War is easier than peace. That doesn't make it just

I'm tired of hearing apologists for this war in Iraq. We're there, we're committed, but we cannot call it just.

This is not about the individual decision to serve during wartime. There are some who answer the government's call to take arms against another nation during wartime, and that's a matter of individual conscience. But war is such a fundamental abrogation of God's intent for the human race, that no war can be considered just. It is not in heaven.

Hitler invariably comes up in these discussion, with the question "What could you do to stop someone like him, that doesn't involve military force?" And my honest answer is, I don't know. I don't know what response makes sense against something as mindlessly evil as the Third Reich.

And yet, I can't see a way for the Romanians to overthrow a totalitarian government with all the firepower, and yet they did, in 1990.

I can't see a way for blacks, shoved to the margin of American society in the 1950s, to step forward and secure their right to vote, guarantee equal protection under the law, and thwarting a society built on racism and segregation, without resorting to violence,and yet they did.

I can't see a way for Mahatma Gandi to drive the British out of India without inspiring an armed uprising, and yet he did.

War is easier than peace. It allows the mighty to triumph and to get what they want. It forces the lesser party to acquiesce, swallow their pride (and even their dignity), and admit the superior claim of the other party.

The mindset that tells us "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God" is one that seeks peace by putting another's needs first, It calls for placing yourself in the position of weakness, and risking real and serious loss. It requires trying to understand enemies, listening to their needs, and putting them ahead of yourself and your own interests.

War is "just" only to the extent that bombing cities, killing civilians, and blowing up men and women because we disagree with their leaders can ever be said to be just. It always comes with the generational renewal of old injuries and grudges, and it takes its pound of our flesh from our souls. Even David, called a man after God's heart, was barred from building the Temple because his hands were stained with the blood of war,

War happens because we're willing to surrender the dictates of conscience to Caesar's rage and do his bidding.

It's our responsibility to say no more. The human conscience is not for sale. War is unjust, and we will not support it.