation and misunderstanding both from friends and those we seek to contact.
• Fear of over-emphasis and dependence on an exclusively social gospel.

As individuals we have loyalty to the social, political, religious and cultural groups of which we form a part. As Christians we have also loyalty to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Problems arise when these dual loyalties conflict. In the pre-Constantine era there was no convergence of interests between Church and State. The supreme allegiance for the Christian was to Christ, and basic responsibilities only were to be discharged to the civil authorities.

Thus Cyprian, writing about 252 AD describes the Church as a community of peacemaking:

'For God commands us to be peacemakers, and in agreement, and of one mind in his house; and such as he makes us by a second birth. such he wishes us when new-born to continue, that we who have begun to be sons of God may abide in God's peace, and that, having one spirit, we should also have one heart and one mind.' Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, writing in the following century, states:

'It is the essence of piety not to force, but to persuade, in imitation of our Lord, who forced no one, but left it to the will of the individual to follow him... But the devil, because he has nothing of truth, uses knocks and axes, to break up the doors of such as receive him. But our Saviour is meek, teaching the truth.... and enters when he is opened to, and retires if they delay, and will not open unto him; because it is not with swords, nor darts, nor soldiers, nor armour, that truth is to be declared, but with persuasion and counsel.'

With the establishment of Christianity as a state religion believers were induced more and more into conforming to the political demands of civil government and to supporting actions which were in conflict with the principles of the gospel. Thus the Crusades were promoted and justified — a tragedy which in subsequent years has caused Islam to view the Christian message with the utmost hostility and mistrust. With the Reformation individual rulers adopted particular religious positions and for the sake of political stability sought to impose uniformity of belief on all their subjects. Sadly wars of religion were fought to convert forcibly those of contrary views to the prevailing system of religious belief and practice. Efforts were made to justify armed conflict in certain circumstances by the theory of a 'Just War'.

Certain groups, however, such as the Mennonites and Quakers, who had no pretensions to political jurisdiction over national communities, shunned this use of force. In the turbulent times of 1660 the Society of Friends in England presented to Charles II their reasons for not bearing arms, as set out below. They based their stand on the biblical imperative to love one's enemies and promote the cause of peace, which was not to gainsay any political expediency. 'We utterly deny all outward wars and strife, and fightings with outward weapons, for any end, or under any pretence whatever this is our testimony to the whole world. The Spirit of Christ by which we are guided is not changeable, so as once to command us from anything as evil, and again to move unto it We certainly know, and testify to the world, that the Spirit of Christ, which leads into all truth, will never move us to fight and war against any man with outward weapons, neither for the kingdom of Christ, nor for the kingdoms of this world.'

At the time of the 1798 Rebellion in Ireland all Quakers were called upon to destroy guns or other implements in their homes which might serve as weapons. This was done to decommission anything which might be used for violent purposes and at the same time to proclaim publicly the refusal of Friends to take sides but to place their trust for protection and safety in God alone. Thomas Wakefield, who lived at Moyallon, near Portadown, in a symbolic gesture witnessed by Friends and the general public alike, went to the bridge over the River Bann and there destroyed his prized fowling-piece, subsequently dropping it into the river.

Although the 1798 Rebellion claimed the lives of some 30,000 people and many Quakers lived in Counties Wexford and Kildare where frequent atrocities were recorded, only one Friend lost his life, and he had decided to keep his gun! Because of their non-partisan stance Friends were able to preserve relationships with both sides in the conflict, to nurse the wounded and to bring relief to all in the midst of the general suffering.

How do we act as peacemakers in our contemporary Ulster scene? It is true that the interests of Church and State no longer coincide as closely as in earlier centuries. But slogans such as 'For God and Ulster' remind us of the subtle combination of religion and politics. We are called to engage in what John Stott calls 'double listening'. We are to heed God's Word and at the same time listen to what our contemporaries are saying. Only thus are we able to communicate the Gospel effectively. The tragedy is that in our country too few are prepared to listen to and understand the hopes, fears and aspirations of the other side.

Action as peacemakers requires courage and perseverance to overcome the fears identified earlier. We must equip ourselves by seeking: A deep personal faith that God alone can transform our present situation. A confidence in God's grace and power to keep us pure and true in relationships with those from whom we differ. A supreme loyalty to Christ rather than to our group. An openness and candour about contacts we make with 'the other side'. A conviction that the Gospel in its fullness brings healing to society as well as to the individual.

Christian witness which is expressed in these terms has a powerful effect upon a community which is only too prone to dismiss religion as a divisive and sectarian influence. The promise to peacemakers is that they will be called the children of God. This implies recognition by a sceptical world of the rule of God and the important role of those who perform this function.

The promise to peacemakers is that they will be called the children of God

Arthur Chapman - a member of Portadown Religious Society of Friends (Quaker). He is a former principal of Friends school Lisburn and a member of ECONI's Steering Group.