The United States and other world powers reached a negotiated agreement this week intended to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon in exchange for the lifting of sanctions that have limited the Iranian economy.
Religious Left figures, including Sojourners’ Jim Wallis, the Friends Committee on National Legislation (Quakers) and others have praised the deal as “a good option – and a Christian one,” stating that war with the Islamic Theocracy is the only alternative.
Pacifists like Jim Wallis and the Qsuakers have hailed the Iran nuke deal. Since they – and likely most of the Evangelical and Religious Left — reject all lethal force, their counsel is not reassuring or relevant.
Christians in sync with historic church teaching and human reality must appreciate the dangers of this accommodation with Iran’s Shiite theocracy. The consequences likely include further empowerment for Iran’s tyrannical mullahs over its domestic subjects and against its regional neighbors, further proliferation of nuclear weapons to Iran’s worried adversaries like Saudi Arabia, and greater violence from Iran’s proxies.
Serious Christians can’t just cry peace, peace, peace. We’ve a sacred duty to think through unintended consequences and advocate policies that seek approximate justice and security, which requires diplomacy and capacity for effective force.