The local progressive AM host Jeff Farias has been talking about this. People will be out.
Re: Methodist ministers petitioning SMU to prevent the construction of a Bush Library:
He said the goal is informing people about the partisan think tank, which won’t be under SMU’s control and will promote the Bush administration’s policies — such as the war with Iraq and harsh interrogation techniques of military prisoners — that some Methodists feel conflict with church teachings.
Let's see how Bush' policy of pre-emptive war in Iraq squares with accepted Methodist thought. From the official belief statements of the UMC:
We believe war is incompatible with the teachings and example of Christ. We therefore reject war as an instrument of national foreign policy, to be employed only as a last resort in the prevention of such evils as genocide, brutal suppression of human rights, and unprovoked international aggression. We insist that the first moral duty of all nations is to resolve by peaceful means every dispute that arises between or among them; that human values must outweigh military claims as governments determine their priorities; that the militarization of society must be challenged and stopped; that the manufacture, sale, and deployment of armaments must be reduced and controlled; and that the production, possession, or use of nuclear weapons be condemned. Consequently, we endorse general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control.
Maybe I'm not being fair. Even Bush prays for peace, right? Let's see what Methodist bishops have to say about the war in Iraq. There is more specific information at the knowledge center website, but this statement sums it up quite well.
"As elected and consecrated bishops of the church, we repent of our complicity in what we believe to be the unjust and immoral invasion and occupation of Iraq." (A Call to Repentance and Peace with Justice, a statement signed by 101 active and retired United Methodist bishops)
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