ABSTRACT
The quest for peace seems always to be overshadowed by the threat of war. The ever-present possibility of war distorts the lives of people everywhere and constantly threatens the survival of humankind. All over the world people live with either the possibility or the actuality of conflict within their own nation. Nations fear the expansionist ambitions of neighbor nations. They stockpile weapons—conventional, nuclear, chemical, and biological—that can be unleashed at any moment. Everywhere people fear that surprise attacks by a terrorist group or deliberate aggression by some national leader might set off another devastating worldwide conflict. All over the world people wait anxiously as their leaders negotiate for peace and arm for war. With international relations always in flux and scientific and technical developments constantly bringing new possibilities, we seem unable to find a balance in which the peoples of the world can live in peace. How are Christians, motivated by love and concerned for justice, to function in a world always on the brink of war?
