bonhoeffer and pacifism.

i have been thinking recently about the nature of my pacifism.
i believe that a government that subscribes to pacifism wouldn't be a government very long...but i feel the damage people do to themselves by acting violently as real as my own heartbeat. i look around at the way we treat others and i think people are killing their souls. it hurts me in a very deep way that we do not publicly acknowledge the truth of the damage we do to ourselves when we hurt others. everyone thinks, "sucks to be the guy who was hurt," but no one talks about the evil and the suffering present with the perpetrator. i don't say this because i want us to make excuses for people who commit evil, but because i want us to think about our own actions and the damage we do to ourselves with our lack of perspective.
i am pacifist in large part because i am deeply afraid of that kind of damage. i believe in its power. i believe that God made us for community with one another and that when we harm each other, we go against our very purpose in a way that kills a part of us.
i like bonhoeffer's theology because it seems to me that he understands this. i also like bonhoeffer's theology because it challenges me to push past my own fear and stay in conversation with God instead. i am challenged by his act to acknowledge that there are things worse than the soul death of one person. i may not be able to think of an occassion where i might justify acting violently, but bonhoeffer forces me to acknowledge that if i live my life in flat accordance with principle, then i am living my life by principle and fear of doing wrong, and not necessarily by the will of God.
i don't think there has ever been a just war. not even world war II. but i do think bonhoeffer's assassination attempt on hitler may have been one of the only just uses of violence in the history of mankind. i plan to continue to adhere to pacifism as a moral stance because i like the perspective it gives me and i think i need the discipline. the struggle is going to be staying in tension about it....because i am beginning to see how faith, if it is going to stay a relationship; if it is going to stay true to the goal of understanding God and being faithful to God, has to go two ways. obedience to a principle is one-way only. relationship is about staying active and keeping the conversation alive.

There is no way to peace along the way of safety. For peace must be dared, it is itself the great venture, and can never be safe. Peace is the opposite of security. To demand guarantees is to mistrust, and this mistrust in turn brings forth war. To look for guarantees is to want to protect oneself. Peace means giving oneself completely to God's commandment, wanting no security, but in faith and obedience laying the destiny of the nations in the hand of Almighty God, not trying to direct it for selfish purposes. Battles are won, not with weapons, but with God. They are won when the way leads to the cross. - Deitrich Bonhoeffer

what do you think?
x-posted to christiangeekand christianleft

FYI

my computer at home is kaput.
the processor was not fast enough to allow for smooth gameplay, so ross ordered me a new one.
the new one is not letting the computer boot.
so my machine is in pieces in our study and not available for me to use.
if i'm a bit short on the e-mails and such...that's why.