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November 11, 2008
> 2:45 PM
ironic > st. martin of tours  Today is the memorial of St. Martin of Tours. Being a Roman soldier - after his conversion, he became what we now know as a conscientious objector. He refused to fight any longer. The famous quote is..."I have served you as a soldier; now let me serve Christ. Give the bounty to those who are going to fight. But I am a soldier of Christ and it is not lawful for me to fight."Many Christians before and after St. Martin have come to the same conclusion about killing in light of their new Life in Christ. I have myself. Once upon a time I actually joined the U.S. Navy, just before Liz and I were married in 1988. I took the oath, all that. I was scheduled to go to boot camp on delayed entry at the end of that Summer. I never went. Just before I decided to join, I prayed and asked God to give me a quick answer (I know, I know - anyway...) - it was "no." But I shrugged it off and did it anyway. When I took the oath, I felt as squirrely as a, well, as a big red-tailed fox squirrel. It didn't feel right. During the next couple of months, I prayed a lot, studied a good bit, and came to the very firm conclusion that I could not kill anyone for my country, for anyone. That, along with that pesky oath business did me in. I couldn't do it. I called the Senior Chief Petty Officer who recruited me and explained to him my dilemma. He was actually very nice about it, very understanding, questioned me, proposed scenarios to check my resolve and finally told me I would receive paperwork in the mail soon that I needed to sign. It came. I signed it. That was it. And no, I'm not officially a "veteran" since I was only ever technically in the "Innactive Naval Reserve." OK, that's my story. I'm no Martin of Tours. He could have been instantly killed for his decision, which took place in a battlefield setting. The occasion made me think of it, though, so there you go. There is a long tradition of Christian Pacifism which shouldn't be taken lightly. Even those of us who aren't convicted in this way, should be very careful and serious about vowing your oath and allegiance and taking up arms to kill for a cause. Of course, if you ask my advice or opinion, I'd say, steer clear and don't put yourself in that position. Oh, the "ironic" part up there is obviously that it's Veteran's Day in the U.S. today. Interesting overlap. Take a look at the site of Catholic Peace Fellowship for some more info. Here's a helpful PDF file of quotes from Church history, etc. on the subject of conscientious objection. PEACE be with you - seriously - to all of us. St. Martin, pray for us. Labels: church, pacifism, saints 0 Comments:| permalink | e-mail me | 
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