The Nun Criticizing Russia’s War

[Bootstrap]

i get confused when Ukraine is understood as the perpetual victim under attack, with added speculation of Russia’s future aggression - - when Israel is not, altho identified terrorist group Hamas has stated clearly their evil intentions, and likewise have not been reliable wrt (anything).

i’m remembering when the general worldly consensus was to NOT negotiate with terrorists. at all.

yet, some responses now seem close to recognizing Hamas as a legitimate entity.
which seems unwise for this situation and future situations with terrorist organizations. in other words, “terrorism pays”.

Thanks for clarifying. Here's where I see things differently:

As Mennonites, we don't believe in "just war" theory. We don't divide wars into good ones and bad ones, or believe that violence becomes righteous if the cause is. We’re called to a different path—to reject violence, even when others see it as justified.

But that doesn’t mean we pretend all violence is equal. Saying Russia and Ukraine are two sides of the same coin is like saying Hamas and Israeli civilians on October 7 were two sides of the same coin. In both cases, one side carried out a brutal and unjustified attack; the other was attacked. That doesn't make the victims—or their governments—blameless. But it does mean the situations aren’t morally equivalent.

The same goes for Gaza now. Hamas committed atrocities. So has the Israeli military. Thousands of civilians in Gaza have been killed—many of them children. That should break our hearts. We don't need to excuse or justify any side to grieve the victims or call the violence what it is: evil.

Refusing to participate in war doesn’t mean refusing to name wrongdoing. It means refusing to join the cycle. We can condemn all violence without pretending all sides are the same. And we can mourn every victim without denying the difference between an aggressor and the attacked.

[Bootstrap]

The entire premise of just war is that fighting back is okay sometimes.
The question is… what did Jesus do.

Exactly—that’s the question: What did Jesus do?

He didn’t take up arms, even when he was unjustly arrested, tortured, and killed. He didn’t call down angels to defend himself. He rebuked Peter for using a sword. Instead, he healed, he forgave, and he gave his life for others.

And throughout his ministry, he stood with the last and the least—the poor, the outcast, the refugee, the victim. He called us to love our enemies, to bless those who curse us, to care for the hungry, the imprisoned, and the displaced.

So if we ask, “What did Jesus do?”—then the answer doesn’t look like just war. It looks like costly love. It looks like standing with the wounded, not retaliating against the wounders. It means refusing to let violence define our witness.

I think that’s why the nun in the OP is speaking out—not just against the war itself, but against the way the Russian Orthodox Church has chosen to bless it.

[temporal1]

As Mennonites, we don't believe ..

i don’t refer to you to speak for Mennonites as a whole.

Wrt just war, when you repeat “only one aggressor” for years, the inference is, this is unending justification for unending military response from Ukraine, the perpetual victim. i don’t see Jesus in that; not even from Day 1, let alone years+billions later.

As years have passed, Ukraine has ramped up military action to the max, with no indication there is a limit, other than what other countries will provide. Zelensky has made a lucrative career out of fund raising on a global scale. No Jesus there.

My view has changed over years, esp more recently.
From Day 1, i prayed for quick RESOLUTION. i’m pretty sure i was accused of being a Russian advocate for this. on forum.
i continued, believing RESOLUTION falls short of Jesus’ command and model, but, it’s closer to the spirit of His command,
as well, i see RESOLUTION as a non-violent step toward peace, Jesus’ higher goal.

i believe i’m still accused of being a Russian advocate.

More recently, both countries have betrayed their own words. Multiple times. They have become 2 sides of 1 coin. in my sad view.

From Day 1, i have not ignored the history of what made Russia act. Others have.

A lot of politics has become highly predicated on SPECULATION, which prompts preemptive action. It’s intended to.
This creates a free pass for literally doing whatever one wants - ‘cause something MIGHT happen. boogeymen, really.
No Jesus there.

Human reasoning is a bear. This is what must be resisted. i struggle all-day-long.

I think that’s why the nun in the OP is speaking out—not just against the war itself, but against the way the Russian Orthodox Church has chosen to bless it.

agreed.

[JohnH]

The entire premise of just war is that fighting back is okay sometimes.
The question is… what did Jesus do.

Exactly—that’s the question: What did Jesus do?

He didn’t take up arms, even when he was unjustly arrested, tortured, and killed. He didn’t call down angels to defend himself. He rebuked Peter for using a sword. Instead, he healed, he forgave, and he gave his life for others.

And throughout his ministry, he stood with the last and the least—the poor, the outcast, the refugee, the victim. He called us to love our enemies, to bless those who curse us, to care for the hungry, the imprisoned, and the displaced.

So if we ask, “What did Jesus do?”—then the answer doesn’t look like just war. It looks like costly love. It looks like standing with the wounded, not retaliating against the wounders. It means refusing to let violence define our witness.

I think that’s why the nun in the OP is speaking out—not just against the war itself, but against the way the Russian Orthodox Church has chosen to bless it.

The point is that she isn’t speaking against the way the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has chosen to bless just war.

Jesus simply would not be on the side of the Ukrainians shouting “Slava Ukraina!”, picking up a gun, and piloting a drone to kill some Russian conscript trapped in a trench.

This is what this war looks like:



I don’t think Jesus would want us doing or blessing such things.

[temporal1]

In my early days on MD, some Mennonites suggested meeting aggressors and evil with tables prepared with sandwiches and drink.
i arrived on MD because i’d read scriptures and sensed like-mindedness about what scriptures were saying, in letter and spirit.

In those days, non-violence even in the face of brutal self-sacrifice were more common topics.
Members such as Klayton described acts of self-sacrifice that went beyond the OP nun.

[JohnH]

In my early days on MD, some Mennonites suggested meeting aggressors and evil with tables prepared with sandwiches and drink.
i arrived on MD because i’d read scriptures and sensed like-mindedness about what scriptures were saying, in letter and spirit.

Apparently that doesn’t apply to Russians. They’re just “too evil”… just war is just if waged against Russia.

[temporal1]

In my early days on MD, some Mennonites suggested meeting aggressors and evil with tables prepared with sandwiches and drink.
i arrived on MD because i’d read scriptures and sensed like-mindedness about what scriptures were saying, in letter and spirit.

Apparently that doesn’t apply to Russians. They’re just “too evil”… just war is just if waged against Russia.

i wonder what you would have thought of the early MD.
i registered toward the end of the beginning .. it’s marched on, morphing along the way.

i remember lots of individuals. mostly young and well informed. teens+20’s. maybe none over 50? george? not sure.
more girls.

those youngn’s did a nice job of structuring for growth, change, longevity, as compared to MANY internet experiments that crash+burn. i credit a common interest in seeking Jesus. nearly all who arrive, stay or not, have a common interest in seeking Jesus, no matter how they got there.

if i recall, Klayton was in college in Wisconsin, he’d traveled to Ireland and some European countries. great pictures.
idealistic, esp wrt his faith.

[JoyE]

What will Jesus do?

[Rev 19:11-16 KJV] 11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him [was] called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 12 His eyes [were] as a flame of fire, and on his head [were] many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13 And he [was] clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies [which were] in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And he hath on [his] vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

[JohnH]

In my early days on MD, some Mennonites suggested meeting aggressors and evil with tables prepared with sandwiches and drink.
i arrived on MD because i’d read scriptures and sensed like-mindedness about what scriptures were saying, in letter and spirit.

Apparently that doesn’t apply to Russians. They’re just “too evil”… just war is just if waged against Russia.

i wonder what you would have thought of the early MD.
i registered toward the end of the beginning .. it’s marched on, morphing along the way.

i remember lots of individuals. mostly young and well informed. teens+20’s. maybe none over 50? george? not sure.
more girls.

those youngn’s did a nice job of structuring for growth, change, longevity, as compared to MANY internet experiments that crash+burn. i credit a common interest in seeking Jesus. nearly all who arrive, stay or not, have a common interest in seeking Jesus, no matter how they got there.

if i recall, Klayton was in college in Wisconsin, he’d traveled to Ireland and some European countries. great pictures.
idealistic, esp wrt his faith.

Believe it or not, I was in an early xanga circle or whatever it was called that was a predecessor to MD. My buddy who grew up (mainstream) Mennonite invited me.

[Soloist]

These threads are getting a little predictable…