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Ecumenical Declaration “Faithfulness to the Gospel and Commitment to the God of Peace”
The following Declaration against economic wars originated among Christians in the German-speaking countries. We are now asking all Christian sisters and brothers worldwide to give their support to this Declaration.
- Signatures from the German-speaking areas
- Ökumenische Erklärung: “Treue zum Evangelium und Bekenntnis zum Gott des Friedens” (German version)
"Faithfulness to the Gospel and Commitment to the God of Peace"
Ecumenical Declaration of Christians of all faith groups on the role of military doctrines in the advancement of national economic objectives.
Today, pacifists find themselves side by side in the community of the churches with Christians for whom "preserving peace with weapons" is a possible option. This community of Christians may go their separate ways but they accept one another in mutual respect, their unity founded in the consensus that war cannot be God’s will. This consensus is fundamental to their faith.
In recent years, national economic interests have been increasingly put forward as valid objectives of military planning in the Western world. Constitutional amendments have even been sought in order to promote them more effectively. Thus a number of military doctrines mention, among other things, "free world markets", free trade and sea routes, access to raw materials, the secure supply of energy resources, the preservation of national prosperity and the prevention of immigration from poor regions of the world.
Neither international law nor the principles of Christian ecumenical peace ethics condone the use of lethal weapons or putting the lives of civilians or soldiers at risk for any of these goals.
As baptized Christians we therefore solemnly declare: Whoever prays for soldiers but, at the same time, supports military doctrines for the advancement of economic objectives, commits blasphemy*. Those who use national economic objectives to justify military actions no longer adhere to the Gospel and separate themselves from the community of the faithful. We fervently ask all sisters and brothers not to sever the common bond that unites us, to hold fast to their commitment to the God of Peace, and to reject and resist each and every political justification of wars waged in the interests of economic objectives.
( *It goes without saying that this does not condemn the practice of praying for soldiers. It is however blasphemous if the lives of soldiers are – hypocritically – placed into the hands of God but AT THE SAME TIME are put at risk by economically motivated military objectives.)
- Signatures from the German-speaking areas
- Ökumenische Erklärung: “Treue zum Evangelium und Bekenntnis zum Gott des Friedens” (German version)