Article January 6, 2003 Issue

Why I'm praying for God's wisdom at a time of war preparation

By J. Thomas Black

Along with many others, I hope that recent preparations for war with Iraq do not result in war itself. It's not that I believe that pacifism is preferable to militarism. We often have to choose between evils, and sometimes the monstrous evil of war is preferable to the more monstrous consequences of shying away from war. But I believe that war to preserve individual or national pride, or commercial advantage, or war that is justified by disinformation—such as happened with the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident and the US Congressional resolution that endorsed war with North Vietnam—is less than right.

Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Sentinel, wrote in 1908: "For many years I have prayed daily that there be no more war, no more barbarous slaughtering of our fellow-beings; prayed that all the peoples on earth and the islands of the sea have one God, one Mind; love God supremely, and love their neighbor as themselves.

"National disagreements can be, and should be, arbitrated wisely, fairly; and fully settled.

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