I didn’t intend to write this much. I never do. I’ve just been reading the news and the news is dismal. The kidnapping of soldiers is wrong, no doubt. But the Israeli army has ravaged the Palestinian people for years, years, and more years. By “ravaged” i refer to the rape of women, the killing of children, the shooting of unarmed civilians, the bulldozing of the homes of the poor. Most importantly, there are numerous Palestinians in jail–at least nine thousand–many of them completely and provably innocent. Fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters, equally taken. They, too, have been kidnapped. It is not for me to give you answers but to ask the right questions. One Israeli soldier kidnapped versus thousands of Palestinian civilians illegitimately held in torture-documented jails? Granted, some have committed crimes–even *gasp* terrorism–but what of the equally heinous terrorism committed by Israeli soldiers on a nationwide scale? One reaps what one sows. Why is the killing of Israeli civilians by militants called “terrorism,” whereas the killing of Palestinian ones called “self-defence”? Is Israel “justified” just because they are God’s chosen? Is Israel “right” because they are God’s chosen? My opinion–and it does not have to be yours–is a clear No (and it seems Paul would agree–see Romans).

What is most disappointing to me is Israel’s completely disproportionate response toward Lebanon. In the last few days over 70 civilians were killed in Beirut–in Lebanon’s capital. Beirut’s civilian airport was bombed. Bridges were bombed. CROWDED RESIDENTIAL AREAS were bombed!! RESIDENTIAL AREAS. I can’t believe that. Why bomb civilian crowds as a response to two kidnapped soldiers? And this in the regions not even governed by the group who actually kidnapped the soldiers?

People are getting maimed–not soldiers even! Can you imagine planes from the U.S. flying into Hong Kong airspace, bombing Tsing Ma bridge and a crowded Tai Koo Shing in response to China kidnapping two soldiers? What a preposterous response! What an illogical maneuver! Of course action is necessary. But not the deliberate bombing of civilian targets and civilian residential areas! This does not help one’s case. Stupidity has been given new meaning; Mars, rather than YHWH, is being called upon to “save.”

In light of what is practically an open war maneuver, it looks like the other powers–even if only for face reasons, given their civilians are being attacked–will be forced to launch a military response. >From there, the reasons for going to war will become an irrelevant matter–only the war will matter, each side claiming divine sanction, each side fighting for their honour and sense of self-righteousness, each side playing on the terms laid down by Death–that is, each side trusting in the power of Death to save, and each side trusting in the ways of Death–to live.

Irony indeed.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.” I deliberately keep the word “sons” here because in the Hebrew tradition, to be called a son meant more than biological kinship: it meant inheriting the honour, mission, and legacy of one’s father. It meant receiving and taking up his character, and most importantly, continuing the work of his hands. Thus, in calling peacemakers sons of God, Jesus confers on them the title of those who participate in and continue the very work of God in the world (peacemaking which Jesus himself would later epitomize).

Peacemakers–workers for justice and love–follow Christ by offering their own bodies for the sake of reconciliation, and in their willingness to lay down their life for an enemy, they retell the gospel to the world. Peacemakers bear the very character of God for the world to see–and scorn. Peacemakers shout with Ghandi and King that “an eye for an eye makes the whole world go blind!” Their logic seems too simple to be true. “Normality” coerces people to label them as insane–utopian idealists of touch with reality. Yet perhaps it is they who have kept their sanity in a world that has forgotten every language but that of the gun.

“Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Repay no one evil for evil. Do not overcome evil with evil, but overcome evil with good.”

These last few weeks have been weeks of war. Israel; Gaza; Lebanon; Syria; Iran; North Korea. The nations rage and the earth seems to slide around as if on jello, separate and escalating conflicts, yet all eerily recandescent of history.

I have felt helpless, tired, appalled. Incredulous laughter at the reasoning of political leaders has been a daily occurence. I have dropped my jaw at the news reports several times this week. I assume most the Christians I know are praying for Israel, while forgetting the Palestinians. I assume many of them equate the military might of Israel–and its war–with justice and God’s might. I assume most of them have forgotten that when Israel was delivered from oppression, they thought God was giving them license to finally return the favour…and when they did, God “delivered them into the hands of their oppressors.” In the oppression of others, in the mimicing of the ways of their former oppressors, Israel forfeits her separation to God, becoming like the other nations. She is, once again, drunk on the wine of the world superpower, trusting the modern-day Egypt for deliverance, purchasing its armaments and hence buying into its ethos of “might-makes-right” domination and death-worship. Things have not changed.

I have a friend in Gaza. I hope he is okay. We went to college together. He is tall, has black curly hair–an American who grew up in Egypt. Now he is in Gaza–he has been there a while–working for reconciliation and peace between Palestinians and Jews. He is my age.

Whether or not it is a hopeless situation is not the question. He is simply living as a mature human being amidst the frenzy of the principalities in the Fall. He is living in the ethic of resurrection. He is, in a truer sense than me, born again.

But I have not heard from him for a long time.

‘For the first time in the assault, strikes targeted the crowded Shiite residential neighborhoods in south Beirut, a stronghold of Hezbollah’s leadership.

An initial wave before dawn hit near Hezbollah’s security headquarters and targeted roads, damaging two overpasses. The facades of nearby apartment buildings were shorn away, balconies toppled onto cars and the street was littered by glass from shattered windows. Firefighters struggled to put out several blazes.

A young man with blood pouring down his face was shown on Lebanese TV walking out of a damaged apartment building.’

‘Israel hopes the fighting, which has killed more than 40 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier, eventually will lead to a broader cease-fire deal.’
- AP news excerpts: read full article here

Some of you, especially those in Hong Kong, notice that I say “peace” a lot…it’s usually my goodbye greeting Honestly I prefer the word in Hebrew: shalom–the english word “peace” sounds kind of weak for me.

Now, it may be strange to hear somebody say that peace is NOT weak! Peace connotes weakness and fragility; temporality and unrealism. War is strength; fighting is concrete; conflict is realistic. Peace is a dove, War is a gun. Peace denotes weakness of conviction; war, by contrast, denotes faith–strong belief, self-sureness, and stability of mind. Which is stronger: the barrel of a tank or a white flag?

Peace. When I utter this word I make no reference to a peace of weakness and convictionless compromise. I refer to the shalom that infused Martin Luther King, Ghandi, Thomas Merton, Daniel Berrigan, Dorothy Day. This peace is highly aggressive, perpetually on the offense, its weapon its own body, willing to suffer death rather than take up death’s weapons. It refuses the terms of kill or be killed; it gets in the way of conflict, absorbing hatred into itself and returning, by grace alone, good for evil. It chooses dialogue over the gun; love over revenge; it takes the step back when pride can only push humanity farther toward the brink of self-extinction.

Peace. Ghandi said that violent courage was always preferable to cowardly apathy. Nonviolent peacemaking ought not to attract cowards who had never picked up a gun, but militants who were willing to lay their guns down. “I would pick a violent, courageous person over a nonviolent coward anyday,” he said. “A coward cannot be taught courage, but out of a violent person I can make a nonviolent one.” Peacemaking takes courage; to walk into battle, gunless, with the same dedication as the soldier–to fight and lay down one’s life–is strength. Che Guevara railed against this idea. It was nonsense to him. To a world that has known only war, it is totally illogical. Yet Ghandi, MLK, and countless other movements and movement leaders have found that it is miraculously practical, delivering both the oppressor and the oppressed from evil, and less costly–yes, in terms of human life–than war.

Peace. I began saying this as a political utterance, a reminder to myself of the coming reign of God, the city of God, the city of Shalom, and the coming judgment on seemingly impervious and blasphemous powers. It is a rich word for me, and I took it up as sacrament rather than fashion. I have said it once and I will say it again: peace is not at ALL just the absence of conflict. It is not a name for a negative state of being, a minus sign. On the contrary, it is the full, abiding, overflowing presence of justice and love. Peace is not just “harmonious.” To the world that is all it is. Frailty. Temporality. Compromise. Absence. But God presents to us a better peace than that. Shalom. Shalom is love and justice to the hilt, diffusing throughout society like yeast in dough.

From
Soulforce’s Equality Ride: Final Reflections from Kayla

Lesson Two: I basically already knew this lesson but it was doubly affirmed through my experience on this ride. No one’s heart or mind is swayed by arguments or debate, but by the humanity and commonality they discover in those they consider their opponents.

Read more at her blog.

From Soulforce’s website.

Rodney Powell is a gay, African American, who has lived in Hawaii since 1976 with his partner of 30 years. While a … all » medical student at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee during the years 1957-61, as a student protest leader in the African American Civil Rights Movement, Rodney had the privilege and honor to learn and apply the philosophy and strategies of love and nonviolence under the guidance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other dedicated ministers of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. In this interview, Rodney shares his thoughts on the Soulforce Equality Ride.

Though, Overflow Mag has experienced a recent revival of attention through it’s coverage of Soulforce’s visit to Wheaton, this site is not just about the Equality Ride.
The mission of Overflow is:

“We are alternative voices seeking to share the overflow of our hearts with the Christian College Community.”

Overflow originally started by students at Wheaton College seeking to make known some Christian views and opinions that where not being given enough thought and attention at their school. We are now seeking to expand the efforts to include all college’s that fall into the category of “Christian.”
Overflow, as a publication, is not seeking to take sides on any of the issues presented. It might occassionally appear as such, in that only one side of an issue is usually the “alternative.” We are interested in posting any view that is not being loudly proclaimed, or assumed by the “Christian community” (and generally speaking we are talking about within the USA).

If you are interested in writing for Overflow, please send your article or proposal to Ariah Fine

From the Soulforce Website:

Eastern University has embraced academic freedom and the importance of the discussion of GLBT issues with commendable enthusiasm. Eastern administrators have worked with Soulforce Equality Ride members to come up with a day of mutually agreed upon activities that are sure to be productive and thought-provoking. Members of the Equality Ride will be housed by Eastern staff and students during their time in St. David’s. The Eastern University campus and the Soulforce Equality Riders will have an excellent learning experience during our visit.

From the Soulforce Website:
******************************************
SOULFORCE PRESS RELEASE: April 21, 2006
For Immediate Release
Contact: Richard Lindsay, 646-258-7193
richard@equalityride.com
******************************************

(WHEATON, IL) - Equality Riders wrapped up two days of dialogue with the students, administration and faculty of Wheaton College today. Riders were welcomed to the campus, where they spoke in classes, presented and shared meals with students.

Wheaton was, in many ways, the inspiration for the ride. While he was an undergraduate at Northwestern University, Equality Ride co-director Jacob Reitan met a closeted gay Wheaton student in Chicago. When the discussion turned to the evangelical school’s policy on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students, the student told Reitan if he came out, he could be expelled from the school.

“I told him I thought it was a horrible policy, and it should be changed,” Reitan said. “But then he looked at me and said, ‘Actually, I think it’s a good policy. I think it’s a sin to be gay.’”

Reitan was taken aback, and promised to bring a group of LGBT-affirming Christians to Wheaton to present a different message.

“Coming to Wheaton is the fulfillment of a dream,” Reitan said. “We’re here to keep a promise I made three years ago, that I would bring a group of LGBT people to Wheaton who affirm their sexuality and know God loves them as they are.”

Reitan continued, “We are very thankful to Wheaton College, President Duane Litfin and Provost Stan Jones for welcoming us to campus. They worked with us admirably to plan this visit and the presentations and discussions went smoothly and fairly.”

A highlight of the two days of dialogue was a panel discussion in the school’s gymnasium, which drew around 1500 students, faculty and community members. The college, whose most famous alum is Billy Graham, has a strong academic reputation and the discussion was spirited and wide-ranging. Soul Force panelists Jacob Reitan, Richard Lindsay, and Jay Johnson discussed subjects with the Wheaton panel ranging from biblical exegesis, theology, psychology, sociology, law, politics and Christian ethics.

A central part of the forum was the issue of academic freedom. The school’s administration explained to the Equality Riders that Wheaton’s community covenant, which restricts homosexual behavior, is a statement of faith that applies to all students, straight or gay. Wheaton administrators stated that any students standing in support of the goals of the Equality Ride would be risking disciplinary action.

“It is unacceptable for an institution of higher education with a reputation like Wheaton’s to suggest that a student could not, after study, thought and prayer, come to the conclusion that homosexuality is not a sin without risking expulsion,” Reitan said.

In addition to his academic training in philosophical theology and position at the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, CA, Jay Johnson provided the personal experience of being a Wheaton alum and son of a Wheaton faculty member.

Johnson’s motivation for sitting on the panel with Soulforce was more than academic. Johnson said, “I was thinking about what it was like for me to be a scared, closeted student at this school and how much it would have meant to me to hear someone say I could be gay, I could be Christian, and I could have a wonderful life.”

After the presentations and formal dialogues were over, Wheaton students gathered with Equality Riders and other community members at a local restaurant for dinner and informal discussion. As their time together drew to a close, Equality Riders went through the now-familiar ritual of breaking off the intense conversations that had started over dinner, exchanging hugs and e-mail addresses with students and heading for the bus. Before the bus headed back to the hotel, some Wheaton students took a brief tour of the bus and even donated jars of food for the Equality Ride hamster, Ryder.

“We’ve made so many new friends at every stop,” said Equality Rider David Coleman. “It’s like we’ve planted seeds everywhere we’ve been and we’ll just have to wait to see which ones bear fruit.”

For more information on the Equality Ride stop at Wheaton college, see: www.equalityride.com/wheaton.

The Soulforce Equality Ride is a journey to change the heart and mind of America on the issue of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality. Following in the footsteps of the Freedom Rides of the 1960’s, the Equality Ride uses principles of non-violence to confront military and religious colleges and universities with policies banning enrollment of LGBT students. The Equality Riders reflect on the lessons of history, which have shown past religion-based discrimination against women, people of color, and religious minorities to be an unacceptable abuse of the sanctity of religion. At each of the 19 schools on the 51-day bus tour, the young adult ambassadors of the Equality Ride bring this simple message to students, faculty and administrators: Learn from history; end religion-based discrimination.

Kayla Boswell writes about her time at Wheaton:

I was visibly flustered and to the point of giving up completely after conversing with Wheaton’s president over lunch. His life experience as a pastor counseling gay people has only brought him in contact with drug using, promiscuous, disease ridden, broken individuals. Understandably, this is his idea of what all gay people are like. He did not seem to understand that this reality is a sad product of the environment which their policy creates. When I told him that as an individual in the Christian Gay Community, all we ask is for the privileges that straights receive concerning relationships: straights’ relationships are valued, acknowledged, celebrated, and the Christian community holds its members accountable to the commitments they have made before God and the community. Gay relationships are ignored, thought of as “not real relationships,” our partners are often labeled as our “friend” or “roommate,” and we do not receive the accountability to stay committed, monogamous, and faithful as do our straight counterparts by our Christian communities of faith. I believe this is the main cause for promiscuity and premarital intimacy before marriage or union within the gay community; if no one else is watching or caring about our relationships, it’s that much harder for us to do so as well.

To read more about her experience at Wheaton and other college’s visit her blog.

Overflowmag.com has a hotline number (775-370-6924).
This weekend we are looking for Students, alum, staff, and others who have attend the Soulforce events at Wheaton College to call in and leave a one minute message about your thoughts, opinions and just general impression of how things went.

I’ll be posting an audio compilation of the feedback we get here on the site.

So, PLEASE call in and leave your thoughts:
(775-370-6924)
*remember there is a one minute time limit.