 |
|
Ask a Vet: Dick Davis
Dick was an instructor at the Chaplain School in Ft. Moumouth, N.J., at the time of his release from the Army in 1991, after filing for conscientious objector status. He is currently the pastor of Peace Mennonite Church in Dallas, Texas. "I had been around in the military for 15 years... 'Conscientious Objection' are two bad words in the military. Conscientious objectors are not appreciated. They are considered to be cowards, pansies, and borderline traitors." "I was officed with a Presbyterian woman whose specialty was world religions... and so I felt free to talk with her about some of my questions. And so one Friday afternoon we were having one of our discussion sessions, and Joanne reflected and said, 'Why Dick, you're a conscientious objector.' And I said, 'No, no, I'm not a conscientious objector.' And I went home that night and thought about it and I thought, 'You know, I am. I guess I am.' "Finally it just got down to the point where I said, 'What is more important to me is to be a genuine disciple and follower of Jesus Christ than a follower after money or a way of life that I think is diametrically opposed to the gospel of Jesus Christ. "I realized that the type of allegiance that the military calls from young people is an idolatrous type of allegiance. It calls you to a different God, to the god of war, to the god of destruction, to the god of anything else than the gospel of peace and justice and nonviolence." |
|
|
