How has the modern church come to separate peace from the gospel?
Since the Reformation there has been too much focus on conversion meaning simply that you believe the right things. Leaders of the mainstream Reformation put emphasis primarily on doctrine, propositional truth and spiritual transaction. They talked about people having their ultimate destiny in heaven, and peace became personalized or spiritualized. The Anabaptists, in contrast, had a central focus on the life and teaching of Jesus. Even as we speak, Allied bombs are dropping on Iraq again. In practical terms, what does a peacemaking Christian do? There are no simple answers, and a conflict like Iraq makes us realize there is much work to be done. For all that Saddam Hussein is a ruthless and cruel man, and his people would be better off with a more righteous leader, the West has acted in arrogance. We sold him the armaments and technology, with no thought of the consequences. Then when he stepped out of line we used our weapons of mass destruction to destroy his. We’ve sown seeds for a
