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CLOUDY Temp: 50 °F Wind: NNW at 6 mph Monday, April 14, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend March 16, 2003 Jack Duggan, a pastor at Ashland Christian Fellowship, says he has mixed feelings about a possible war with Iraq. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli War debate sweeps through churches By JOHN DARLING for the Mail Tribune As never before since perhaps the Civil War, churches are full of preaching, singing, prayer and activism about America going to war — and they’re not at all agreeing about whether the nation is on the right track and where God stands on it. Many are preaching to their congregations about peace, asking for prayer (and sometimes work) to steer the U.S. toward exhaustion of all alternatives before venturing into what many see as a radical new policy — a pre-emptive invasion — something that might bring unforeseen negative consequences. "I’m telling my congregation that we have to find a way to live in a peaceful world together," said the Rev. Paul Robinson of Medford Congregational United Church of Christ. "We have to follow Jimmy Carter’s criteria — that we’ve exhausted all alternatives to war, that not acting is more dangerous than acting and that we not break the centuries-old precedent of how nations behave, by not attacking first." Robinson sits on today’s third Ecumenical Community Forum, entitled "The Collapse of the Social System," a survey of the social consequences of "turning our country to a military economy and losing our ability to provide basic social services," said Robinson. The Rev. Bill McDonald of Medford’s First United Methodist Church said he shares his views from the pulpit that the case has not been adequately made for war, particularly a pre-emptive war — especially in a time when people are coping with the "stretching of our social fabric" and 40 states are dealing with budget deficits. "My understanding is that I, as a pastor, have the responsibility to faithfully share the gospel as it is intertwined with the social and political fabric," McDonald said. "Its voices emerge not from a monastic community but from the streets and the nation. The gospel comes to life in the midst of personal and community life experience and can’t be divorced from it." On the other end of the spectrum, the Rev. William Comstock of Medford’s Justice Road Baptist Church said God permits and leads people into war to "punish those that are evil and reject the Lord" and to "keep God before God’s people and show our dependency on him." Added Comstock, "Iraq is definitely one of those nations that reject God. Any false god is a rejection of God. Allah is a false god and Islam is a man-made religion, not the religion of the Jehovah God." Almost all churchgoers are being asked to pray for peace and hold U.S. troops and their families in their hearts, said the Rev. Alicia Wolski of Medford’s First Christian Church. "We pray that God’s work be done and we also pray for people who have lost jobs because of the economy and are struggling." Jack Duggan, a pastor with Ashland Christian Fellowship, said he finds himself on the fence between those who want peace and those who want the United States to stand by Israel, because that nation is our ally and "biblically, that needs to be our position, too." Ashland’s Unitarian-Universalist Church sent a fax signed by most members asking President Bush to honor the U.N. and weapons inspectors, lest "our country ignore world opinion and become despised and isolated," said the Rev. Pat Herdklotz, the Ashland Unitarian minister who also stands with the Women in Black protesting war. "I tell my congregation to make their voices heard, that silence is terribly powerful, that violence does not support civilization and we need to look for a different way to relate to one another and solve our dilemmas with dialogue, negotiation, listening and offering our ideas and solutions." Church members are getting ready to offer counseling for conscientious objectors to any draft, Herdklotz said. Every Sunday the congregation has taken to singing "Raghupati," a song praising the name of God in both Hindu and Muslim religions and made famous by Gandhi. Members have added God’s name in many other languages, too. St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Medford has been using its Wednesday evening service over the past two years since 9/11 to "talk about our fears and concerns and to develop personal relationships," said the Rev. Charles Christopher. "We don’t have to go to war. We have to be careful who we are in the world and not assume we know better than everyone else." McDonald echoed the sentiment. "The more powerful a people become, the more they have to be careful not to use it for their ends and the more they need to seek wisdom and live from compassion. The Christian ministry stands for helping people move from aggression toward forgiveness, love and reconciliation. That’s what we’re working for now." John Darling is a free-lance writer living in Ashland. 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