Christians Pray for a Sensible Arms Trafficking Treaty

Currently there are more laws governing the international sale of bananas and iPods than grenade launchers and AK-47s. - National Association of Evangelicals -

The Clothesline Report is about creation care and climate justice, right?  So what are we doing wading into the sordid world of international arms dealers who get rich off the slaughter of villagers in Congo and Sudan?
The answer isn't really all that complicated: Christians pray daily the Lord's prayer: "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven." That prayer leads some of us to work for an end to human slavery and child labor; some work for redemptive immigration policies; some advocate for living wage standards; others care for aging parents and vulnerable children.
At the Clothesline, we  encourage our friends to protect the increasingly threatened natural systems that all God's creatures rely on for food and habitat -- including seven billion humans. But we care about God's justice and mercy toward all things, whether or not they fall into our specific "silo" of focus.
That's why I decided to spend a few hours yesterday at the Salvation Army in New York City with Galen Carey of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE). We met to pray for the success of a new global Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). The ATT would establish common binding standards for international weapons transfers. It would stem the flow of illegal weapons and ammunition to warlords, dictators and terrorists. In short, it would help dry up the flow of machine guns and grenade launchers into conflict zones where warlords use them to terrorize and control civilians.
I thought it was great that the NAE -- the main voice of evangelicals in America -- was leading the effort. So imagine my surprise at this lineup participating in the prayer meeting: the World Evangelical Alliance, representing 600 million evangelicals in 129 nations; the National Latino Evangelical Coalition; the Salvation Army; New York Divinity School; and the New York City Intercessors. All joined together to pour out prayer for a treaty to help the most vulnerable in conflict zones.

You might think that such a treaty would be universally supported in America, which already has the world's toughest laws regulating the import and export of weapons. Sadly, it's not. The NRA has turned this into another 2nd Amendment fight, which is an almost incomprehensible argument. So people of goodwill will have to speak up if the countries of the world are going to act to protect the most vulnerable.
For starters, you've got to take two minutes and watch the fabulous little film (above) on the ATT. If you think it's worth an extra moment of your time, then consider reading a bit more on why evangelicals are so strongly supporting it. Finally, remember how easy it is to write your congressional representatives expressing support.
You already care for God's creation. Now take a moment to act on behalf of some of His most vulnerable creatures.
Thanks for your love and concern.

J. Elwood


Follow @John_Elwood

Lausanne Evangelical Movement Calls on Christians to Care for the Earth

The global Christian Lausanne Movement this week issued a Call to Action, declaring care for the creation as a core gospel issue, and calling on all Christians to adopt simpler lifestyles, to radically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and to mitigate the effects of environmental degradation on the poor. The Call to Action was developed and signed by 57 church leaders, scientists, theologians and creation care practitioners from 26 countries, working in collaboration with the World Evangelical Alliance, whose members represent more than 600 million Christians worldwide.

Individual Christians may now add their endorsement of the Call to Action by clicking here:  http://bit.ly/REMSf7

The Lausanne Call to Action arose from two fundamental convictions:

1. Care for the creation is a core element of the gospel, seen in creation, in the resurrection of Christ, and in his mission to reconcile all things to God. As such, it is a necessary element of the Christian response to God’s grace, and would be a core component of Christian life and mission even if the earth were not presently in crisis.
2. In fact, however, the world is in crisis, brought on by global climate change, deforestation, pollution, loss of species to extinction and water stress. These threats place a heavy burden on the poor, on vital ecosystems and on vulnerable species of animals and plants.

The Lausanne Movement was founded in 1974 by Christian leaders including Billy Graham, John Stott, Francis Schaeffer and Samuel Escobar to reframe Christian mission in a changing world. Represented by leaders from more than 190 countries, Lausanne has worked to apply the gospel to a world gripped by social, political, economic and religious upheaval.

In 2010, the Lausanne Movement convened in Cape Town South Africa, and outlined the Christian responsibility for creation care in the starkest terms: 

We cannot claim to love God while abusing what belongs to Christ by right of creation, redemption and inheritance. We care for the earth and responsibly use its abundant resources, not according to the rationale of the secular world, but for the Lord’s sake. If Jesus is Lord of all the earth, we cannot separate our relationship to Christ from how we act in relation to the earth. For to proclaim the gospel that says ‘Jesus is Lord’ is to proclaim the gospel that includes the earth, since Christ’s Lordship is over all creation. Creation care is a thus a gospel issue within the Lordship of Christ.

 

The new Call to Action, developed by a Lausanne working group assembled in Jamaica this month, filled in the general terms of the Cape Town Commitment with a list of specific measures, including the following:

• Christians must develop simpler lifestyles, work to restore the creation, and equitably share its bounty with others.
• The church should develop an integrated theology of creation care to equip pastors in teaching Christians to challenge prevailing economic ideologies which result in harm to the creation.
• The entire church – including women, children, youth and indigenous people – must mobilize to engage all of society – including governments, businesses and civil society – for creation stewardship.
• Environmental missions among unreached people should be encouraged as a fully-recognized category of missional outreach, akin to medical missions.
• The church should engage in radical action to address climate change and reduce greenhouse gases, the harm from which falls most heavily on the poor.
• The global church should actively promote sustainable food production methods such as conservation agriculture.
• Churches should encourage small steps to promote local expressions of creation care and preserve local ecosystems.
• The church must encourage Christian prophetic advocacy to those in power, to mitigate harm to the creation and to support communities devastated by environmental degradation.
• The church must come to God in prayer, lamentation, repentance, and an appeal to Him to heal the land and all who dwell in it.

Advocating local creation care projects, like nature camps by A Rocha USA

Christians and their leaders from all over the world will be adding their names to the list of signatories. We can do the same, simply by following this link. http://bit.ly/REMSf7 

Won’t you take sixty seconds to stand with your brothers and sisters from around the world in calling for a new commitment to care for our Father’s world, and its most vulnerable children?

Thanks for reading, and may God bless you.

J. Elwood

Follow @John_Elwood