Hello, This is Blasé Bonpane with a comment

PACIFICA COMMENTARY FOR DECEMBER 2, 2002

Hello, This is Blase Bonpane with a comment. This week I spoke with Kathy Kelly in Baghdad. She is the founder of Voices in the Wilderness. She and her associates have gone to Iraq many times. But now, with the upcoming holocaust some of her volunteers have decided to stay in Iraq for the duration. Many other will be present there for a week or two on delegations.

These volunteers do not go to Iraq to commit suicide. They do not go there for media glory. Indeed the media is afraid of them. Their story will be told for centuries but the media prefers to talk about celebrity gossip.

Voices in the Wilderness are the voices of witness, voices that all can hear if they will but listen, if they are not deaf to reality.

Members of Voices in the Wilderness await the bombs as they reside in the very target areas to be attacked. Their voices cry out for the voiceless of Iraq, the voiceless in Palestine, .the voiceless of our homeless and our forgotten children.

With the prophet Micah they love peace, do justice and walk humbly with their God. They are from a variety of religions and non-religions. Their voices transcend all sectarianism. They give the lie to the war mongers who long to create a war between Islam and Christianity or between any other combination of religions. Such religious

militarists have not had a new idea since the days of the Crusades.

Voices in the Wilderness knows that the name of one's religion is actually meaningless. One can profess any religion by name and be a devil or a saint. The name of the religion is irrelevant. The only valid gauge of spirituality is conduct.

Conduct which reflects justice, peace, joy, love endurance, patience and compassion is the fruit of valid spirituality. Anything else is a sham.

This is what led John Lennon to say…Imagine no religion.

If religion does not promote the fruits of the Spirit…it would be better to imagine no religion.

The international movement for justice and peace has more spirituality than any religion which attempts to bless war. War is not to be blessed. War is to be abolished along with the slavery and servitude which it demands.

Thanks voices in the wilderness..

Not everyone is expected to go to Iraq and everyone does not have to; but everyone can do something.

Workers who stuff envelopes and send out emails are messengers of peace.

Putting 500,000 people on the streets of Washington DC on Saturday, January 18, 2003 will be done by messengers of peace.

The 30 or so wars now taking place in the name of religion have no authentic spiritual substance. They are fraudulent. They are simply political conflicts using religion as a cloak for malice.

Now do we understand why John Lennon said, "Imagine no religion?"

Keep your roots, keep your religion but don't let it be used to oppress innocent people Religion must not bless war.

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This is Blase Bonpane.