Antinuclear

A christian plea for the nuclear arms reduction treaty

The treaty is being held up by a small number of Republican senators, led by Jon Kyl (R-AZ),….It is hard not to conclude that the primary motivation for opposing the treaty is to hurt the president….Nuclear treaties like New START represent an agonizingly slow human crawl-back from the ledge of our own destruction.

(USA) Security, Sin and Nuclear Weapons: A Christian Plea for the New START Treaty, Dr. David P. Gushee:, Professor of Christian Ethics  December 4, 2010 The very first article I ever published was called “Security, Sin, and Nuclear Weapons.” The year was 1987. Twenty-three years later, despite the collapse of the Soviet Union, security, sin and nuclear weapons remain concerns that are as relevant as ever.
The issue on the table is a nuclear arms reduction and verification treaty between the United States and Russia.

The treaty, called New START, would reduce Russian and American deployed nuclear weapons to 1,550 and delivery vehicles to 700 each. This would be a 33 percent reduction in the existing arsenals, which is worth achieving and celebrating even as we know that countless cities and millions of precious human beings could be destroyed by the use of even part of the remaining arsenals. Still, these reductions would be a great step on the way to a safer world, as would the re-establishment of bilateral, intrusive verification measures for both sides, also part of the treaty……..

So what’s the problem? The treaty is being held up by a small number of Republican senators, led by Jon Kyl (R-AZ),….It is hard not to conclude that the primary motivation for opposing the treaty is to hurt the president or oppose the Administration’s foreign policy in general.

Nuclear weapons present one of the gravest threats to the human future that has ever existed. Here is the combination of human creativity and human fear incarnate. We build these weapons to secure our future but also know, as if in a nightmare we try our hardest to forget, that one miscalculation or one acquisition of nuclear weapons by a committed terrorist could unleash annihilation on millions. It is hard to think of a more profound symbol of human sinfulness.

Nuclear treaties like New START represent an agonizingly slow human crawl-back from the ledge of our own destruction…….. If we want to step back from the brink of self-destruction, God will help us do so, but if we choose the other path, God will start over with the amoeba. Which shall it be for us? For the sake of God and humanity and the human future, the Senate must ratify this treaty.

Dr. David P. Gushee: Security, Sin and Nuclear Weapons: A Christian Plea for the New START Treaty

December 6, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized