It is in fact the Department of War, so I support naming it honestly. It is not about defense. The constant wars, the hundreds of military bases all over the world, the extreme amounts of military spending not only hurt the rest of the world but endanger the USA, creating hostility to us all over the world. The allocation of resources means that we do not have the socioeconomic conditions most of the affluent world has.
I truly appreciate this discussion about peace, especially that peace is not weak. It takes true strength and refuses to meet harm with more harm. Jesus demonstrated this. May we be peacemakers for the Kingdom. Thank you, Cameron.
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid." is a quote from John 14:27, spoken by Jesus to His disciples just before His crucifixion. It means that the lasting, internal peace Jesus offers is a spiritual gift, unlike worldly peace, which is often tied to external circumstances and can be fleeting or temporary. His peace is a constant inner calm that can be experienced even amidst tribulation and fear, a gift of God that is eternal and comes from trusting in Him.
Key aspects of this quote:
Source:
The quote comes from the Bible, specifically in the Gospel of John, chapter 14, verse 27.
Context:
Jesus is speaking to His disciples during the Last Supper, providing comfort and reassurance before He leaves them and faces death.
Worldly Peace vs. Christ's Peace:
Worldly peace: is often based on external factors like good health, financial security, or lack of conflict, and is therefore unstable and temporary.
Christ's peace: is an inner spiritual gift, a lasting inner calm and wholeness that is not dependent on external circumstances.
A Gift, Not an Earned Reward:
Jesus presents this peace as a gift to His followers, not something they must earn through their own efforts.
An Overcoming Peace:
The peace Jesus gives enables believers to overcome fear and troubles, a concept echoed in another verse where Jesus states, "In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).
A Call to Trust:
The phrase encourages believers to have trust in God and not let their hearts be filled with fear or anxiety, even when facing difficulties.
Sadly, this is the dept Christian nationalists want - they are primed for spiritual warfare, the Beatitudes notwithstanding. Thanks for turning our beings toward peace, as Jesus did.
Thank you for another powerful, insightful reflection. I see too now how peace is relational.
We have a State Department, which is meant to- theoretically - to tend to relationship.
But you point out rightly that our profound problem is that we glorify and center and profit from war.
I notice that many of us “churched” people fail to recognize that our basic, everyday tools for life are actually weapons of war that we have been seduced into needing and seeing as essential and continue to use. We refuse to see ourselves in our actual violent relationship to Mother Earth and to one another - even in relationship to our own bodies.
The way we move through space is toxic and deadly to the planet. Our cars - whether powered by internal combustion engines or electric motors - cut through the delicate fabric of life in a million ways we are trained not to see. Not only do they require laying waste to the fabric of life to manufacture - a cost we seldom consider - but they shred the air, soil, and water with all manner of toxins every time we drive them.
The way we get our food is also a way of declaring war on the precious living fabric of life. We have already stripped away nearly all of the life that was present on earth for millennia, and have replaced it with an impoverished mess of monocrops and depleted, toxic, dying ecosystems.
We have been thrashing around damaging a planet we do not understand, using god-like technologies we do not comprehend.
We are living well-into a very rapid, anthropogenic extinction event - yet we do not see that we are exchanging the infinitely beautiful and precious living fabric of life for a pile of dead, toxic materials that no longer serve us within this new wasteland planet we have made.
We pretend that we can claw our way back to the Holocene, but we cannot.
The United States has never been a Christian nation. In fact it has always been the opposite of Christian. Antichrist.
We get our food by killing living soil and making water toxic with chemicals. We do not share the food we get, but we adulterate it and sell it for the highest possible origin margin. This is also an act of war on the very body of earth and on our own bodies as well.
The “poor” and marginalized humans have always born the greatest brunt of our war on Creation. Genocide is ecocide practiced within our own species, and has been going on for countless generations.
We can enter into relationships of loving kindness and trust God - whose body is the very universe - to heal us and fold us in to the Beloved Community of Creation.
First, we must begin to see who we really are and that we have been in a relationship tyranny and cruelty rather than tenderness and kindness.
We do not walk lovingly and peacefully upon Mother Earth. We are shredding and devouring all that we claim to live and cherish
A Department if War is the natural outcome of who we choose to be on Earth.
If we want peace, we need to radically change our own hearts and our own relationship to Mother Earth and Father Sky.
If we do not see the living body of a Christ in each handful of soil, then we do not know our living a creator, who still invites us into beloved community as we crucify him - and our children - upon a toxic cross of iron.
President Dwight Eisenhower was able to glimpse this in his “Chance for Peace” speech in 1953. He warned that the military industrial complex would “crucify humanity upon a cross of iron.”
He did not seem to be aware that all of Modern technology was crucifying the planet upon a cross of iron.
When Rachel Carson wrote “Silent Spring” she was called “an hysterical woman”.
She was right in her observations. She saw the rapid extinction event unfolding.
Jesus noted more than once that we tend to beat and murder the ones sent to us with the truth.
Maybe we need to listen and learn. Maybe we need to radically alter the way we live?
You say ‘ This is not just semantics.’. Some may say ‘It makes no difference. It’s just semantics !’
To which I say ‘yes! And it make all the difference!’
‘semantics’ is the study of linguistic meaning. It looks at the difference between the actual object or thing a word or phrase points to in the world and the concepts and mental images it brings to mind
Examples
• Semantics analyzes why "destination" and "last stop" can have slightly different nuances, even though they refer to the same place.
• It explains how figurative language, like metaphors, creates meaning beyond the literal interpretation of words.
• It helps us understand how a single word or sentence can have more than one possible meaning.
Semantics is not just the choice of words. It reveals something deeper than just the words. It gets to the heart of language- the meaning that the words are meant to convey. Communication , language (oral, written, sign body,…) is about sharing meaning. And it reveals how a department, institution called ‘defence’ could /might/will have a different focus than one named ‘war’.
On the same day, I read that Trump claimed to have ended 7 wars and in a separate article, it was suggested that he deserved a Nobel Peace Prize. I wouldn’t be surprised to find that any activity which involves the Dept of War will now be categorized as a war - increasing the number of wars (claimed to be) ended by this administration. Now is the time to really look at what our leaders (government, corporate, religious) are saying and see the implications. God help us all.
Thank you for this important question. To long for peace does not mean we deny the need for protection. The work of defending yourself and your community—especially when you’re under threat—is sacred and necessary. Peace is not passivity. It’s the refusal to let harm become our only language.
A Department of Peace, if it were real, would understand this. It would train us in how to hold the line without losing our humanity. It would ask: how do we defend ourselves without becoming what we’re defending against?
So yes—defend fiercely. And still, we long for a world where such defense is no longer needed.
The desire for something, claiming that vision and goal, is the first step. The congregation I minister with has twice held a peace rally on the same days as other community protests. “No kings” yes. Stand for peace. In our case, drive by and “honk for peace.” It helps to focus on what one wants.
Cameron, that is a very powerful message on peace. It seems as I write this that 'powerful' is an oxymoron. Your message needs to be sent to Trump and all his cohorts. Thank you!
$8 trillion spent on the War on Terror! , bombing boats on the Caribbean, billions of $$$$ in Genociding Gaza, and $1 trillion war budget shows the world we are a warmongering country! Sad part most American could care less about this path the U$ government is following ! We are self destructing!
It seems to me that it has always been the department of war. When have we needed defense?
It is in fact the Department of War, so I support naming it honestly. It is not about defense. The constant wars, the hundreds of military bases all over the world, the extreme amounts of military spending not only hurt the rest of the world but endanger the USA, creating hostility to us all over the world. The allocation of resources means that we do not have the socioeconomic conditions most of the affluent world has.
I truly appreciate this discussion about peace, especially that peace is not weak. It takes true strength and refuses to meet harm with more harm. Jesus demonstrated this. May we be peacemakers for the Kingdom. Thank you, Cameron.
AI Overview
+9
John 14:27
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid." is a quote from John 14:27, spoken by Jesus to His disciples just before His crucifixion. It means that the lasting, internal peace Jesus offers is a spiritual gift, unlike worldly peace, which is often tied to external circumstances and can be fleeting or temporary. His peace is a constant inner calm that can be experienced even amidst tribulation and fear, a gift of God that is eternal and comes from trusting in Him.
Key aspects of this quote:
Source:
The quote comes from the Bible, specifically in the Gospel of John, chapter 14, verse 27.
Context:
Jesus is speaking to His disciples during the Last Supper, providing comfort and reassurance before He leaves them and faces death.
Worldly Peace vs. Christ's Peace:
Worldly peace: is often based on external factors like good health, financial security, or lack of conflict, and is therefore unstable and temporary.
Christ's peace: is an inner spiritual gift, a lasting inner calm and wholeness that is not dependent on external circumstances.
A Gift, Not an Earned Reward:
Jesus presents this peace as a gift to His followers, not something they must earn through their own efforts.
An Overcoming Peace:
The peace Jesus gives enables believers to overcome fear and troubles, a concept echoed in another verse where Jesus states, "In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).
A Call to Trust:
The phrase encourages believers to have trust in God and not let their hearts be filled with fear or anxiety, even when facing difficulties.
Sadly, this is the dept Christian nationalists want - they are primed for spiritual warfare, the Beatitudes notwithstanding. Thanks for turning our beings toward peace, as Jesus did.
Thank you for another powerful, insightful reflection. I see too now how peace is relational.
We have a State Department, which is meant to- theoretically - to tend to relationship.
But you point out rightly that our profound problem is that we glorify and center and profit from war.
I notice that many of us “churched” people fail to recognize that our basic, everyday tools for life are actually weapons of war that we have been seduced into needing and seeing as essential and continue to use. We refuse to see ourselves in our actual violent relationship to Mother Earth and to one another - even in relationship to our own bodies.
The way we move through space is toxic and deadly to the planet. Our cars - whether powered by internal combustion engines or electric motors - cut through the delicate fabric of life in a million ways we are trained not to see. Not only do they require laying waste to the fabric of life to manufacture - a cost we seldom consider - but they shred the air, soil, and water with all manner of toxins every time we drive them.
The way we get our food is also a way of declaring war on the precious living fabric of life. We have already stripped away nearly all of the life that was present on earth for millennia, and have replaced it with an impoverished mess of monocrops and depleted, toxic, dying ecosystems.
We have been thrashing around damaging a planet we do not understand, using god-like technologies we do not comprehend.
We are living well-into a very rapid, anthropogenic extinction event - yet we do not see that we are exchanging the infinitely beautiful and precious living fabric of life for a pile of dead, toxic materials that no longer serve us within this new wasteland planet we have made.
We pretend that we can claw our way back to the Holocene, but we cannot.
The United States has never been a Christian nation. In fact it has always been the opposite of Christian. Antichrist.
We get our food by killing living soil and making water toxic with chemicals. We do not share the food we get, but we adulterate it and sell it for the highest possible origin margin. This is also an act of war on the very body of earth and on our own bodies as well.
The “poor” and marginalized humans have always born the greatest brunt of our war on Creation. Genocide is ecocide practiced within our own species, and has been going on for countless generations.
We can enter into relationships of loving kindness and trust God - whose body is the very universe - to heal us and fold us in to the Beloved Community of Creation.
First, we must begin to see who we really are and that we have been in a relationship tyranny and cruelty rather than tenderness and kindness.
We do not walk lovingly and peacefully upon Mother Earth. We are shredding and devouring all that we claim to live and cherish
A Department if War is the natural outcome of who we choose to be on Earth.
If we want peace, we need to radically change our own hearts and our own relationship to Mother Earth and Father Sky.
If we do not see the living body of a Christ in each handful of soil, then we do not know our living a creator, who still invites us into beloved community as we crucify him - and our children - upon a toxic cross of iron.
President Dwight Eisenhower was able to glimpse this in his “Chance for Peace” speech in 1953. He warned that the military industrial complex would “crucify humanity upon a cross of iron.”
He did not seem to be aware that all of Modern technology was crucifying the planet upon a cross of iron.
When Rachel Carson wrote “Silent Spring” she was called “an hysterical woman”.
She was right in her observations. She saw the rapid extinction event unfolding.
Jesus noted more than once that we tend to beat and murder the ones sent to us with the truth.
Maybe we need to listen and learn. Maybe we need to radically alter the way we live?
Cameron, did you mean, "We would train diplomats like we train soldiers" or, "We would train soldiers like we train diplomats"?
You say ‘ This is not just semantics.’. Some may say ‘It makes no difference. It’s just semantics !’
To which I say ‘yes! And it make all the difference!’
‘semantics’ is the study of linguistic meaning. It looks at the difference between the actual object or thing a word or phrase points to in the world and the concepts and mental images it brings to mind
Examples
• Semantics analyzes why "destination" and "last stop" can have slightly different nuances, even though they refer to the same place.
• It explains how figurative language, like metaphors, creates meaning beyond the literal interpretation of words.
• It helps us understand how a single word or sentence can have more than one possible meaning.
Semantics is not just the choice of words. It reveals something deeper than just the words. It gets to the heart of language- the meaning that the words are meant to convey. Communication , language (oral, written, sign body,…) is about sharing meaning. And it reveals how a department, institution called ‘defence’ could /might/will have a different focus than one named ‘war’.
On the same day, I read that Trump claimed to have ended 7 wars and in a separate article, it was suggested that he deserved a Nobel Peace Prize. I wouldn’t be surprised to find that any activity which involves the Dept of War will now be categorized as a war - increasing the number of wars (claimed to be) ended by this administration. Now is the time to really look at what our leaders (government, corporate, religious) are saying and see the implications. God help us all.
Cameron,
What would you say should be the posture of those who are trying to defend themselves against people who have vowed to do them harm?
Thank you for this important question. To long for peace does not mean we deny the need for protection. The work of defending yourself and your community—especially when you’re under threat—is sacred and necessary. Peace is not passivity. It’s the refusal to let harm become our only language.
A Department of Peace, if it were real, would understand this. It would train us in how to hold the line without losing our humanity. It would ask: how do we defend ourselves without becoming what we’re defending against?
So yes—defend fiercely. And still, we long for a world where such defense is no longer needed.
The desire for something, claiming that vision and goal, is the first step. The congregation I minister with has twice held a peace rally on the same days as other community protests. “No kings” yes. Stand for peace. In our case, drive by and “honk for peace.” It helps to focus on what one wants.
Cameron, that is a very powerful message on peace. It seems as I write this that 'powerful' is an oxymoron. Your message needs to be sent to Trump and all his cohorts. Thank you!
$8 trillion spent on the War on Terror! , bombing boats on the Caribbean, billions of $$$$ in Genociding Gaza, and $1 trillion war budget shows the world we are a warmongering country! Sad part most American could care less about this path the U$ government is following ! We are self destructing!