A letter to President George W. Bush from faculty and students at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary

September 13, 2001

Dear President Bush:

At this time of unprecedented anguish and loss for the American people, we
commit ourselves to pray for you and other national leaders who must decide
how to respond to horrific acts of violence. As followers of Jesus Christ,
we mourn the death of innocent people and utterly reject the brutal tactics
of those who inflicted this grievous wound.

Our prayers for you and the nation include the following:

• That you and other American leaders might respond with restraint.
  Violent retaliation by this country will only plant seeds of hatred that someday will yield further terror and bloodshed.
  
• That we as a nation might examine carefully how we have acted toward other peoples and nations in recent decades. What have we done to elicit this level of hatred and this kind of desperate act?
• That we might refrain from scapegoating entire peoples or nations.
  The majority of Arabs and Islamic people, for example, condemn the acts of terror visited upon America.

The recent attack on this nation exposes our supreme vulnerability. There is no military response or hardware that can make the United States truly secure. The only viable long-term strategy is to build friendship with
those who would be our enemies, to work for a world where resources and power are shared by all, and to put our confidence in God.

May God grant you wisdom and strength for these difficult days.

Sincerely,

J. Nelson Kraybill, President
Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary

Signed by 41 faculty and staff, 38 students, and 7 members of the seminary board of directors: