Following the road map for peace

“Drinking a cup of tea, I end the war.” It seems simplistic and

sugary, yet invites each of us to take responsibility for bringing

peace to our lives and the world, moment by moment. In Zen, each

person tries to find his or her way in family life, the work place,

political involvements and all forms of community life, whether local

or global. We deepen our appreciation that each moment and every act

participates in the whole. We do not have to be secretary of state to

make a difference: all of our activities are influencing everyone

everywhere. How might that awareness guide our choices?

Looking within ourselves with a gently inquiring awareness, we

discover the very roots of war -- our anger, fear, hurt, feelings of

inadequacy, neediness, judgments and our inept attempts to cope with

our suffering. Gradually we learn that practicing skillfully with

these difficult emotions is the basis for cultivating compassion. We

experience the quiet joy and satisfaction of living fully in each

moment, and this naturally draws us to concern for the welfare of

all.

As we listen more carefully to ourselves and to one another,

boundaries dissolve. Globalism compels us to see inter-connectedness

or inter-being as reality, not an idealistic theory. Labeling others

as “enemies,” “terrorists,” “barbarians” or “torturers” will not

create conditions for solving problems, ending violence and creating

peace between international neighbors.

Rosemary Radford Ruether, a prominent Catholic theologian,

proposes that the “war against terrorism” may be viewed as a form of

Americanist messianic nationalism. This ideology uses religious

language in order to justify its contention that the United States is

an elect nation chosen by God to impose its way of life on the rest

of the world, by force if necessary. We are told that “evil” is

located in the “enemy” and that this evil can and should be conquered

by military might.

Ruether urges Christian churches, in partnership with other

religious groups, to vigorously counteract this abuse of religion and

moral charade. The 13th century poet, Saadi of Shiraz, teaches, “The

children of Adam are limbs of one another -- when the world gives

pain to one, the other members find no rest.”

Zen emphasizes right action flowing naturally from awareness.

Engaged Buddhism encourages individual practitioners as well as Zen

and Buddhist centers to work together on issues such as prison

reform, international human rights and world peace.

THE REV. DEBORAH

BARRETT

Zen Center of Orange County

Costa Mesa

Standing on the tel of Jericho, the oldest town on Earth, our

Israeli-Palestinian-Arab-

Christian guide said, “No doubt you Americans want to sing ‘Joshua

fought the battle of Jericho ... and the walls came a-tumblin’ down.’

As we do, please remember that my ancestors were the ones on the

inside of those (7000-1200 BC) walls!” In what Christians call “The Holy Land,” wars have raged for

millennia! Biblical history bears clear witness that true peace can

ultimately be built only on justice. The Episcopal Church has been a

strong advocate of President Bush’s “Road Map” for peace. We support

both its commitment to Israel’s security in a Jewish state with

secure and defensible borders and that policy’s description of a

future Palestinian state that is “viable, contiguous, sovereign and

independent.”

We affirm the work of the United Nations in pursuit of global

peace, protection of fundamental rights and the environment, health,

and poverty eradication; we support implementation of previous U.N.

resolutions. We have urged the United States government and U.N.

Security Council to lift restrictions on normal trade in civilian

goods with all countries in the Middle East. The Anglican Communion

affirms the rights of all peoples of the Middle East, including

Israelis and Palestinians, to self-determination, independence and

sovereignty.

We believe no one in such terrible conflicts can claim any moral

“high ground” and we try to focus on real solutions, not

justifications for continuing the violence. We advocate

re-envisioned, re-empowered, even-handed American diplomacy and

support. We believe that generosity and love and kindness hold the

best hopes for lasting peace with justice.

THE VERY REV. CANON

PETER D. HAYNES

St. Michael & All Angels

Episcopal Parish Church

Corona del Mar

Turning specifically to the Palestinian war against Israel, there

are at least four revolutions that must occur to create the

conditions for peace.

First, Israel’s neighbors must at last admit Israel’s right to

exist. Only Egypt and Jordan have acknowledged Israel’s legitimacy,

and they with great tenuousness. All other Arab and Muslim lands in

the dangerous neighborhood known as the Middle East maintain a state

of war with the Jewish State and continue to act as belligerents.

They consider all of Israel to be the land of Islam and seek to

replace Israel with Palestine. It is not a question of Israel’s

withdrawing from the Gaza or the disputed Territories. Israel’s

enemies believe all of Israel, that is Tel Aviv, Haifa, Netanya,

etc., to be Palestine. Only when the Arab nations turn from this

vision will any peace be possible.

Second, peace may come only 30 years after Palestinian textbooks

and school curricula are reformed to speak of tolerance, recognition

and reconciliation. Only a new generation reared in the value of

peace will be able to embrace that ethic. Today, Palestinians are

universally exposed only to a fostering of a multi-faceted rejection

of Israel’s existence and an instilling of hateful stereotypes into

their consciousness. When Israel is viewed as a neighbor with whom

peaceful relations should be desired will the seed of concord be

planted.

How can tolerance be created when children study maps of the

region which do not feature the name “Israel,” when they are taught

that Palestine (as the design on the official emblem of the

Palestinian National Authority) stretches from the Jordan River to

the Mediterranean Sea and is exclusively Arab, when the 5.5-million

Jewish inhabitants are not counted. These textbooks reject and

de-legitimize Israel, instill animosity and teach the implicit

aspiration to replace the State of Israel with the State of

Palestine.

From elementary through high school, the books are replete with

strong expressions of hatred toward Israel and praise for the

struggle against it, as well as anti-Semitic expressions against the

Jews. Thousands of Palestinians are trained for Jihad in summer camps

and “martyrdom” is highly prized.

Third, a new leadership must arise. Arafat and his cohorts have

betrayed their people over and again, lining their pockets with vast

sums intended for the relief of their impoverished people. They have

never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity to further the

cause of peace. They prefer to mouth slogans, to divert the masses

from their misery by blaming others, and to play the role of victim.

It is, of course, easier to be a revolutionary than to be a

responsible statesman; it is easier to be a demagogue than to have to

confront the realities of governing.

The Palestinian response to their situation must be more than

daily burning of the American flag, and it must be better than

cheering the terrorists of 9/11. Arafat has the blood of many

Americans, let alone Israelis, on his hands. Does he qualify as a

partner in peace?

Fourth, Muslim clerics and leaders must raise their voices against

the culture of incitement and terror that pervades the Arab “street.”

The only expressions of regret over the revolting slaughter of

innocents by Muslims acting in the name of their faith are statements

that are tactical and strategic: “We must desist from these actions

because they are injurious to our cause, to our public relations

campaigns, to winning world sympathy.” Where is the moral outrage of

supposed spiritual leaders over the murder of innocent men, women and

children?

Long ago, Jeremiah said, “There are those who cry ‘Peace,’

‘Peace,’ but there is no peace.” So it is today. Peace will remain a

distant prospect as long as Israel is not accorded the elemental

right to be, as long as children are taught to hate and that death is

preferable to life, as long as a corrupt leadership seeks only its

own profit, and as long as Muslim clergy do not raise their voices in

protest against those who degrade Islam. America and Israel are

rightly united, standing as democracies in a world of tyranny, as

forces for peace in a world of terror, and as defenders of

civilization in a world gone mad.

RABBI MARK MILLER

Temple Bat Yahm

Newport Beach

Peace is elusive because of two twin demons: dubious political

objectives and fanatical religious elements. Peace would have half a

chance if either one or the other were not active, but they feed upon

each other. If America could act purely, we would have a chance, but

because we have moments in our history that are global

embarrassments, our current objectives will always be questioned. The

current abuse scandal adds to that lack of trust. How can we claim to

be freeing people from the human rights abuses of Saddam Hussein and

then do this to them? Someone must be held publicly accountable in

order to restore some semblance of trust.

Ultimately, peace will not come to the world because of people’s

choices. People continue to choose that one set of values overrides

the value of human life and security. These choices are motivated by

a dimension beyond what we can see. Wars between flesh and blood are

symbolic of a spiritual reality where the forces of Satan are vainly

waging war against the kingdom of God. They will do anything to

eliminate the ability of someone to find real peace available to them

only in a relationship with God.

When someone dies, they no longer have the ability to choose to

follow God. The more who can be killed before they can make that

choice, the more enter eternity without God. This is the urgency that

Christian missionaries face globally. God says it is not his will

that any should perish. We are called to be ambassadors of

reconciliation and peace. Peace with God and peace with one another.

ASSOCIATE PASTOR

RIC OLSEN

Harbor Trinity Church

Costa Mesa