War

12/7/2023

‘The international arms trade is in direct opposition to efforts to protect and pursue the health of our world and its inhabitants.’ (MedAct)

When Jesus Christ was born, if he had been given the projected world armaments spend for this year alone – I have to sit down as I write this: he could have spent US$ 2,708,578 every… single… day... from then until now. And, whilst on the topic of Jesus, a good friend has a satirical sticker across the rear windscreen of her campervan that reads, ‘Who would Jesus bomb?’ The simple answer is, ‘Nobody’. He was far too concerned with bringing good news to the poor, vulnerable and oppressed. Bottom line: weapons didn’t feature on his bottom line.

Yet here today we see world leaders striding confidently onto stages, adorned with flags and symbols, making elegant speeches and pointing accusing fingers at one another across starkly-divided world maps. Everyone is firmly committed to the, ‘I’m OK, You’re Not OK’ creed and absolutely convinced by the rightness of their own cause. The platform rhetoric is powerful, existential, and ramps up the ante. It’s a dangerous zero-sum, do-or-die game in which we could all – quite literally – obliterate the world in a quest to, allegedly, save the world.

Meanwhile, I see children in the Philippines this week who live in dire poverty, sleeping in rags on hard ground. There are countless millions across the world living like this, with barely enough to survive let alone thrive. Scraps of food and no access to safe water, sanitation, healthcare or education. US$ 2,708,578. So, Jesus again – ‘Reach out to your enemies.’ We could try this: ‘We’ve all made a real mess of this. We’re partly to blame and we’re sorry for the part we played in how we got here. We want to work with you to co-create a very different future.'

Everything is at stake.

36 Comments

Paul Vanson

12/7/2023 05:34:33 pm

That's a shocking figure Nick. How did you reach it?

Nick Wright

12/7/2023 06:18:40 pm

Hi Paul. Yes, it is. The world armaments spend has now passed US$ 2,000,000,000,000 per annum, partly fuelled by responses to the Russian invasion of Ukraine last year. If we divide that figure by 2023 years (= since Jesus was born) @ 365 days (= days in 1 year), we reach a shocking figure of US$ 2,708,578 per day.

12/7/2023 06:19:27 pm

Good grief! That means the world is spending US$ 5,479,452,054 PER DAY on arms this year!!

12/7/2023 06:19:57 pm

Yes, indeed.

Hans Vogel

12/7/2023 05:51:48 pm

You are a naive peace hippy Nick Wright. Russia force us to buy weapons. You think it OK to invade in Ukraine?

12/7/2023 05:56:04 pm

Hi Hans. I believe we need to find new ways to minimise the risks of war, and to end wars when we find ourselves in them. I accept there are no simple solutions. We have to try.

Frank Mendoza

12/7/2023 06:13:52 pm

Someone is making a lot of money.

12/7/2023 06:23:05 pm

Hi Frank. Yes, as I commented in an earlier-related reflection: 'Geopolitics is like a game of chess in which half the pieces are invisible and nothing is what it seems.' If we want to understand a war, we need to ask what vested interests lay behind it.

(https://www.nick-wright.com/blog/dare-to-question)

Stella Wilkins

12/7/2023 06:25:20 pm

Stay out of politics please Nick of I'll unsubscribe from your blog.

12/7/2023 07:20:34 pm

Hi Stella. I’d be interested to hear more to understand your concerns. Do feel free to message me so we can discuss?

Keir Young

12/7/2023 07:23:13 pm

Hi Nick. Why do you always have to bring Jesus into these things? What’s Jesus got to do with the global arms trade??

12/7/2023 07:26:32 pm

Hi Keir. That’s a fair question. I’m tempted to respond that I don’t need to bring Jesus into these things - he’s already there! In my worldview, spirituality, ethics and politics are integrally intertwined.

Leanne Fisher

12/7/2023 07:35:48 pm

I’m glad you do write about Jesus in this way Nick. I’ve been a Christian for years and never hear anyone talk about these things in church. It’s inspiring to read the ways in which you write about Jesus. You make me think. And pray! 🙏🙏🙏

12/7/2023 07:38:06 pm

Hi Leanne - and thank you for such encouraging feedback. 🙏

Zachary Williams

12/7/2023 07:43:48 pm

This is a shocking read Nick. I confess I had to Google it to check your figures. You are right! Where on earth are countries finding all this money to pay for all these weapons? What a destructive waste of life and resources. It makes me feel very angry and sick to the stomach. But what can we do to change it? :(

12/7/2023 09:44:32 pm

Hi Zachary. I agree. I don't know how countries can afford these almost impossible-to-imagine levels of expenditure, but I do know it's often the poorest people that suffer the consequences. How can we change it? I feel powerless. :( All I can do is pray, and add my own small voice to those of others who want to create a different kind of global conversation and way of living.

Jan Bergsen

12/7/2023 09:48:30 pm

Get real, Nick. Grow up. If we don't arm ourselves against aggressors like Russia, China, Iran or North Korea, they will attack and defeat us. Yes, it's a lot of US$ but our safety is in our military strength. We've got to keep ahead of the game. Are you seriously arguing for unilateral disarmament, like the old CND??!

12/7/2023 09:55:57 pm

Hi Jan. Yes, that's the prevailing arms race imperative logic at the moment, on all sides. During the Cold War, it was the nuclear arms race. During the current war era, it's the AI arms race. If the new Netflix documentary, Unknown - Killer Robots (2023) is anything to go by, we're seriously facing a whole new possibility of 'mutually-assured destruction' (MAD). I hope and pray for a different spirit, a different multilateral vision, that will create a very different path and possibility to the one we're racing headlong along now...before it really is too late.

This short related reflection may be of interest? https://www.nick-wright.com/blog/think5843248

Vance Merton

13/7/2023 10:17:27 am

Who would Jesus bomb. Stupid question.

13/7/2023 10:23:47 am

Hi Vance. Exactly. And that's why it should cause us to think hard.

Arianne Goulding

13/7/2023 10:22:53 am

I feel sick and dizzy reading these numbers, Nick. Putting like that makes the scale of these numbers overwhelming. I had to literally sit down as I read through this. What is going on in this world? I don't know whether to shout or cry. :( :(

13/7/2023 10:27:02 am

Hi Arianne. Me too. I first heard this comparison many years ago on a poster that read: 'If Jesus had been given this year's world armaments budget, he could have spent £250,000 every day from then until now - and still have enough left for another 250 years.' As we can see, that figure has risen dramatically since then. I pray we can somehow hold onto hope.

Ben Chambers

13/7/2023 10:58:14 am

Hey Nick. I've always been led believe that having these weapons keeps us safe. Russia is a dangerous enemy after all. I'm shocked by the costs you have presented though. I don't know what to think anymore. Is there a case for having weapons, do you think?

13/7/2023 11:08:30 am

Hi Ben and thanks for such an open and honest response. It's an incredibly complex issue. On Russia, I think we need to distinguish between, for instance, the Russian government, the Russian state and the Russian people. The current Russian government leadership has certainly positioned itself as an 'enemy' of Ukraine and of the West.

There are wider and deeper questions about how we got here (see: https://www.nick-wright.com/blog/think5843248). I don't know all the answers.

On the case for weapons, I did hear an insightful and experienced NGO activist argue that a strong national military can safeguard the conditions (e.g. by reducing threats from neighbouring states) for development to take place within its borders. It recognises the risks and realities of what Christians would call 'sinful self-interest' (see: https://www.nick-wright.com/blog/dissonance).

Jasmin

14/7/2023 01:05:19 pm

World Leaders keep creating authentic art in war. Making various tactic to scam peace for the sake of their selfish motives. They forgot the real essence of leadership to walk for peace,to serve from the heart,to promote a clean and happy world. To reach out to every nation for the common goal to sow the language of LOVE. To work closely and urgently for the climate that keep changing to worst. To exhibit renewable energy instead of emitting toxicity.To treasure every human in the most respectable way instead of killing innocent people for the sake of territorial expansion or power gratification. I hope all of us take responsibility to pray for our leaders to be enlightened to focus on GENUINE LEADERSHIP that JESUS showed us when he became HUMAN once in his lifetime.

14/7/2023 04:35:23 pm

Hi Jasmin and thank you for sharing those deep reflections. Many high-profile leaders today appear locked in a win-lose ‘competitive military advantage’ game that couldn’t be more different to the model of leadership that Jesus lived and demonstrated.

16/7/2023 08:54:26 am

It's a huge amount of money Nick. Barclays Bank profits are enough annually to provide clean drinking water to everyone.
I believe our system needs to radically change for humanity to survive, let alone thrive, in a more equitable manner.
Perhaps a shared spirituality and set of values could be part of the solution, but where do we start?

16/7/2023 07:02:44 pm

Hi La. I agree. I have to confess that the dynamic complexity, seriousness and scale of these issues leaves me feeling dizzy and powerless at times. Where do we start? I don't know. I pray for wisdom, then do what little I can to try to live differently and to speak up, albeit almost inaudibly, in the deafening global 'marketplace of ideas'. I sent copies of this blog in letter form to various political leaders. Who knows if anyone reads them? Yet, in Greenpeace's words that have become a mantra in my own life too: 'The optimism of the action is better than the pessimism of the thought.'

Rudi Weinzierl

18/7/2023 07:59:26 am

Ich kann Dir nur voll zustimmen!!!!

18/7/2023 08:00:58 am

Danke, Rudi. Deine Gedanken sind mir immer wichtig.

18/7/2023 08:02:08 am

Ich bin dabei meine Gedanken dazu zu sortieren und ausführlicher zu antworten. Vieles ist in Deinem Blog schon tiefgreifend und auch meinen Einstellungen dazu beantwortet worden.

Eines jedoch vorweg: Christlichen Argumenten kann die halbe Welt nicht nachvollziehen. Aber da Gottes Werk alles auf dieser Welt durch seinen Schöpfergeist durchdringt, werden wir Antworten finden, die Menschen der ganzen Welt nachvollziehen können. Danach suche ich immer.

Ein für mich viel größerrs Problem ist dabei, wie erreiche ich Menschen die kein Interesse haben sich generell auf Überlegungen einzulassen. 🤔

18/7/2023 08:11:31 am

Vielen Dank, dass du so tiefe Überlegungen zu dieser Frage teilst, Rudi. (Vielleicht versteht auch die Hälfte der Christen auf der Welt christliche Argumente zu diesen Themen nicht..?!) Ja, manchmal geht es darum, eine gemeinsame Sprache oder ein gemeinsames Anliegen zu finden, das die Menschen in einem koaktiven Geist zusammenbringt.

Im Moment habe ich das Gefühl, dass sich viele Menschen angesichts solch globaler Komplexität so überfordert und machtlos fühlen, dass sie sich entweder davon zurückziehen, sie ganz als Selbsterhaltungsmechanismus zu betrachten (was manchmal wichtig ist, um die psychische Gesundheit zu erhalten) oder sich darauf einlassen im politischen Handeln an den radikalen Extremen (wo die Dinge „einfacher“ und daher leichter zu handhaben erscheinen).

Derek Williams

18/7/2023 08:55:49 am

Hi Nick. Your title reminded me of U2’s “War” album. That was a Christian response too. 🎶

18/7/2023 08:57:42 am

Hi Derek. Yes indeed! My favourite U2 album on this theme is ‘Under a Blood Red Sky’. I still play it (loud!) and it still moves and inspires me. 🎵

Peter Young

24/7/2023 02:04:22 pm

I'm with you on this Nick - you 'Peace Hippie' :)

If leaders would invest even a fraction of the time/energy/money on building peace and understanding that goes into defence, just imagine what might be possible. It is totally counter the prevailing cultural narrative, and comes with a cost of course. I hardly dare imagine the positive consequences for the planet and for all life if it were to be a reality. Thank goodness for those folks who have set such an example, Jesus being one, and more recently Gandhi, Mandela, Luther-King, et al.

25/7/2023 09:51:39 am

Hi Peter. Yes, perhaps my age is showing through! ;) I love the relationship you draw between peace and defence. And yes, imagine what could then be possible.

Jesus, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa - incredible role models. The challenge for me is to follow their example, not simply admire their example...and I often feel hopelessly compromised and inadequate on that front. I do need God's help to be more authentic and courageous.

(On that theme, this short piece may be of interest? https://www.nick-wright.com/blog/something-beautiful)

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