"We are living in the final days" the carpet installer told me while working in my house recently. When I look at how Christians in our country are agreeing these days, I wonder if there is some truth in the words of this fellow believer. I must confess that the convergence of opinions among Christian leaders on the situation in Syria is surprising to me and at the same time it is hopeful.  

 

I consider myself a quasi-pacifist. I oppose all kind of violence, including wars. But then, what do you do when hundreds of thousands are killed and thousands are massacred with weapons of mass destruction. There is evidence that government forces in Syria used the gas sarin as a weapon. Sarin can be fatal within one minute after direct ingestion of a lethal dose, due to suffocation from lung muscle paralysis. People who absorb a non-lethal dose, but do not receive immediate medical treatment, may suffer permanent neurological damage. I can't help but empathize with President Obama when he realize that the U.S. has the capacity to alter the balance of powers in Syria and thus possible stopping this massacre of hundreds of thousands. The high moral conscience of our culture and political system forces us, and our President, to consider the option of intervention.  

 

We must also consider if our moral conscience has a greater weight than the teachings of Jesus and the gospels. In the gospel we read, "Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword." Mt. 26:52. The position of Jesus in regards to war and violence is unequivocal to me. The heart and mind of the Creator cannot settle for anything less that the protection of all life. The message of the scriptures is clear "seek peace and pursue it" (Psalm 34:14, 1 Peter 3:11) 

 

I must confess the weakness of my faith when I consider our capacity to deal with a dictator and bring about peace to a country engage in civil war. It is then when the witness of my fellow Christian leaders offer me hope. Our merciful savior must be looking to the Church in the U.S. this days with a smile in his face.  

 

This is what Christian leaders in our country are saying: 

 

Pope Francis asked leaders of the world's 20 largest economies to "lay aside the futile pursuit of a military solution" to the Syrian civil war and promote instead a "peaceful solution through dialogue and negotiation." 

 

"the path of dialogue and negotiation between all components of Syrian society, with the support of the international community, is the only option" to end the conflict in Syria. (Chairman of the USCCB bishops' Committee on International Justice and Peace) 

 

"Over and over we have tried to use the sword - in Iraq, in Afghanistan, now possibly in Syria... and the sword has failed. The cure becomes as bad as the disease. When we fight fire with fire, we only get a bigger fire, and a bigger mess." Shane Claiborne 

 

Leith Anderson, President NAE: "On September 3, the National Association of Evangelicals surveyed evangelical leaders to ask "Should Congress authorize direct U.S. military intervention in Syria?" Sixty-two and a half percent said "no." Thirty-seven and a half percent said "yes." I was surprised because I expected the answers would be the other way around."