How far would you be willing to go to be heard if you felt passionate about something?
Would you be prepared to be arrested for your ideals and beliefs? Is there anything you believe in so strongly that you would you be ready to face prison to highlight the cause?
Simon Moyle is a Baptist Pastor from Melbourne, Victoria, who recently headed north to Queensland to confront Australian and US Forces involved in war games.
Together with just four friends, Simon dared to challenge the might of the military. In an open statement to the forces they began saying,
We are five unarmed, nonviolent Christians who are extremely concerned about the military exercises in which you are taking part. We are here only to invite you to dialogue and exchange ideas. We would like to see these preparations for war cease, and preparations for peace begin. Thus, we come here to invite you to play peace games with us, and stop the war games. We do so, as Martin Luther King Jr. said, “openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to pay the penalty”.
The story that unfolds from Simon’s visit to the military base is fascinating. The non-violence activists got their wish of playing peace games when they threw a frisbee around with some of the military personnel. After some coffee and discussion with the troops the protesters were arrested for trespass. They face court in about a month.
I chatted to Simon about his actions during my morning programme on 98.5 Sonshine FM this morning.
You can listen to our conversation using the media player below.
Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading War isn’t a game? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.
