War and Peace


On November 12, 2008, The University Church hosted “Conversations Over Dinner” with a focus on “War and Peace – What Are The Options?” We had a lively conversation around the varied positions on this topic, which we categorized for the purposes of conversation as (i) pacifism, (ii) nonviolent resistance, (iii) “just war”, (iv) war in the national interest, and (v) preemptive strike. As we waited for everyone to arrive, the group looked at a “matching game” and paired up sayings about war and peace with the names of the people who first said these words.

Here are the names:

Dalai Lama, John-Paul Sartre, George W. Bush, Ecclesiastes, Aristotle, Benjamin Franklin, General Douglas MacArthur, John F. Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln

And here are the sayings:

We make war that we may live in peace.

There never was a good war or a bad peace.

For everything there is a season … … A time for war, and a time for peace.

I know war as few other men now living know it, and nothing to me is more revolting.

I’ve been to war. I’ve raised twins. If I had a choice, I’d rather go to war.

Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind.

When the rich wage war, it’s the poor who die.

America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter, and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.

All forms of violence, especially war, are totally unacceptable as means to settle disputes between and among nations, groups and persons.

Give it a try! The answers are below the photograph that follows. Amazingly, one person in the group got all of these correctly paired!!

And so here are the names and sayings paired together:

Aristotle: We make war that we may live in peace.

Benjamin Franklin: There never was a good war or a bad peace.

Ecclesiastes: For everything there is a season … … A time for war, and a time for peace.

General Douglas MacArthur: I know war as few other men now living know it, and nothing to me is more revolting

George W. Bush: I’ve been to war. I’ve raised twins. If I had a choice, I’d rather go to war.

John F. Kennedy: Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind.

John-Paul Sartre: When the rich wage war, it’s the poor who die.

Abraham Lincoln: America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter, and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.

Dalai Lama: All forms of violence, especially war, are totally unacceptable as means to settle disputes between and among nations, groups and persons.

Join us for our next “Conversations Over Dinner” on December 10th at a friend’s home in Lambertville, Michigan (directions available from the church office; 419-534-3080). Cost: $5.00 donation; bring an appetizer to share, drinks provided. Topic for the evening: Healthcare in the US – How Shall We Cope?

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