‘I hadn’t considered whether Jesus might have been an arms dealer before…’

Thought for the week: Tim Gee refuses to have his arms twisted

The world’s largest arms fair, Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI), returns to east London this September. As usual, peace activists will attend outside to bear witness. My first arms fair protest was in 2003, not long after the invasion of Iraq. Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction turned out to be non-existent, but it had become impossible to ignore the very real weapons being provided to governments around the world, facilitated by the UK. Among the countries invited that year was the USA, which had recently killed so many. Also on the invite list were Colombia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and even Syria.

The night before I overslept at my Quaker hosts. By the time I’d found my way to the arms fair location, my train was halted because activists had chained themselves to the front. I found myself reflecting on the irony of travelling so far just to be blocked by protesters on my own side. But when I spotted that almost everyone else in the carriage had matching lanyards I realised I was in a carriage full of arms dealers. Having done my research I offered a lecture on the human rights records of some of the countries at the fair. They didn’t seem too interested though, so I sat down in the only spare seat and decided to wait.

A little while later I noticed that the person next to me was wearing one of the WWJD (What would Jesus do?) wristbands that were popular with evangelical Christians. I hadn’t considered whether Jesus might have been an arms dealer before, but this seemed like a good time to explore the question. My neighbour and I began to speak.

Jesus’s message was, without doubt, one of peace and reconciliation. It’s hard to imagine him one day endorsing the commandment ‘Thou shalt not kill’ and then the next day brokering sales of military hardware to Roman soldiers for use in ‘defending’ themselves against the populations of the countries they were occupying.

But read closely, there is nuance. Jesus did not carry a sword, but his disciples did (although he instructed them not to use them). Among those who came to John the Baptist were soldiers asking for guidance. John advised that they should do violence to no one, painting a picture of a very different kind of army. Eventually we reached the question: ‘Would Jesus have been an arms dealer?’ ‘Probably not,’ my co-traveller conceded, ‘but we’re all sinners’. I often think about that interaction, and how we went from being a mouthy teenage peace protester and a junior arms dealer to two earnest young people stuck on a train exploring how to be faithful in a fallen world.

This year I will be at the arms fair again as part of the protests to say, then as now, I have no faith in war. Much as I would love to meet that man again, I hope that this time it isn’t on the train on the way.

Tim’s book, Why I am a Pacifist, will be published this autumn.

Protests against the DSEI arms fair will include Quaker Meetings for Worship on Tuesday 3 September. For more information visit www.rootsofresistance.org.uk.

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