When the movie “American Sniper” came out two weeks ago it set off a firestorm of praise and criticism.  I posted several things on Facebook and Twitter calling into question the idea that a sniper could be a hero.  I also made some comments about the American military and possibly even questioned the notion of patriotism being a “godly” virtue.  As you might guess, not everyone agreed with me.

While I wasn’t specifically critiquing the movie, I was still asked several times if I’d seen it – I hadn’t.  So…I went. And these are my thoughts:

First of all, I like a good action flick. And even though I’m fairly thoroughly anti-war, I even like a good war movie.  Clint Eastwood is one of my all-time favorite actors (I love his old Westerns) and he’s an incredible director.  Of course Bradley Cooper if phenomenal as usual.

I also appreciated that Eastwood in no way glamorized war or what the U.S. was even doing in Iraq.  He tried his best to show the complexity of the difficult split-second decisions that had to be made and how many times there is no winner in those moments.  Eastwood clearly defines the trauma that affects military men and women in a life-long battle that many end up losing  – either in death or by the loss of emotional or psychological clarity.

I’d give the movie an A-grade as art and story.

But I’m not a movie critic. I probably see 8-10 movies a year and the ones I like, the critics typically crucify.  And the ones I think are ridiculous win Oscars.  So what do I know about a “good movie?” It’s like wine. I know what I like, but I usually don’t know why I like it.

However, with little modesty, I think I can say that I am a theologian and a decent critic of culture – both Christian culture and Western culture (which are sometimes the same, but not always).  I also understand Middle Eastern culture as well the religion of Islam. Because of that, I often find myself in a unique place to speak on these types of issues. That doesn’t make me always right, but at least I know the parameters of the discussion.

I’m assuming that you, my reader, are a Western Christian of some sort and following Jesus seriously.  Of course many of you who read this aren’t any of those things – so, sorry.  But that’s my usual audience, and who this was written for.

One thing I’ve found helpful in trying to discuss patriotism, war and theology, and the mix therein, is to try and split them up.

America.  I love my country. I have a blue passport with an eagle on it as do all five of the Medearis’s.  We have no other passports.  I’m a big fan of freedom, free speech, equal rights, etc. We have those things in this country for the most part.  And I like that.

What I don’t like is the reborn version of Manifest Destiny. That we’re God’s chosen vessel for good in the world.  Or that America has some sort of agenda for other countries that’s more pure than what they might have for themselves. It’s simply not true. And really, the problem is idolatry.  When we start to pledge our allegiance to anything other than God’s Kingdom, we’re in for trouble.  The love of country and the love of flag (and what it stands for) should never be in the same discussion with our devoted love for God.  We can talk about country like we talk football or political parties, but be careful that we never give it the same weight as our discussion of what it means to love God and love our neighbors.

War.  I’m against it.  We could talk forever about whether or not the U.S. should have gone into Iraq and Afghanistan (the two most recent countries we’ve invaded).  I think the answer (I’m talking pure politics now) is a clear and simple – no.  But obviously many would disagree and would have good reasons for their disagreement.

“Yeah but what about Hitler and WW2?” is always the response.  Actually, glad you asked. A couple of thoughts to that:

1. It’s interesting that out of all the current wars America has been involved in, we only ask about that one.  America has been in 27 wars or “interventions” where U.S. troops have been involved in fighting on other’s soil since 1910.  Yet we only bring up this one as possibly justifiable. That should tell us something right there.
2. It’s interesting that after Bonhoeffer and his friends tried to assassinate Hitler – and failed – he killed more people than he did before the attempt on his life. He felt invincible once they failed and went into full extermination of the Jews mode and he waged war like a man protected by God.
3. Sometimes we say that if we hadn’t helped the Allies in WW2 then we’d all be speaking German.  And I’d just say that we’re all speaking something else anyway. Native Americans speak English – why is that?

Most Christians would say there is such a thing as “Just War.”  That’s when someone attacks us on our soil and we are allowed to defend ourselves – on our soil. None of the recent wars have been that.

By thinking of war as an option, we fail to look at other options. Imagine how much money we could have saved if we’d NOT gone into Afghanistan and Iraq and had instead used it to wage peace on those countries?

Theology.  As a follower of Jesus who takes his words and the example of his life seriously (as do most of you), I don’t see many options other than loving our enemies. Actually there are some others – we can bless them, pray for them, loan without expecting return from them, not take revenge on them, do good to them, turn the other cheek with them, carry their load and extra mile for them, and give them the coat off our back.  So I guess we do have options.  Killing them doesn’t seem to be on Jesus’ list.

His example: he allowed his enemies to kill him.  And that seems to be the answer to the question “Yeah, but what if they kill you?”

So, can you be a sniper?  Can you be a hero by killing lots of “bad guys?”  I mean, yes, you can.  But you not if you agree with what I’ve said above.

Was Chris Kyle (the actual “American Sniper”) a good guy? Maybe. Seems like it actually.  Would I like him on my side if I got caught in a fight?  Yep.  Was he faithful at doing his job? Absolutely.  Can I empathize with his life and his family he left behind? For sure!  I wouldn’t question any of that and I wouldn’t judge him if I were to meet him – or his wife if I met her.  They lived the life that they had as best they could, which is what we all do.

But I also don’t want to make him my hero.  Or any man with a gun in anybody’s army.  My Hero laid down his life for me without fighting.  That’s who I aspire to emulate.

Enemies change. At times they’re the ones we don’t like. Other times, they’re the ones who don’t like us. Often an enemy might be a whole group of people, like “those Muslims.” Or it could be those closest to us. Our own family members become our enemies in our worst moments.

This Muslim thing has gotten a bit confusing as of late. It feels easier to know who exactly our enemies are—where they are, and what they’re doing. ISIS is a good example. We feel like we know what they’re up to. They’re clearly evil. They are in the Middle East (or at least we’re hoping they’re “over there”). And they should be stopped. In a sense, that’s the best kind of enemy to have. A clear one.

But this week we experienced one of the confusing “enemy moments.” A white American atheist man executed three Muslims in North Carolina. There have been several other incidents in the last year where American Muslims were targets, but this one has jumped to the front page of papers and is trending on Twitter. Was this man a terrorist? We haven’t seen that word being used in the media. But I think we can agree if it had been a Muslim man shooting three white Americans in the head, we’d call it terrorism and be looking to uncover the evil plot behind it.

Academic work[edit]

Dr. Lederach's theories of elicitive methods of conflict resolution have been influential in the fields of political science, peace studies, international relations and conflict transformation. His works have been published widely in English and Spanish.^[3] His academic work comes from his experience in the field as a mediator, negotiator, peacebuilding practitioner, trainer and consultant. At the international level, this has involved input into peace processes in Somalia, Northern Ireland, Nicaragua, Colombia and Nepal. Within communities, his work has often been at the level of reconciliation within church and family.

"Change only comes through ensuring that people are represented. In Somalia where I did a lot of my early work, there was no government and it was a chaotic situation. My job was to engage in longer term bottom-up grassroots work. You do this by establishing organisations for elders, women's associations and so on which build strength into a community by creating space for civil society." - from a BBC interview ^[4]

Dr. Lederach has given many keynote, commencement, and high-level lectures, among them a keynote lecture entitled "Narratives of Care: The Social Echo of Community Transformation" at the Conversations on Attachment conference at Eastern Mennonite University.^[5] and a lecture entitled "Compassionate Presence: Faith-Based Peacebuilding in the Face of Violence" at the University of San Diego's Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice Distinguished Lecture Series.

Religion and beliefs[edit]

Dr. Lederach is a committed Mennonite Christian, and as he explains in his 1999 book Journey to Reconciliation (see below), his Christian faith has affected both his thinking and application of non-violent solutions to conflict. In 2000, he received the Community of Christ International Peace Award.^[6]

Lederach's work began to gain more widespread attention in the mainstream Evangelical world after Bill Hybels, founder and senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church praised the book Journey to Reconciliation in a Christmas 2013 sermon series.^[7] In light of the sudden interest in the book, it's publisher, Herald Press, released an updated edition under the title Reconcile: Conflict Transformation for Ordinary Christians in August 2014. The new edition includes a foreword written by Bill Hybels and his wife Lynne.

During both days of the 20th Global Leadership Summit August 14–15, 2014, Bill Hybels referenced the significance of the book and the importance of its principles of peacemaking and conflict resolution for individuals as well as churches.

“As a practitioner of peace, he accompanies the poor, the refugees and the victims of war – eliciting from them alternatives to violence,” Burish continued. “His wide-ranging experiences, profound analyses and deep moral imagination have formed the basis for a corpus of writing that has enlightened peace studies scholars and peacebuilders around the globe. He is, in the words of St. Francis of Assisi, ‘an instrument of peace.’” - Tom Burish provost of the University of Notre Dame^[8]

At a time when religious differences are often used to fan the flames of violence, the role of faith-based initiatives in building peace is crucial. Religious communities have powerful potential for making significant contributions toward preventing conflict, mitigating violence, and building reconciliation. However, inter-religious action—as a key approach to sustainable peace—still has not recognized its full potential as a force for sustainable peace. There is a lack of linkages and synergies across various efforts in inter-religious action and other secular-based peacebuilding initiatives that may undermine the overall effectiveness of inter-religious peacebuilding and hinder greater impact.

With funding from the GHR Foundation, the Alliance for Peacebuilding and its partners in the Peacebuilding Evaluation Consortium—CDA Collaborative Learning, Mercy Corps, and Search for Common Ground (SFCG)—began the Effective Inter-religious Action in Peacebuilding. This ground-breaking, three-year initiative seeks to improve the evaluation practices of inter-religious peacebuilding by addressing three specific gaps in inter-religious peacebuilding efforts – measurement, cooperation, and policy.

With the highly-collaborative approach of the Peacebuilding Evaluation Consortium, the goals of the EIAP are two-fold: 1) to generate guidance on how to evaluate inter-religious action and 2) to develop a framework for ongoing learning regarding what constitutes effective inter-religious action. Along with key AfP members such as the American Friends Services Committee, Catholic Relief Services, the Salam Institute and World Vision International, the PEC will ensure the EIAP is driven by a whole-of-field and stakeholder-intensive process. This process will be shepherded in part by experienced and respected inter-religious leaders from around the world: the Effective Inter-religious Action in Peacebuilding Global Advisory Council:

• Amineh Hoti, Dr. – Co-founder of the Centre for the Study of Muslim-Jewish Relations; Executive Director of the Society for Dialogue and Action and an Adviser to the Three Faiths Forum, Pakistan
• Dishani Jayweera – Co-founder, Executive Director, Centre for Peacebuilding & Reconciliation, Sri Lanka
• Harim Peiris, Pastor – Head of Sri Lankan Government’s IDP Resettlement Authority
• Leonel Narváez Gomez, Father – President of the Fundación para la Reconciliación, and creator of the Methodology of ESPERE, Columbia
• Myla Leguro – Senior Program Manager for Peacebuilding, CRS, Philippines
• Richard Ndi Tanto – Peace and Governance Consultant, Cameroon
• Sarah Bernstein, Dr. – Director-General of the Jerusalem Center for Jewish-Christian Relations, Isreal
• Shamsia Ramadhan – Program Manager, CIRCA at Catholic Relief Services, Kenya
• Somboon Chungprampree – Program Director of Spirit in Education Movement, and the Executive Secretary of International Network of Engaged Buddhists, Thailand
• Sumaye Hamza, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development. Plateau State. Nigeria Former Plateau Chairwoman of FOMWAN, Federation of Muslim Women Associations in Nigeria
• Susan Hayward, Reverend – Interim Director, Religion and Peacebuilding Center, United State Institute of Peace

In generating evaluation guidance, the EIAP will begin to address important questions regarding the fundamental criteria for assessing the effectiveness of inter-religious action and how inter-religious programming links with other peacebuilding efforts and related sectors such as development and diplomacy.

BREAD, SALT & HEART: A Story of Sister Cities from Mary Claire Photo + Video on Vimeo.