Me.. really?

Ever google yourself and see what you could find? This is an article I found that I had long forgotten from a few years ago. This the full article and a few responses. The last response was written about me and comments I made about being apart of a peace witness for Iraq. I’m putting this on here because it was incredibly flattering. But I must continue to question myself and ask if I am living up to these kind words.

As Dean Sam Lloyd welcomed us to the Christian Peace Witness for Iraq service at the Washington National Cathedral, he began by saying that he had just heard the most amazing story. He told us of four people from Spokane, Washington, who were traveling to the Witness when they had an accident in Pennsylvania as their car hit a patch of ice and skidded into a truck. Fortunately, no one was hurt, and after having the car towed away, they hitchhiked the rest of the way to Washington, D.C.

It turned out that the four travelers mentioned were students from Whitworth College. They joined the service and march, and were then arrested with us, praying in front of the White House. One of the students, Zach Dahmen, told The Whitworthian student newspaper,

By participating in the movement, we wanted to show people that there’s a different face to Christianity. Not all Christians support the war. It’s not God-ordained … I’m pro-life, and so I don’t support the killing that’s going on in Iraq. As Christians, we can’t be hypocritical.

The Presbyterian News Service told more of the story.

Nicola Crawford, a student at Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)-related Whitworth College in Spokane, WA, says that when she got an e-mail earlier this year about the March 16 Christian Peace Witness for Iraq, she “decided it’s something I believe in.”

And that’s about all it took to convince her and a couple of other Whitworth
students, Zach Dahmen and Michael Vander Giessen, to commit to driving 2,700
miles to Washington, D.C., the week before mid-term exams. They hooked up with Eric Colby, a 2006 graduate of the college now working as youth director at Spokane’s Knox Presbyterian Church, who offered his 2001 Toyota Camry for the cross-country trip.

 

For their persistence and determination, we thank and applaud the “four from Spokane.”

I too, applaud anything that can get today’s apathetic youth up out of their seats. We have so accepted the paradigm that the government will take care of everything that we see little incentive to do something ourselves. The next step is to find a way to welcome as many Iraqi refugees into our lives as possible. Nathanael Snow

Zach Dahmen is quoted: I m pro-life, and so I don t support the killing that s going on in Iraq. As Christians, we can t be hypocritical. One can argue that the Iraq war is mistaken or even unjustified, but Mr. Dahmen is wrong to accuse war supporters of hypocrisy. It is not hypocrisy to make a distinction between warfare and abortion. Wolverine

My response: So uh yeah… I am one of the four students from Whitworth of which this is about. I was just emailed that this was put up on here. I’m just happy to mentioned in the way bigger picture of what happened and what is happening. I also understand that some of what I said can be seen as very divisive.I do stand behind what I said but, what I meant to say about being pro-life is that I am wholelistically pro-life. Meaning that I can not reconcile being against and or even lobbying my governement to change a law about abortion; the act of killing an un-born child and not also be against the unjust killing that happens in war. For me personally that is hypicritical. I do not make a distinction between unjust killing. And for me to say it is hypicritical of everyone, I don’t think I have that authority. My school paper just may have made it seem that way. Thank you for caring though

 First off, my daughter is a Whitworth student. One of the reasons she chose the school was its broad Christian outlook versus other Christian schools that seem to indoctrinate and not trust the thinking of the students. Although I myself am a pro choice Christian I applaud Zach’s stand. It is amazing to me that many of my brethren are so strongly anti abortion and yet do not lose a wink of sleep over the scores of people in Iraq who are slaughtered on a daily basis. These same pro lifers are generally pro gun, pro death penalty, and anti full funding of schools and other community activities that might help young people to live fulfilling lives. Once again, Zach saw through much of this hypocrisy and lived his life as a witness to the truth as he sees it. What a commendable position.