Today, American President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed the most expansive nuclear arms treaty in more than 10 years. The new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) comes after a year of negotiations between the U.S. and Russia on the subject. It will eliminate some of our outdated weaponry and reduce the size of both countries' nuclear arsenals. Deployed strategic weapons (i.e., missiles and bombs) will go down from 2,200 to 1,550, and delivery vehicles (i.e., bombers, silos, and submarines) will drop to 800.
"There are approximately 20,000 nuclear weapons in the world today -- 95 percent of which are in the United States and Russia -- but even one detonation would cause unimaginable suffering and loss of innocent life, as well as environmental and financial fallout," stated the Rev. Tyler Wigg-Stevenson, an expert on the ethics of nuclear weapons policy and Director of the Two Futures Project, a growing movement of American Christians dedicated to the moral imperative of nuclear abolition. "We firmly believe that the ratification of the START treaty is a critically important step that the Senate can take to improve American citizens' security from nuclear conflict, especially the threat of nuclear terrorism."
Moving toward a world free of nuclear weapons was the dream of President Ronald Reagan and is supported by Reagan's former Secretary of State, George Shultz.
I think this treaty makes us safer and is consistent with the divine call upon Christians to be peacemakers, which is why I added my voice to a Christian movement supporting the signing of the START treaty. I commented, "Implementing the new START agreement is significant because it reduces the massive stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world and increases existing weapons monitoring. Christians are compelled by our holy Scriptures and the example of our Lord Jesus Christ to work toward peace in a fallen world literally hell-bent on waging war."
To learn a Christian perspective on nuclear weapons, check out The Two Futures Project.
Jonathan Merritt is author of Green Like God: Unlocking the Divine Plan for Our Planet. He blogs regularly at JonathanMerritt.com.
Follow Jonathan Merritt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/jonathanmerritt
Tri Robinson: Why Evangelicals Should Join the Fight Against Nuclear Proliferation
“"I really have no response. Because last I checked, Sarah Palin's not much of an expert on nuclear issues," President Obama. Based on his misguided reasoning, it is logical to assume neither is he. By the way the new agreement counts one bomber equals one nuclear bomb.
Last time I checked.........not!:
Russia's TU-160 bomber specs:
http://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/tu160/
B2 Spirit US Bomber specs:
http://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/b2/
The "new" START treaty claims to reduce the numbers...Not so much. It is a great PR stunt and that is all it is.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOEgjkfuMOg&feature=related
u do realise that if obama plays this very cleverly the liberal to conservatiive ratio could flip by the time he leaves, give him time.
i mean look at how pathetic the tea partiers look, just give them enough rope.
and your retort is " u guys need an enemy". You projected something on to him that comes from within yourself. You have created an enemy out of whole cloth, without consider what he said.
Obama chose to start a full fledged committed war, but you make excuses for him:
"im sure he hates it"
"but we know"
"he will swallow a lot of crap to get any progress"
"he has no choice." -- excuse making and projection.
He always has a choice, but its not his life or death, just his candidacy.
You: "u do realise that if obama plays this very cleverly the liberal to conservatiive ratio could flip by the time he leaves, give him time."
The largest D majority in decades. Polls say it will "flip". 1 term is enough to judge what he has done with his mandate.
11 dimensional chess theory: pretending others are too stupid to see the wisdom or super intelligence behind the moves, Obama must be thinking many moves ahead of us mere mortals.
Yours is the language of a "true believer" of a cult of personality.
Partisan arguments work for politicians and the party system. We, the proletarians vote, but aren't part of the party but made to feel like you are, until you make demands. Then they turn their faithful brownshirt true believers upon the dissenters.
Rather that ban religions it would be better to require philosophy, theology, history, mythology, and the arts, and learning the scientific principles of theory.
We should require serious study of the original religious texts, comparisons with ancient religions to show how Buddhism, hinduism, paganism, and especially judaism, christianity are syncretist religions that were used and changed for political purposes, elitist control, and population integration to encourage peace over conquered lands.
Serious study will create more atheists, not laws that outlaw religion.
I doubt any of them want nuclear war.