This week’s commentary on the Social Gospel Blog with Author Rev. Paul J. Bern: Bread Not Bombs

As People Struggle to Put Food On the Table, the Three Existing Super Powers Test Their Hyper-sonic Missiles

or: “Bombs Not Bread” by Rev. Paul J. Bern

It is now official. The arms race between the 3 super-powers just got dialed up by a big notch or two. This past week, Communist China tested a hyper-sonic missile that is capable of speeds of Mach 5, or 5 times the speed of sound. It is likely that Russia and the US have these weapons too, they’re just being coy about it These weapons can travel faster than conventional radar can track them. This means we can’t hear them coming. Meaning, we could be the victims of a nuclear first strike while having no way to defend ourselves.

Ever since the 1940’s, the US has steadily built up its weapons arsenal to the point where America now has over 700 military bases scattered throughout the globe. Some would say that America’s arsenal is so formidable that no one would dare to attack us. But I would say it looks like the US military has presented our enemies with lots more targets to shoot at. Russia already has more than enough missiles to take out all 700 of those bases, and China will have similar capabilities before too long, if they’re not there already. America has been a warlike nation ever since it was founded in the 18th century, and lately those chickens have begun to come home and roost.

The Bible has a lot to say on behalf of peace and its benefits. It also has just as much to say about forgiveness and its benefits. In Proverbs 14: 30, King Solomon wrote, “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones”.To me, a heart at peace is having a heart at peace with oneself. How can we ever hope to find peace in this violent world if we do not first have inner peace? In 1 Peter 3: 11 it says, “They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it.” In order to remain in God’s favor, we must collectively pursue peace like a hunt for highly prized game, like a great safari into the wilderness of this marvelous earth on which we live. But the peace I am writing about cannot exist without forgiveness. If we can’t find it in our hearts to forgive someone, how can we ever hope to achieve peace and goodwill for the whole of humanity? Moreover, how can we ever hope to find forgiveness when we cannot, or will not, forgive ourselves for our own past mistakes? That’s why I say that…