Peacemaking and Community

Catholic teachings on Just War. They have done a pretty good job on discussing just when and how war is to be fought, with some thoughts on violence in general. Methodists, Quakers, Lutherans, and others have taken their thoughts a bit further on the way, but the Catholic Church has done most of the work. No need to whine about how little they have actually done to stop wars-- they have often enough tried but to no avail with Stalin's famous question about "how many divisions the Pope has" being a good enough reason why they have had more success starting than stopping them. Around the same time Hitler mumbled about shooting unwilling clergy and that didn't help either. Curiously, through much of their history Baptists were pacifists. I don't remember what changed them.

There is, of course, the question of just which God we are talking about. Yahweh of the Old Testament was good with ordering the slaughtering of everyone living in a patch of land he promised the the Israelites when they stopped wandering, and wasn't above thunderbolts and floods himself when pissed. Jesus, on the other hand, was all about turning the other cheek. Allah, Thor, most of the residents of Olympus, and some of the Hindu gods have their bloodthirsty moments, too.

Relying on my god when trying to make a point to you rarely works.