WHY I’M NOT A PACIFIST BY C.S. LEWIS

 

C.S. Lewis

INTERNET SOURCE: https://www.cslewis.com/blog/why-im-not-a-pacifist/

In the frequently debated essay in The Weight of Glory titled “Why I’m Not a Pacifist,” Lewis asks a simple, provocative question: “How do we decide what is good or evil?” It seems easy enough. It’s our conscience, right? Lewis says that’s the usual answer, breaking it up into what a person is pressured to feel as right due to a certain universal guide, and what a person judges as right or wrong for him or herself.

The first is not arguable given its universality (something some argue nonetheless), but Lewis warns that the second is often moved and sometimes mistaken.

Enter Reason. We receive a set of facts, we have intuition about such facts, and we have need to arrange these facts to “produce a proof of the truth or falsehood,” Lewis says. This last ability is where error usurps reason or simply a refusal to see and understand the truth.

Most of us have not worked out all of our beliefs with Reason. Rather, we lean in on the authority on which those beliefs are hinged and we are humble enough to trust it.

Why not pacifism then? Here’s his rundown, in brief.

First, war is very disagreeable in everyone’s point of view. The pacifist contends that war does more harm than good, that every war leads to another war, and that pacifism itself will lead to an absence of war, and more, a cure for suffering. Lewis is pointed in his  response:

I think the art of life consists in tackling each immediate evil as well as we can. To avert or postpone one particular war by wise policy, or to render one particular campaign shorter by strength and skill or less terribly by mercy to the conquered and the civilians is more useful than all the proposals for universal peace that have ever been made; just as the dentist who can stop one toothache has deserved better of humanity than all the men who think they have some scheme for producing a perfectly healthy race.

In other words, doing good in tackling immediate evils with deliberate force, does more good than setting up position statements based in some humanistic view that improvement will inevitably come just because… it’s supposed to come.

Hold on. Jesus says a person should turn the other cheek, right? Lewis presents three ways of interpreting Jesus. First, the pacifists way of imposing a “duty of non-resistance on all men in all circumstances.” Second, some minimize the command to hyperbole. The third is taking the text at face value with the exception toward exceptions. Christians, Lewis says, cannot retaliate against a neighbor who does them harm, but the homicidal manic, “attempting to murder a third party, tried to knock me out of the way, [so] I must stand aside and let him get his victim?” asks Lewis, who answers his own question with a resounding, “No.”

Further, Lewis says, “Indeed, as the audience were private people in a disarmed nation, it seems unlikely that they would have ever supposed Our Lord to be referring to war. War was not what they would have been thinking of. The frictions of daily life among villagers were more likely on their minds.”

Lewis ultimately lands on authority, referencing Romans 13:4, I Peter 2:14, and the general tone of Jesus’ meaning.

Here’s Romans 13:3-4: “For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.”

And I Peter 2:13-14: “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.”

Do you agree with Lewis’s rationale?  How does your understanding of the Bible and Christian faith influence your feelings toward war?

IN LOVING MEMORY OF MAHATMA GANDHI [PRO LIFE QUOTE ~ JANUARY 30, 2014]

 

Mahatma Gandhi

QUOTE: [I]t seems to me as clear as daylight that abortion would be a crime. [All Men Are Brothers: The Life and Thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi As Told In His Own Words, 165 (1958).]

AUTHOR: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (pronounced: [ˈmoːɦənd̪aːs ˈkərəmtʃənd̪ ˈɡaːnd̪ʱi]; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), commonly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was the preeminent leader of Indian nationalism in British-ruled India. Employing non-violent civil disobedience, Gandhi led India to independence and inspired movements for non-violence, civil rights and freedom across the world.

ARIZONAN CHILD KILLER: RICHARD LYNN BIBLE (EXECUTED IN ARIZONA ON JUNE 30, 2011)

            On this date, June 30, 2011, an Arizonan pedophile, Richard Lynn Bible was executed in Arizona for the June 6, 1988 murder of 9-year-old Jennifer Wilson. I will post the information about him from clarkprosecutor.org and I will rebut those protestors at his execution.

Richard Lynn Bible

Jennifer Wilson

Citations:
State v. Bible, 175 Ariz. 549, 858 P.2d 1152 (Ariz. 1993). (Direct Appeal)
Bible v. Ryan, 571 F.3d 860 (9th Cir. 2009). (Habeas) 

Final Words:
"I want to thank my family and my lawyers. I love them all and everything's OK. That's it." 

Final / Special Meal:
Four eggs with cheese, hash browns, biscuits and gravy, peanut butter and jelly, and chocolate milk.

Internet Sources:
Arizona Department of Corrections
Inmate: BIBLE, RICHARD L
DOC#: 043353
DOB: 01/23/1962
Gender: Male
Height 72"
Weight: 175
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Ethnic: Caucasian
Sentence: DEATH
Admission: 06-14-90
Conviction: IMPOSED [1]: MURDER 1ST DEGREE, [2]: KIDNAPPING, [3]: DANG. CRIMES AG. CHILDREN
County: COCONINO
Case#: 0014105
Date of Offense: 06-08-88 

Arizona Daily Sun

"Justice delayed is justice denied in Bible case." (Thursday, June 30, 2011 5:05 am) 

Today is the day, after 23 years and 24 days, the case against Richard Lynn Bible of Flagstaff is set to come to an end. That's how long it has taken our criminal justice system to find the murderer of Jennifer Wilson, try him, convict him, sentence him and carry out the sentence. A capital case like this should never take that long. 

-- The victim's family doesn't deserve the lack of closure that prevents their wounds from starting to heal. 

-- The family of the convicted murderer also has lived in limbo. They weren't the ones found guilty, but for 23 years they might as well have been. 

-- The attorneys on both sides of the case must think they are trapped inside some sort of stylized dance -- they go through the same motions but never reach the grand finale. 

-- Then there are the judges and their clerks, forced to review the hundreds of pages of case record that ultimately yield no reason for having reviewed it. 

-- And finally there are the taxpayers, who begrudgingly foot the bills for such Death Row indulgences but never rise up to demand changes. 

Are there capital cases in which 23 years is too short a time to actually solve the crime and carry out justice? We acknowledge there are -- the Innocence Project has proved that. But surely there must be a way, especially with the aid of modern scientific testing, to pre-sort those cases and move them onto a separate and more substantial appeals track. 

Ironically, the Bible case was one of the first to involve DNA testing. The blood on his shirt was consistent with that of Jennifer Wilson's. Bible's attorneys have never called for a retest or challenged that evidence. No court or judge has ever ruled in his favor on any of his motions or appeals, save being granted additional counsel two weeks before he was to be executed. With evidence so overwhelming, how can such a case have taken so long, even with the defendant maintaining his innocence to the end? 

The answer appears to lie in a system so consumed by due process that it fails to recognize a case in which those safeguards serve little purpose other than to delay justice, which, in effect, is to deny it. 

So in the end, Richard Bible has survived 23 more years on Earth when three would have been sufficient for the cause of justice. Our society needs to either radically shorten the appeals process in a capital case like Bible's or sentence him early on to life in prison without parole and throw away the key. He didn't let Jennifer Wilson get on with her young life, but everyone else in the case had a right long ago to get on with theirs -- and put Richard Bible as far out of mind as fast as possible. 

APPELLATE RECORD

-- Aug. 12, 1993: Arizona Supreme Court affirms Richard Lynn Bible's conviction and sentence, rejecting a wide-ranging appeal. 

-- April 18, 1994: U.S. Supreme Court declines a review of Bible's case. 

-- Nov. 24, 1997: Coconino County Superior Court denies Bible's petition for post-conviction relief, a type of appeal. 

-- Sept. 28, 1998: Arizona Supreme Court declines a review of the ruling against the post-conviction relief. 

-- July 26, 2007: U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona rejects Bible's wide-ranging appeal. 

-- Aug. 13, 2007: U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona rejects a motion for a new trial. 

-- July 1, 2009: U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit rejects Bible's appeal claiming ineffective counsel. 

-- March 8, 2010: U.S. Supreme Court again declines a review of Bible's case. 

-- March 22, 2010: State files a motion for a warrant of execution, which is stayed pending outcome of another petition for post-conviction relief as well as a motion for post-conviction DNA testing of hairs used as evidence in the trial. 

-- Aug. 16, 2010: Coconino County Superior Court rejects Bible's appeal and request for DNA tests.

-- Oct. 11, 2010: Coconino County Superior Court denies a motion for reconsideration. 

-- March 16, 2011: Arizona Supreme Court reviews the most recent decisions against Bible but affirms them on the grounds that the DNA tests would probably not exonerate Bible. 

-- May 24, 2011: Execution warrant issued by the Arizona Supreme Court. 

-- June 15, 2011: Bible's attorney files an application for stay with the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit, seeking additional counsel and DNA tests on the hairs. 

-- June 17, 2011: Application for stay dismissed as moot, but Bible is granted additional defense counsel. 

-- June 21, 2011: Bible's attorney files an application for a stay with the U.S. Supreme Court, saying the denial of his request to test the hairs makes his sentence unconstitutional. Bible also seeks a stay from the Arizona Supreme Court over where and when it obtained the drugs that will be used in the execution and the qualifications of those who will be injecting them. 

-- June 24, 2011: Arizona Supreme Court denies Bible a stay. Bible's attorneys request a 30-day stay from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to get the recently appointed lawyers up to speed on the case. 

-- June 27, 2011: Arizona Board of Executive Clemency denies Bible's requests for commutation and reprieve 

-- June 28, 2011: 9th Circuit denies Bible's request for a stay 

-- June 29, 2011: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy denies Bible's appeals. 

-- June 30, 2011: Execution scheduled at state prison in Florence. 

INTERNET SOURCE: http://azdailysun.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/prayers-for-bible-jennifer/article_ebb14084-2d29-5083-8502-085711e95f6f.html

Prayers for Bible, Jennifer

Dan Peitzmeyer, left, leads the vigil in prayer and reflection Wednesday on the grounds of the Arizona State Capitol. (Laura Clymer/Special to the Sun)

July 01, 2011 5:08 am •  LAURA CLYMER Special to the Sun

PHOENIX -- Their opposition to the death penalty is a matter of religious conviction, reflected in their prayers for both the victims and their killers.

Nearly two dozen people gathered in the shadows of the state Senate building on Wednesday for a 45-minute "witness against the execution" of Richard L. Bible, the Flagstaff man who was put to death Thursday for the 1988 rape and murder of Jennifer Wilson.

"It is a time to pray for the people whose lives have been taken from them," and to stand in "prayerful opposition to the execution of Richard Bible," said Dan Peitzmeyer, who wore an "Execute Justice not People" T-shirt.

Members of the participating groups took turns leading the gathering in prayer, reflection and song. They stood at the portable podium, which was flanked by two people holding a banner that pictured Jesus Christ on the cross and proclaimed "Executions have always been wrong."

The vigil featured prayers and the lighting of candles for the victims of violence and their families and for the death row inmates.

"We light a candle for Jennifer Wilson and her family and pray for consolation. We light a candle for Richard Bible and pray for the consolation of his family," said one of the organizers leading the program. "Help us to turn from revenge to forgiveness."

Participants read the names of the 130 men and women currently on death row in Arizona, recited and reflected on scripture from the Bible, read statements of reconciliation from murder victims' families, and then concluded the vigil with more prayers and with the song "La Paz de la Tierra" (The Peace of the Earth).

Afterward, Ruth Zemek, a member of Pax Christi-Phoenix, said a vigil in no way is meant to demean the pain and suffering of the Wilson family or other victims of murder -- the death penalty neither heals nor restores society.

"We don't think it (the death penalty) is an end to the suffering. It's a fallacy that it brings closure," said Zemek. "The executed person is also a victim. There's nothing healing about killing. They are both negatives."

Wednesday's prayer vigil was the third this year -- reflecting the number of scheduled executions in Arizona -- for the organizing groups: Pax Christi-Phoenix, the Arizona Death Penalty Forum and the Coalition of Arizonans to Abolish the Death Penalty. Pax Christi is a national Catholic social justice organization whose members support the abolition of capital punishment.

Do you oppose the death penalty?
Dan Peitzmeyer said his group is looking to start a chapter in the Flagstaff area. If you are interested in joining, he can be reached at (602) 774-007.

Coalition of Arizonans to Abolish the Death Penalty: azabolistionist.org

Arizona Death Penalty Forum: azdeathpenalty.org.

For more information about Pax Christi: paxchristiusa.org.

REBUTTAL TO THE PROTESTORS:

            Please bear in mind, I do have great respect for Pax Christi in their stance against abortion, I truly support them. However, I do not agree with their pacifist stance against a just war theory and capital punishment. If they want to oppose the death penalty, it is fine with me but they should split from those Anti-Death Penalty Groups (like ACLU).

"It is a time to pray for the people whose lives have been taken from them," and to stand in "prayerful opposition to the execution of Richard Bible," said Dan Peitzmeyer, who wore an "Execute Justice not People" T-shirt.

Rebuttal: It is time to obey God’s Justice and not listen to Satan, who wants the State to go soft on crime. Where were you all on 6 June 1988 when Jennifer Wilson was murdered? Rather than wear that shirt, it is better to wear T-Shirt with that Bible Verse on it. 

Members of the participating groups took turns leading the gathering in prayer, reflection and song. They stood at the portable podium, which was flanked by two people holding a banner that pictured Jesus Christ on the cross and proclaimed "Executions have always been wrong."

Rebuttal: As a Born Again Christian and also a former death penalty opponent, do not make fun of Jesus Christ by using him as an example of a convicted murderer, I rather you draw the devil being put to death. See my blog post, DEFENDING THE DEATH PENALTY: THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST

The vigil featured prayers and the lighting of candles for the victims of violence and their families and for the death row inmates.

"We light a candle for Jennifer Wilson and her family and pray for consolation. We light a candle for Richard Bible and pray for the consolation of his family," said one of the organizers leading the program. "Help us to turn from revenge to forgiveness."

Participants read the names of the 130 men and women currently on death row in Arizona, recited and reflected on scripture from the Bible, read statements of reconciliation from murder victims' families, and then concluded the vigil with more prayers and with the song "La Paz de la Tierra" (The Peace of the Earth).

Rebuttal: I rather you read the names of victims who were brutally murdered around the world, than show your poetic (or perverted) support for evildoers. The Peace of the Earth? WHAT? Ending the death penalty will mean CHAOS OF THE EARTH!!!

The late President Ronald Reagan had a message for those who hold vigils and protest against executions. Hold vigil every time somebody is murdered, then you can do that to the death penalty.

Will you protest and hold vigil for the following criminals? I wonder if they would bother doing that at the embassies of the following countries for these criminals:

Will they cry for the Eight Executed Terrorists?

Will they moan and groan for Nazi War Criminals?

Nazi War Criminals at the Nuremberg Trials.

Indian Embassy for Ajmal Kasab? 

People hold a placard and pictures of Mohammad Ajmal Kasab, as they celebrate in Ahmedabad November 21, 2012.
REUTERS/Amit Dave 

Indonesian Embassy for Amrozi?

Iran Embassy for The Black Vultures?

Japanese Embassy for their violent criminals?

United Arab Emirates Embassy for Al Rashidi?

Afterward, Ruth Zemek, a member of Pax Christi-Phoenix, said a vigil in no way is meant to demean the pain and suffering of the Wilson family or other victims of murder -- the death penalty neither heals nor restores society.

"We don't think it (the death penalty) is an end to the suffering. It's a fallacy that it brings closure," said Zemek. "The executed person is also a victim. There's nothing healing about killing. They are both negatives."

Rebuttal: As mention above, I respect your stance against abortion and capital punishment but asking for abolition of the death penalty is hurtful to the Victims’ Families For the Death Penalty.

“The executed person is also a victim.”

Don Feder was quoted in his article, MCVEIGH PUTS CAPITAL PUNISHMENT IN FOCUS:

Executing a murderer is the only way to adequately express our horror at the taking of an innocent life. Nothing else suffices. To equate the lives of killers with those of victims is the worst kind of moral equivalency. If capital punishment is state murder, then imprisonment is state kidnapping and restitution is state theft.

There are victims’ families whom justice was served years later, after the killers were executed. 

PLEASE GO TO THE VFFDP BLOG TO HEAR FROM THE VICTIM’S FAMILIES.