1917 Assemblies of God Statement Against War

 THE OFFICIAL POSITION OF THE ASSEMBLIES OF GOD TOWARD MILITARY SERVICE, APRIL 1917

The Resolution forwarded to President Woodrow Wilson for Conscientious Objector Status:

Whereas…we plainly declare the Holy Inspired Scriptures to be the all-sufficient rule of faith and practice, and

Whereas, the Scriptures deal plainly with the obligations and relations of humanity, setting forth the principles of 'Peace on earth, good will toward men'…and

Whereas we, as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Price of Peace, believe in implicit obedience to the Divine commands and precepts which instruct us to 'Follow peace with all men'…'Thou shalt not kill,'…'Resist no evil,'…'Love your enemies'…and

Whereas these and other Scriptures have always been accepted and interpreted by our churches as prohibiting Christians from shedding blood or taking human life;

Therefore we, as a body of Christians, while purposing to fulfill all the obligations of loyal citizenship, are nevertheless constrained to declare we cannot conscientiously participate in war and armed resistance which involves the actual destruction of human life, since this is contrary to our view of the clear teaching of the inspired Word of God, which is the sole basis of our faith.

Little League--A New Trend In Children's Play

Maybe there is more than one way to build character. 

Little League baseball was founded in 1939 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, the year I was born, and has grown to become a worldwide phenomenon, with 98 employees at its headquarters in Williamsport alone. 

I don’t recall whether there were any such organized teams in the rural farm community in which I grew up. In any case it would have never occurred to us, even for the pick up softball teams we formed at family get togethers or the ones we played over lunch or at recess at school, that we would require any adults to organize, coach or referee our games.

Peter Marty, in a July 2022 editorial in the Christian Century, titled “Playing Freely,” laments the fact that children as young as the fourth grade are now competing in club sports tournaments as many as 25 weekends a year, often involving multi-state travel and the investment of significant amounts of family time and money. 

Marty describes growing up where he and his peers “designed their own games, made up and enforced their own rules and mediated their own conflicts,” without the outside interference of parents, referees or umpires. He cites an 2015 essay by economist Steven Horowitz in which he suggests that parent-free play of children is invaluable in teaching social skills needed for good citizenship. In other words, through self-designed play, children “develop empathy, learn tolerance for risk, meet the discomfort of failure, practice compromise, solve problems together and acquire fundamental skills for living cooperatively with others,” according to Horowitz. 

Marty agrees, and believes becoming good citizens in our communities and congregations develops “one sandlot touchdown, one frustrating strikeout, and one playground argument at a time.”

As one who was often one of the last to be chosen when teams were being formed, I can testify that it has a way of building character as well.

At least that's what I've come to believe.😏

"Maybe I Wasn't Such A Bad Person After All"

"What a little thing to remember for years--to remember with tears."

Recently a friend told me about going through some old family photos with his mother after his father's death. 

Recalling some of the good times they had as a family, they found themselves both laughing and grieving as they reminisced together.

At the end she said, with tears in her eyes, "Maybe I wasn't such a bad person--or such a bad parent--after all."

This caught him by surprise, he said, as he had always thought of both his mom and dad, while imperfect, as being devoted parents.

In a similar way each of us, especially as we age, will find ourselves reflecting on our past with a bittersweet mix of emotions, regretting our failures while cherishing our precious memories. We come to the realization that we will all be remembered for having contributed to both the asset and the debit side of the ledger we call life. As neither saint nor villain, we become ever more aware of our brokenness as well as our blessedness--as human beings trying to both do some good and to be remembered as good people.

Maybe even good enough to hear the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant." 

Or at least good enough to be able to say to ourselves, "Maybe I wasn't such a bad person after all."

In the end, by the sheer grace of God, that may have to be good enough.

St. Augustine: "The Bellies Of The Poor Are Safer Storehouses Than Our Barns"

St. Augustine of Hippo 354-430 CE

In light of an ever more desperate refugee crisis, what does it mean to love God with everything we have and to love our world neighbors as we love and look after ourselves?

Each year multiple donors make cash, check and credit card contributions for refugee relief at the Virginia Mennonite Relief Sale’s “Sharing Our Surplus” (SOS) Giving Table. In 2021 that effort raised a gratifying $48,000, around 12% of the total raised for Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) at the annual event. 

Could and should we double that kind of giving this year?

Our love for God and others is most accurately reflected in our actual giving and spending.  Whether it's $5 for a donut and coffee, $5000 for a luxury cruise or $500,000 for a new house for our retirement, we are in each case indicating exactly how much we value those purchases. In other words, exactly how much we “love” those things. 

None of this spending is necessarily wrong if we are equally committed to having our worldwide neighbors enjoy the very same blessings. Isn’t that what “as ourselves” means?

A rich man in one of Jesus’s parables decided the best use of his assets was to upgrade his holdings by replacing his existing barns with new ones. He then said to himself, “You have plenty of wealth laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and enjoy yourself.”

St. Augustine, reflecting on this story, wrote, 

“This silly fool of a man... was hoarding perishable crops. I repeat, he was hoarding perishable crops, while he was on the point of perishing… How will he know where to look, when at that trial he starts hearing the words "I was hungry and you did not give me to eat" (Matthew 25:42)? He was planning to fill his soul with excessive and unnecessary feasting and was proudly disregarding all those empty bellies of the poor. He did not realize that the bellies of the poor were much safer storerooms than his barns. What he was stowing away in those barns was perhaps even then being stolen away by thieves. But if he stowed it away in the bellies of the poor, it would of course be digested on earth, but in heaven it would be kept all the more safely. 'The redemption of a man's soul is his riches.' ”

Jesus himself gave this wise financial advice: 

“Be generous. Give to the poor. Get yourselves a bank that can’t go bankrupt, a bank in heaven far from bank robbers, safe from embezzlers, a bank you can bank on. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.”                      - the Message, Luke 12:33-34

Note: Your generous investment through the Virginia Mennonite Relief Sale can be made at any time at https://vareliefsale.com/donate/ (checking the SOS option), or a check made out to Virginia Mennonite Relief Sale (with SOS on the memo line) can be mailed to Relief Sale, 601 Parkwood Drive, Harrisonburg, VA 22802. 

You can also contribute directly to Mennonite Central Committee at https://donate.mcc.org/ or by mailing a gift to MCC, 21 South 12th St., Box 500, Akron, PA 17501-0500.

Guest Post: Another Heartbreaking Story

Jonathan D. White

Sadly, I must inform all of you that the decision of the Virginia Parole Board I received here at the Augusta Correctional Center (ACC) August 11, 2022 was once again to "not grant" my release. No one here at ACC who has been interviewed for parole consideration has been granted parole in 2022. 

My Case Management Counselor, as disappointed as I am, has provided me with reconsideration and appeal forms to file.

I had been interviewed for parole consideration on April 21 by Ms. Tina Bowen, the parole examiner assigned to conduct parole interviews at this facility. Ms. Bowen assured me that there was no opposition to my release and I had an exceptional institutional record of adjustment, along with excellent treatment participation and both educational and vocational accomplishments. She praised my ability to remain infraction free for the past nearly forty-one years of my incarceration in the Virginia Department of Corrections (VDOC) following my arrest on November 19, 1981 and while in the Suffolk City Jail through my trial and sentencing.

I have absolutely no prior criminal history record, so am serving time as a first time offender. Nevertheless, I have  been turned down year after year, in spite of my being a model prisoner and a positive role model and mentor to others here at ACC, and in spite of having earned a college degree while in prison. 

So my question to Chairman Dotson and the Parole Board is simply, “What standards of suitability are being applied in the consideration of my case, as compared to those few (only 43 in this calendar year in all of Virginia) who have been granted parole?"

Here is a part of the computer generated letter I received from the Board:

The Virginia Parole Board recently reviewed your case for potential release on both discretionary parole and geriatric conditional release.

The Board, in determining whether you should be released on parole or geriatric conditional release, considered a number of factors, including but not limited to, whether your release would be compatible with public safety and the mutual interest of society and you, whether your character, conduct, vocational training and other developmental activities during incarceration reflect the probability that you will lead a law-abiding life in the community and live up to all conditions of parole, if released; sentencing information, facts and circumstances of the offense(s) including mitigating and aggravating factors; prior criminal history and information regarding adjustment to previous probation or parole, if any; personal history; institutional adjustment such as your response to available programs; changes in attitude toward self and others; release plans; evaluations; impressions gained when interviewed by the parole examiner; and any other information provided by you, your attorney, family, victims or other persons.

In accordance with Code Section 53.1-155 and in consideration of the factors listed above and information available to us, the Virginia Parole Board's decision to "NOT GRANT" discretionary parole and geriatric conditional release on August 9, 2022 is based primarily on the following reasons:

* Serious nature and circumstances of your offense(s).

* History of violence.

* Release at this time would diminish seriousness of crime.

* The Board concludes that you should serve more of your sentence prior to release on parole.

* The Board considers you to be a risk to the community.

Meanwhile, I thank all of you for helping me to put forth the best presentation I could to the Virginia Parole Board. I am grateful to each of you who has supported my discretionary parole reentry planning and my geriatric conditional release consideration, and who have made your support and concerns known to the Virginia Parole Board on my behalf. I ask that you continue to lift my name up in prayer and continue to express your concerns to the Virginia Parole Board, Chairman Chadwick Dotson, and the still unconfirmed members of the board in a hopeful reconsideration of the decision to deny me parole at this time.

Keep me in your prayers continuously!

Blessings,

Jonathan

When Christians First Engaged In Mob Violence

A recent Huffpost article fosuses on the many Christian symbols displayed at the January 6 insurrection. How did it come to this?

Author David Bercot, in his book, Will The Real Heretics Please Stand Up? cites an account by Byzantine historian Socrates Scholasticus (380-450 CE) in which a mob made up of so-called Christians in Constantinople sets fire to a house where a government official was lodging, drags him through the streets of the city and brutally beats him to death. The person they murdered was an officer the newly Christianized emperor Constantine had authorized to deliver an order to depose their bishop, resulting in members of his congregation rising up in his defense. 

I couldn't help see some similarities to the January 6 insurrection. In both cases, participants in the violence believed they were on God's side, a necessary part of a crusade to carry out God's will. 

In the fourth century example, the emperor Constantine had only recently begun to champion the Christian cause, after having won a major military victory he attributed to a vision of the Christian cross with the words "In this sign conquer." While not officially identifying as a Christian himself until on his deathbed, the emperor is said to have had many of his troops baptized en masse and had the symbol of the cross inscribed on their shields. Almost overnight, Christians went from being a persecuted minority to the predominant and preferred religion, now supported by their emperor, and half-converted members throughout the Roman empire began to join the movement in droves.

Clearly in both cases, reliance on violent means to defend the faith and to protect the faithful were in direct contradiction to the teachings and example of Jesus, yet many church leaders became enamored with the status and power their new alliance with Constantine gave them, along with the large numbers of new converts it brought them. The resulting perverted form of Christianity became a means of the church gaining vastly more political power and control, and meant being identified as Christian becoming broadly popular throughout the realm.

Of course the fourth century mob, while feeling empowered by their new status as a part of a now prestigious majority religion, were at least at odds with their emperor regarding the appointment of their bishop, whereas in the case of many of today's members of the evangelical right, God's will and the will of a Christianized state are typically seen as synonymous.

If there is one thing we can learn from Christianity's embrace of political power it is that it is sure to corrupt the faith, and to corrupt it absolutely. 

For a terrifying example of this, take time to view this seven-minute clip of a US event in 1939.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxxxlutsKuI

HARD TIME VIRGINIA Vol 7 No 2 Summer '22

________________________________________

an occasional newsletter by and for incarcerated Virginians

Some Background on the Earned Sentence Credit Bill

In 2020 during a special session, a bipartisan group of legislators devised legislation to incentivize those with nonviolent crimes to improve themselves for an earlier release. In order to give Virginia Department of Corrections time to update its databases and prepare, Gov. Northam amended the bill so that it wouldn’t take effect until July 1, 2022.        

Then came the Virginia elections in the fall of 2021 and there was a change in the political makeup of the House of Delegates and every top political office, including that of governor. Before the law could even take effect members of the House of Delegates entered bills to either exclude more people from the original bill or to repeal the bill entirely. These bills passed in the House, but didn’t even make it out of the Senate committees. In the normal legislative process this should have been the end of the story for this legislative session.

After the 2022 General Assembly adjourned, final steps were taken to bring home those who had worked for two years to improve themselves, stay out of trouble and earn an earlier release. Those who were eligible were notified and given a release date. Family and friends made plans to help their loved ones come home. Home plans were approved, jobs were found, applications for driver’s licenses were filled out. Weddings were planned, reunions set up, and fathers and grandparents were in joyous anticipation of seeing children after many years or for the first time.

About 500 of those set to be released have what are called mixed charges. They have completed their sentences for violent offenses that did not qualify for the ESC bill but were also serving consecutive sentences for nonviolent offenses that did qualify. Members of the House of Delegates persuaded the governor to use a nonconventional way to block legislation by entering a budget amendment that would exclude those with these mixed charges. 

Sen. Mark Obenshain urged the Senate to deny early release to people who had worked in good faith to earn it, trusting the legislation would honor the promises made in 2020. As Sen. Boysko pointed out, “We cannot create a system of reform if the people we govern cannot trust the laws we have set in place.” Sen. Obenshain’s repeated claim that “murderers and rapists” would be given reduced sentences is completely false. They have served their full sentence for the crimes which are not eligible for the ESC bill. But as Sen. Morrissey pointed out, Obenshain’s statements are “a great soundbite and a great commercial, but (it’s) not what they are doing.”

The news of the cruel reality that they are not coming home has quickly being spread through the facilities and to loved ones. They feel anger, disbelief and betrayal by a system they trusted to honor the commitments made to them. They kept their end of the bargain. They did everything required of them so they could come home just a little earlier to their loved ones. Sadly, the Virginia legislature has sacrificed its honor for the benefit of a political soundbite.

This op ed piece by Debra Turner, a member of the Valley Justice Coalition in Harrisonburg, appeared in both the Roanoke Times and the Daily News-Record.

In Spite Of Parole Board Chair’s Promises, Parole Release Numbers In 2022 Remain Disappointingly Low

January: Regular Grants 4, Geriatric Grants 4, Dual Grants 4, Total: 12

February: Regular Grants 3, Geriatric Grants 0, Dual Grants 0, Total: 3

March: Regular Grants 0, Geriatric Grants 0, Dual Grants 0, Total: 0

April: Regular Grants 1, Geriatric Grants 1, Dual Grants 0, Total: 2

May: Regular Grants 1, Geriatric Grants 0, Dual Grants 0, Total: 1

June: Regular Grants 8, Geriatric Grants 4, Dual Grants 3, Total: 15

This brings the total number of parole releases this year to 33, with June reflecting the highest number of grants by the new Parole Board. Also, for the first time reasons for granting release are included in each case, but there remain many other incarcerated persons who have served just as much, if not more, time in prison and who have met the same criteria, such as having exceptional records of institutional adjustment, having good community support, being infraction free for decades, completing all correctional programs, having low risk assessments, stable release plans, no opposition to release and being no risk to public safety. Augusta Correctional Center still remains the lowest releases all year long of the (290) parole eligible offender's housed in this prison facility.                                                                              - Jonathan White, ACC, and Harvey Yoder

An Insider Reflects On Dormitory Incarceration

Open dormitory living for long periods of time can be traumatic for those used to living in a cell type of structure. It is one thing to be in a dormitory for only a few months, but year after year it is not a positive rehabilitation step. It is hard enough dealing with one other man looking in your face day in and day out, but a room of sixty people stacked on top of one another and having less space between bunks than in dog kennels is a mental and psychological challenge. 

It is different when those type of facilities are used as work release units where everyone gets to go to a job setting or road gang to perform a meaningful labor task. But lagging around in a confined dormitory breeds violence and unwanted trouble, not to mention that it is the quickest way to spread diseases with airborne transmissions. That's how TB infected the entire population at Southampton during the years that the dormitory housing was added to the general population, and it resulted in an increase in rapes and violent attacks. Also, folks with poor mental intellects have a serious lack of understanding of how to cope, and weak ones get raped in the dark of night when floor officer's fail to make their rounds to conduct bed checks. 

These are not just fear stories of prison life. This is a real fact of life witnessed and documented. Many men in prison have mental issues that the state refuses to address when dumping men or women in dormitory settings.                                                                       - Jonathan White, ACC

"There Is A Knocking At Our Door"

"I was a stranger and you welcomed me."

"There is a knocking at our door.

sound of the homeless of the world.

voice of the frightened refugee,

cry of the children in the cold,

asking the least that is their right, 

safety and shelter for the night."

Words: Shirley Erena Murray

© 1992 Hope Publishing Company, www.hopepublishing.com.

All rights reserved. Used by permission.

I found these words of the hymn, "Here to the House of God We Come," in our church's new Voices Together hymnal, to be sung to the tune KHAO I DANG, the name of a Cambodian refugee camp in Thailand.

Due to the devastation of famine and wars and other forms of violence and persecution, the plight of some 26 million refugees around the world has become one of the greatest human disasters of all time.

The Hebrew Torah devotes more attention to our need to welcome foreigners and aliens than almost any other single concern, and in one of Jesus's final addresses he makes it clear that we cannot truly honor and welcome God without receiving those in need whom God cares about. 

In a recent Christian Century article "Deliverer and Refugee" by Zac Koons, the writer reflects on Mark Chagall's epic painting Exodus in which a crucified Jesus is accompanying Moses leading Israel's flight from Egypt. Rather than our being a part of their journey toward the Red Sea Chagall has the refugees heading toward us, as if we ourselves represented the Red Sea.

So are we aligned with the world's oppressors or with the oppressed? Do we represent an unwelcoming wall or will we allow God to transform us into an increasingly hospitable and welcoming place of refuge, remembering that we and our ancestors were also once foreigners and strangers?

You can help my making a generous donation to the Sharing Our Surplus Campaign, a part of the annual Virginia Mennonite Relief Sale effort. Its SOS Campaign raises money specifically for Mennonite Central Committee refugee relief aid.