Can the Lamb’s War ever make a difference with Muslims, Jews, Christians?

Can the Lamb’s War ever make a difference with Muslims, Jews, Christians? For over 10 years, Russian Orthodox Christians including its leader have strongly supported Russia’s horrific invasion and slaughter of innocent civilian Ukrainians.

Opposing Muslims are engaged in the constant murder of untold numbers of Sudanese, and many thousands of Nigerians.

Muslim HAMAS refuse to lay down its terrorism, slaughter, raping, stealing, lying, abusing, killing continuing its slaughter of the last 40 years.

Rightwing Jewish Israel refuses to share and repent of its own past terrorism Even now Israeli settlers attack innocent Palestinian civilians in the West Bank, destroying their old olive trees, burning cars, abusing killing (while the Israeli Army stands by doing nothing!)

And countless Americans in this 21st century support these various sides in their immoral and unjust slaughters.
The tiny voice of Quakers (and other Christian pacifists) still are convinced of the truth that all war is evil and are committed to nonviolence, peace, sharing, meticulous honesty, opposition to false ideologies (whether of the Right or the Left).

But most of the time, the present seems unhopeful.

The 100 -year-old grievous injustice and tragedy—indeed evil-- Palestine/Israel is so very complicated, with both sides guilty to various degrees of blame.

However, though at least many Jewish Israelis are committed to only defense, and totally oppose the slaughter of Palestinian civilians,
but HAMAS and other Palestinians are up to 80% committed to HAMAS’s massacre of Jewish civilians, (even infants and children) Of October7th and other forms of injustice.

The important phrase, by George Fox, “the Lamb’s War” sounds great, but countless evil failures since the 1600’s are in the ‘devilish’-details of how grossly committed every nation is to putting itself FIRST, and thus justifying every war.

There are no quick answers for the extremely complex situation. For instance, I did live in Palestine/Israel in 1974, worked on a Jewish kibbutz, stayed briefly with a Palestinian family who befriended me in Nablus, and have read extensively books by both sides, etc.

For a somewhat balanced history which shows both Jewish and Muslim terrorism in the last 100 years, read Righteous Victims by Historian Benny Morris.

Conscientious peace-seekers try to live out the “Lamb’s war.” This includes the Friends School in Ramallah, nonviolent Palestinians at Bethlehem Bible College, etc.

Eli Chacour, a Christian priest, as documented in BLOOD BROTHERS, his memoir, has spent years practicing the Lamb’s war. He gives out the Good News to all, runs a high school of several thousands, for all peoples--Christian, Muslim, Druse, Jew, Atheist.

Chacour's father, a Palestinian said that they needed to love
the Jews (when the Jews were escaping to the M.E.) but later
the Israeli army kidnapped him and Chacour's brother
and dumped them in a foreign country, then they blew up
their Catholic church and drove all of them
out of their town. Chacour and others have never been allowed by the Israeli government to return to their home! Yet Chacour still shows Jesus’ love to the Jewish people!
In years past, the famous “Brother Andrew” tried to bring Jew and Arab together. He even visited a few HAMAS leaders and shared Jesus’ way.

Most Palestinian Muslims and Israelis Jews refuse to truly seek just peace.
Tragically, many American Christians support one side of war or the other.

Books worthy of reading:

Righteous Victims (900 page fair history) of Palestine-Israel in the last 100 years
by Benny Morria

Once Upon a Country: A Palestinian Life by Sari Nusseibeh and Anthony David

Blessed are the Peacemakers by the former assistant mayor
of Ramallah (don't remember the name right now)
Blood Brothers by Elias Chacour
We Belong to the Land by Elias Chacour


Peace in the Light of the Lamb’s war,

Daniel Wilcox

For DOGS and their care-givers –

Hardwood Tap Dancer

At the oak door
Their young golden retriever—
Who chewed through the metal
Water pipe and flooded their rental
Townhouse
Totally—
That infamous hound, now most
Head wagging the air to tailed excess,
Greets me like his long-lost buddy
In a bounding tap dance of ‘paws’
Clack, clack, Clacking

Across their shiny hardwood floor
To a sliding dognail-scratched stop,
Frenzied movement and pointed-pup
Cold wet nosing;
With joy, he’s the wonder
Jumper
Thumper
Prancer
Dancer
Of
Dog
Here
Ness.

1st pub. in The Greensilk Journal

--


Indy Pacer Racing Down the Freeway

Taking it easy, zooming down 101,
California-coasting on a 3-dog night—

Suddenly screeching brakes--red metal tails;
Me, muttering doggish words,

I jam my stop pedal, scanning
Sluggish crawls of tired cars ahead,

Doing under 10 in the fast lane;
Where's the eye-goggled wreck?

Lo and below! way up ahead,
It’s a small mongrel, running,

Only a little blurred brush of fur
Paws fast down dim-lit pavement

In front of a Honda Civic lady;
Howling down, outrunning the moonlight

The rest of us, 'paused' gas-guzzlers hanker
Down until a Ford trucker swerves

Off the un-freeway, jumps out,
Makes a mad grab for the sprinting pooch,

But the small canine switches lanes,
Into the doggy good night, an Indy Pacer,

Ahead of our growls on this paved terrain
--One lone barking whelp, night's terrier,

Howling down, outrunning the moon
And all of us 'paused' smoking cars.


1st pub. in The Write Room poetry magazine,
and in previous pub. poetry book,
selah river
(based on actual happening)


--


The Canine Trail Memorial

Puppy pulling on his collared leash,
In the verdant high rolling hills of San Ramon,

We wind along a lariat of blacktop,
Two 2-legs and their best friend, at a dogtrot,

This weaving trail sequestered
In the intertwining valleys,

Resorts and multi-million homes,
Below green cattle-grazing heights.

Yes, we fast-pace this pedigreed path
Through lush grass near sunset,

Sol's corona glow lowing in the west.
At a cross-path, we stop, hug and brush

Our Black Lab pup,
"Atta boy, ;Scout.”

Next to us rises up a short telephone-pole
Banded with 33 canine collars in rainbow

Colors and dangling metal ornaments.
A modern totem, it's a pooch memorial

To beloved deceased barkers who led
And sniffed this trail, their caring givers

Out for sunset dog-pulled hurried strolls.
But as we ascend from that canine shrine

Headed back In the hilly shaded dusk,
I, in a muttering "tailing" mood,

Lean over to my wife and whisper low,
While giving Scout a hug, "Doggone it."


1st pub. in vox poetica
and the pub. poetry book,
selah river

In the Light,
Daniel Wilcox