A Letter to My Pastor

[Pastor],

I just wanted to drop a few comments and questions for you as you are preparing for your upcoming sermon on whether Christians can faithfully serve in the government. This is a follow-up to some of the comments [other member] had in church. (reader's note: the other member had been discussing this incident and another similar incident, and had mentioned that if Peace Churches continue become more involved in governments, they may lose their "exemptions" that allow them not to take oaths, allow them to be Conscientious Objectors, etc.)

This topic is something I have dealt with a number of times while considering my worldview. For a long time, I had a number of questions I pondered, generally along the lines of the following:

"What personal obligations would I have as an agent of the state that might conflict with my personal spirituality, ethics, and morality?"

Basically, what I was trying to determine was whether or not being an agent of the State meant that I would be assisting in committing violence against citizens, immigrants, or foreigners. This was especially worrisome for me if it meant I might be assisting in committing violence not just to stop or prevent other violence, but in order to protect one group's preferences over another's (such as laws regarding consensual adult sexuality, recreational drug use, etc.). I also pondered frequently the idea of how to incorporate the concepts of rehabilitation and reconciliation into a system that is focused on restitution and retribution.

So what of culpability then: might I be? I think different answers might be argued depending on the particulars of the specific employment. But, I started to believe that there was a presuppositional question that might make the above line of questioning moot, depending on the answer.

That question took the following general format:

"Can someone who is a pacifist accept a salary that is paid for via extortion, backed by theft and violence?"

What I had previously been wrestling with was whether or not I could "do good" as a government employee, but what I started to realize was if the mere act of being an employee itself was against my principles, it would not matter. If my position depended upon violence being done to those who did not comply with paying for my salary, could I ever claim to be truly "doing good?"

A larger possible implication of the answer applies to what funds the church will accept, as well. If a pacifist personally should not accept funds obtained through extortion, can a Christian community of pacifists accept "public money" for projects, either?

Perhaps these are questions that you have already been considering, but if not, I hope it will add more context to the topic.

Peace,
[me]