The Paschal Greeting in Various Languages

In case you want to give the Paschal Greeting in various languages (with thanks to Wikipedia, slightly edited). I didn't know many of these languages existed, but what better way to greet people on Easter morning than this.

Greek – Χριστὸς ἀνέστη! Ἀληθῶς ἀνέστη! (Khristós Anésti! Alithós Anésti!)

Church Slavonic – Христóсъ воскрéсе! Воистину воскресе! (Hristos voskrese! Voistinu voskrese!)
Belarusian – Хрыстос уваскрос! Сапраўды ўваскрос! (Hrystos uvaskros! Sapraŭdy ŭvaskros!)
Bulgarian – Христос възкресе! Наистина възкресе! (Hristos vyzkrese! Naistina vyzkrese!)
Croatian – Krist uskrsnu! Uistinu uskrsnu!
Czech – Kristus vstal z mrtvých! Vpravdě vstal z mrtvých!
Macedonian Traditional – Христос воскресе! Навистина воскресе! (Hristos voskrese! Navistina voskrese!)
Macedonian Vernacular – Христос воскресна! Навистина воскресна! (Hristos voskresna! Navistina voskresna!)
Polish – Chrystus zmartwychwstał! Prawdziwie zmartwychwstał!
Russian – Христос воскрес! Воистину воскрес! (Christos voskres! Voistinu voskres!)
Rusyn – Хрістос воскрес! Воістину воскрес! (Hristos voskres! Voistynu voskres!)
Serbian – Христос васкрсе! Ваистину васкрсе! (Christos vaskrse! Vaistinu vaskrse!), or Христос Воскресе! Ваистину Воскресе! (Christos Voskrese! Vaistinu Voskrese!)
Slovak – Kristus vstal z mŕtvych! Skutočne vstal (z mŕtvych)!
Ukrainian – Христос воскрес! Воістину воскрес! (Khrystos voskres! Voistynu voskres!)
Albanian (Tosk) – Krishti u ngjall! Vërtet u ngjall!
Armenian – Քրիստոս յարեա՜ւ ի մեռելոց: Օրհնեա՜լ է Յարութիւնն Քրիստոսի: (western dialect: Krisdos haryav i merelotz! Orhnyal e Haroutyunen Krisdosi!) Քրիստոս հարյա՜վ ի մեռելոց: Օրհնյա՜լ է Հարությունը Քրիստոսի: (eastern dialect: Khristos haryav i merelotz! Orhnyal e Harouthyoune Khristosi!

English – Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed!

Old English – Crist aras! Crist soþlice aras!

Middle English – Crist is arisen! Arisen he sothe!

Rastafarian – Krestos a uprisin! Seen, him a uprisin fe tru!

Danish – Kristus er opstanden! Sandelig Han er Opstanden!

Frisian – Kristus is opstien! Wis is er opstien!

German – Christus ist auferstanden! Er ist wahrhaftig auferstanden!

Icelandic – Kristur er upprisinn! Hann er sannarlega upprisinn!

Dutch – Christus is opgestaan! Hij is waarlijk opgestaan! (Netherlands) or Christus is verrezen! Hij is waarlijk verrezen! (Belgium)

Afrikaans – Christus het opgestaan! Hy het waarlik opgestaan!

Norwegian Bokmål – Kristus er oppstanden! Han er sannelig oppstanden!

Norwegian Nynorsk – Kristus er oppstaden! Han er sanneleg oppstaden!

Swedish – Kristus är uppstånden! Han är sannerligen uppstånden!

Latin – Christus resurrexit! Resurrexit vere!

Aromanian – Hristolu unghia! Daleehira unghia!

Catalan – Crist ha ressuscitat! Veritablement ha ressuscitat!

French – Le Christ est ressuscité! En verité il est ressuscité! or Le Christ est ressuscité! Vraiment il est ressuscité!

Galician -Cristo resucitou! De verdade resucitou!

Italian – Cristo è risorto! È veramente risorto!

Portuguese – Cristo ressuscitou! Em verdade ressuscitou!

Provençal – Lo Crist es ressuscitat! En veritat es ressuscitat!

Romanian – Hristos a înviat! Adevărat a înviat!

Romansh – Cristo es rinaschieu! In varded, el es rinaschieu!

Sardinian – Cristu est resuscitadu! Aberu est resuscitadu!

Sicilian – Cristu arrivisciutu esti! Pibbiru arrivisciutu esti!

Spanish – ¡Cristo ha resucitado! ¡En verdad ha resucitado!

Walloon – Li Crist a raviké! Il a raviké podbon!

Latvian – Kristus (ir) augšāmcēlies! Patiesi viņš ir augšāmcēlies!

Lithuanian – Kristus prisikėlė! Tikrai prisikėlė!
Old Irish – Asréracht Críst! Asréracht Hé-som co dearb!
Irish – Tá Críost éirithe! Go deimhin, tá sé éirithe!
Manx – Taw Creest Ereen! Taw Shay Ereen Guhdyne!
Scottish – Tha Crìosd air èiridh! Gu dearbh, tha e air èiridh!
Breton – Dassoret eo Krist! E wirionez dassoret eo!
Cornish – Thew Creest dassorez! En weer thewa dassorez!
Welsh – Atgyfododd Crist! Yn wir atgyfododd!
Persian – مسیح برخاسته است! به راستی برخاسته است!‎ (Masih barkhaste ast! Be rasti barkhaste ast!)
Hindustani – येसु मसीह ज़िन्दा हो गया है! हाँ यक़ीनन, वोह ज़िन्दा हो गया है! - یسوع مسیح زندہ ہو گیا ہے! ہاں یقیناً، وہ زندہ ہو گیا ہے!‎ (Yesu Masih zinda ho gaya hai! Haan yaqeenan, woh zinda ho gaya hai!)
Marathi – Yeshu Khrist uthla ahe! Kharokhar uthla ahe!
Arabic (standard) – المسيح قام! حقا قام!‎ (al-Masīḥ qām! Ḥaqqan qām!) or المسيح قام! بالحقيقة قام!‎ (al-Masīḥ qām! Bi-l-ḥaqīqati qām!)
Syriac – ܡܫܝܚܐ ܩܡ! ܫܪܝܪܐܝܬ ܩܡ!‎ (Mshiḥa qām! sharīrāīth qām! or Mshiḥo Qom! Shariroith Qom!)
Neo-Syriac – ܡܫܝܚܐ ܩܡܠܗ! ܒܗܩܘܬܐ ܩܡܠܗ!‎ (Mshikha qimlih! bhāqota qimlih!)
Turoyo-Syriac – ܡܫܝܚܐ ܩܝܡ! ܫܪܥܪܐܝܬ ܩܝܡ!‎ (Mshiḥo qāyem! Shariroith qāyem!)
Tigrigna – (Christos tensiou! Bahake tensiou!)
Amharic – (Kristos Tenestwal! Bergit Tenestwal!)
Hebrew (modern) – המשיח קם! באמת קם!‎ (Hameshiach qam! Be'emet qam!)

Maltese – Kristu qam! Huwa qam tassew! or Kristu qam mill-mewt! Huwa qam tassew!

Coptic – ΠιχρίςΤος αϥτωΝϥ! ϦΕΝ οΥΜεθΜΗι αϥτωΝϥ! (Pikhristos Aftonf! Khen oumethmi aftonf!)Georgian – ქრისტე აღსდგა! ჭეშმარიტად აღსდგა! (Kriste agsdga! Cheshmaritad agsdga!)
Abkhazian – Kyrsa Dybzaheit! Itzzabyrgny Dybzaheit!
Malayalam – ക്രിസ്തു ഉയിര്‍ത്തെഴുന്നേറ്റു! തീര്‍ച്ചയായും ഉയിര്‍ത്തെഴുന്നേറ്റു! (Christu uyirthezhunnettu! Theerchayayum uyirthezhunnettu!)
Aleut – Kristus aq ungwektaq! Pichinuq ungwektaq!
Yupik – Xris-tusaq Ung-uixtuq! Iluumun Ung-uixtuq!
Tzotzil - Icha'kuxi Kajvaltik Kristo! Ta melel icha'kuxi!
Tzeltal - Cha'kuxaj Kajwaltik Kristo! Ta melel cha'kuxaj!
Carolinian – Lios a melau sefal! Meipung, a mahan sefal!
Cebuano – Si Kristo nabanhaw! Matuod Siya nga nabanhaw!
Chamorro – La'la'i i Kristo! Magahet na luma'la' i Kristo!
Fijian – Na Karisito tucake tale! Io sa tucake tale!
Filipino – Si Kristo ay nabuhay! Totoo! Siya nga ay nabuhay!
Hawaiian – Ua ala aʻe nei ʻo Kristo! Ua ala ʻiʻo nō ʻo Ia!
Indonesian – Kristus telah bangkit! Dia benar-benar telah bangkit!
Kapampangan – Y Cristo sinubli yang mebie! Sinubli ya pin mebie!
Malagasy – Nitsangana tamin'ny maty i Kristy! Nitsangana marina tokoa izy!
Basque – Cristo Berbistua! Benatan Berbistua!
Japanese – ハリストス復活！実に復活！ (Harisutosu fukkatsu! Jitsu ni fukkatsu!)
Korean – 그리스도께서 부활하셨네! 참으로 부활하셨네! (Geuriseudokkeseo Buhwalhasheotne! Chameuro Buhwalhasheotne!)

Navajo – Christ daaztsą́ą́dę́ę́ʼ náádiidzáá! Tʼáá aaníí daaztsą́ą́dę́ę́ʼ náádiidzáá!

Tlingit – Xristos Kuxwoo-digoot! Xegaa-kux Kuxwoo-digoot!
Ganda – Kristo Ajukkide! Kweli Ajukkide!
Swahili – Kristo Amefufukka! Kweli Amefufukka!
Gikuyu – Kristo ni muriuku! Ni muriuku nema!
Quechua – Cristo causarimpunña! Ciertopuni causarimpunña!
Turkish – Mesih dirildi! Hakikaten dirildi!
Uyghur – ئەيسا تىرىلدى! ھەقىقەتىنلا تىرىلدى!‎ (Əysa tirildi! Ⱨəⱪiⱪətinla tirildi!)
Azeri – Məsih dirildi! Həqiqətən dirildi!
Chuvash – Христос чĕрĕлнĕ! Чăн чĕрĕлнĕ! (Khristós chərəlnə! Chæn chərəlnə!)
Mandarin – 基督復活了 他確實復活了 (Jidu fuhuo-le! Ta queshi fuhuo-le!)
Estonian – Kristus on üles tõusnud! Tõesti, Ta on üles tõusnud!
Finnish – Kristus nousi kuolleista! Totisesti nousi!
Hungarian – Krisztus feltámadt! Valóban feltámadt!
Esperanto – Kristo leviĝis! Vere Li leviĝis!
Ido – Kristo riviveskabas! Ya Il rivivesakabas!
Interlingua – Christo ha resurgite! Vermente ille ha resurgite! or Christo ha resurrecte! Vermente ille ha resurrecte!
Quenya – Tengwar Rendering (Hristo Ortane! Anwave Ortanes!)
Klingon – Hu'ta' QISt! Hu'bejta'!
Toki Pona – jan sewi Kolisu li tawa tan moli! ni li lon: ona li tawa tan moli!
Dothraki – Khal Asvezhvenanaz yathoay! Me Yathoay Me nem nesa!

       

The Greatest Perversion of Justice Ever

This brief meditation came to me during the Good Friday service today at the Church of St. Mary Magdelene (Anglican), Toronto, as I was reading the first Scripture passage for the day, which I have included at the end.

In the Isaiah passage that I have added at the end of this meditation, I have printed the words, "By a perversion of justice" in bold. This is post is more "religious" than most of my posts are, but today is Good Friday and, thus, I can hardly refrain from doing so at the highest point of the Christian church calendar: Holy Week, culminating in Good Friday and Easter. 

"By a perversion of justice" is an unusual translation of the first part of Isaiah 53:8. The translations we are most familiar with have "By oppression and judgment," while I found another used "By oppressive judgment." I checked many other translations in various languages, but none speak as clearly and profoundly to me as "By a perversion of justice."

The Hebrew words here, translated as "by oppression" and "by judicial sentence" can be taken together as a hendiadys, meaning an oppressive, unrighteous proceeding, but they can also be taken as denoting separate things: a preliminary confinement and then the sentence that followed a mock trial. I prefer the first, but in either case, there has been a perversion of justice.

All of us are familiar with perversions of justice; they take place every day. Those who are concerned with social justice see them on a daily basis. Yesterday, in Toronto, a narcisistic, misogynistic radio interviewer who was charged with sexual assault, was acquited after a six week trial. Many Canadians, myself included, were outraged by the verdict.

Yet this verdict pales in comparison with the injustices that people all over the world experience whether individually or as communities. Think of the Holocaust or other genocidal crimes where justice was never done properly, if at all.

Such suffering is common to many people. Russians, for example, pride themselves on their sufering. But not all suffering is the same. Even if it is not the result of personal mistakes, and thus truly due to an injustice that is inflicted by others, rarely is suffering redemptive in nature.

That is what struck me during the reading of the Isaiah passage which describes the Suffering Servant, whom the Christian Church has traditionally associated with Jesus Christ who died on a cross almost two thousand years ago. 

Isaiah was a Jewish prophet who lived seven centuries before Christ and is presumed to be the author of the biblical book by the same name. Whether he was or not, is not the issue now. Nor do I want to pause and discuss the Jewish interpretation of Isaiah 53, although there is a general agreement that this passage refers to the Messiah. For Jews, however, Christ was not the Messiah.

For Christians, those who proudly bear the name of Christ, he is the Messiah. He is the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53. He is the one who died on a cross as the result of a perversion of justice. He was convicted of crimes he never committed. In this respect, he is one of many people who have suffered unjustly for crimes they never committed. Many people have died through a perversion of justice.

In Christ's case, his death was redemptive. He died in order to save the world. Even those who never acknowlege his saving work are still affected by it, whether they realize this or not. The whole world is being restored as a result of what he did just outside Jerusalem almost two thousand years ago.

The "perversion of justice" that Christ experienced does mean that anyone is being blamed. for it. Both the Roman authorities and the Jewish leaders played a role in this drama which God planned in rder to save the world through Christ's sacrifice on the cross. 

This drama was God's plan and no blame is involved, except a universal one, since all of us have sinned and therefore contributed to Christ's death. All of us must answer the question of who the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53 is. For me, he is the Christ, the Messiah. He was the one who died as a result of a perversion of justice.

But this perversion was necessary so that the whole world could be saved. This perversion is redemptive. These were my thoughts as I read the Isaiah passage in church today. I hope that you appreciate this brief meditation.

Isaiah 52:13-53:12(NRSV)

 13 See, my servant shall prosper;
    he shall be exalted and lifted up,
    and shall be very high.
 14 Just as there were many who were astonished at him
    —so marred was his appearance, beyond human semblance,
    and his form beyond that of mortals—
 15 so he shall startle many nations;
    kings shall shut their mouths because of him;
for that which had not been told them they shall see,
    and that which they had not heard they shall contemplate.
1  Who has believed what we have heard?
    And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
 2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
    and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
    nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
 3 He was despised and rejected by others;
    a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity;
and as one from whom others hide their faces
    he was despised, and we held him of no account.

 4 Surely he has borne our infirmities
    and carried our diseases;
yet we accounted him stricken,
    struck down by God, and afflicted.
 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions,
    crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the punishment that made us whole,
    and by his bruises we are healed.
 6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
    we have all turned to our own way,
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.

 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
    yet he did not open his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
    and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.
 8 By a perversion of justice he was taken away.
    Who could have imagined his future?
For he was cut off from the land of the living,
    stricken for the transgression of my people.
 9 They made his grave with the wicked
    and his tomb[e] with the rich,
although he had done no violence,
    and there was no deceit in his mouth.

 10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him with pain.
When you make his life an offering for sin,
    he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days;
through him the will of the Lord shall prosper.
 11     Out of his anguish he shall see light;
he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge.
    The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous,
    and he shall bear their iniquities.
 12 Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great,
    and he shall divide the spoil with the strong;
because he poured out himself to death,

    and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors. 

      

What is the difference between Canadians and Americans?

In my travels through many countries, over the years, many people there have mistaken me for an American. I politely explain that I am a Canadian (politeness is very Canadian, eh?). I understand that many foreigners don't know the difference. For example, in Latin America 'norteamericanos' means North Americans, although it typically refers only to Americans, not Canadians.

Even many Canadians, who often pride themselves as being different from Americans, still find it difficult to explain how they do differ. Canadians and Americans have much in common. After all, these countries share the famed 'longest undefended border in the world' and are each other’s best ally and largest trading partner. Because of this, the differences are not always apparent.

Yet differences there are! Differences not only in population and size of the two economies but also in many other ways, some readily apparent and others less so. Canadians are rightfully proud of their system of universal health care while Americans have been brainwashed otherwise and have only reluctantly accepted a highly diluted system that pleases no one, regardless of political stripe.

Unlike Americans, Canadians tend to be more formal and more polite, but not all of them say "eh" or take off their shoes when they enter a house (although many do because it is the polite thing to do in order not to track mud into the house). But these are relatively minor differences that do not apply to everyone in both countries.

Canada is not a melting pot, unlike the US. Canada is a multicultural society. It is officially bilingual, but every language on earth can be heard on the subway in Toronto. It is possible to spend much of one's life in parts of Toronto without speaking a word of English. The second language in the province of Saskatchewan is not French but Ukrainian.

Canadians are proud of their diversity. Vive la différence! Long live the difference! is sometimes used to express an appreciation of diversity (although that phrase can also be used in a humorous way). The French fact in Canada can be celebrated by using the phrase. Yet it can also be used to describe (although not necessarily celebrate) the difference between Canadians and Americans.

America has many Hispanic people, but English is the only official tongue. There is less appreciation for diversity than in Canada (although cities like New York are the exceptions that prove the rule). Some Americans, prodded on by certain politicians, would like to build a wall to keep more Hispanics out.

Some Americans would also like to exclude Muslims and, if possible, deport those who are  already in the US, in contrast to Canadians who recently welcomed 25,000 Syrian refugees. Their reception has not been without problems, but large numbers of ordinary Canadians enthusiastically stepped in to provide the necessary help. Thankfully, Islamophobia is not as prevalent in Canada as in the US.

Even Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was present at the airport to welcome the first planeload of refugees. Many politicians in the US would commit political suicide if they did the same thing in the current partisan atmosphere. Trudeau has been labeled the anti-Trump. These two men are certainly a study in contrasts.

Canadians are more socially conscious than Americans. In part, this consciousness is the result of Canada's adoption of multiculturalism and diversity rather than the American 'melting pot' idea. This difference is especially noticeable when you compare urban and rural areas in both countries. Cities score much higher on the scale of social concerns, which is understandable, but assimilation has produced a different result in the US than what has happened in Canada.

When your next door neighbors are Muslims and your children play with theirs every day, it is difficult not to be aware of their needs and concerns. They are fellow human beings who deserve your respect. Thus, you want them to enjoy the same privileges that you do. They and all other individuals and groups ought to be the recipients of the same justice that you claim for yourself. Justice must be the pursued for the sake of everyone in society, not just ourselves.

This social consciousness was expressed by Trudeau who won the last federal election in Canada largely because he countered the fear that the Conservatives generated as part of their campaign strategy. This fear of others, whether Hispanics or Muslims, which Donald Trump is capitalizing on, was evident in the Canadian election but was rejected emphatically by a majority of Canadians.

In the US, this fear has received substantial support, especially among Republicans. Together with attacks on free trade, the political and economic elite, women, and whatever else the bombastic, vitriolic, misogynistic Trump can marshal in his attempt to secure the Republican nomination, and ultimately the presidency. How sad!

The fear of others is a powerful weapon. In Canada, it failed; in the US, it seems to be succeeding. The Us against Them mentality is a necessary condition for conflict and war. For this reason, Canadians look aghast at the US election campaign with the possibility of Trump's finger on the nuclear button. Someone who demonizes other Americans can as easily do the same with any other group in the world with catastrophic consequences.

Western societies are noted for breeding individualism, and nowhere is this more evident that in the US. Individualism has to do with whether people´s self-image is defined in terms of “I” or “We”. On this scale, Canada measures 80, which still makes it a highly individualistic culture, but the US tops Canada by a wide margin with a score of 91. Both countries rate a high score for the acceptance of economic inequality, especially if this is based on merit or effort.

Canadians and Americans differ also on religion. Studies suggest that these differences are shrinking as both societies become more secular. Americans score higher on belief in God and on attendance at places of worship, but this difference is slowly diminishing.

Although difficult to quantify, evangelicals in Canada are different from their counterparts south of the border. Canadian evangelicals do not equate political and theological conservatism as readily as do Americans, with the result that many evangelicals in Canada have been known to vote for left-of-center parties.

Canada as a whole is more left-of-center than the US, largely because of Quebec which tends to vote that way and often determines federal elections. The American South, which tends to be conservative, plays a similarly crucial role in the US. This difference has affected attitudes in both countries on a variety of topics, including levels of government spending and taxation, unionization rates, support for gay rights and interracial marriage, beliefs about the death penalty and criminal justice, and support for the military.

It has also influenced attitudes on the issue of guns, which has also been controversial in Canada, but nowhere to the same extent as in the US, where the possession of guns is deemed a constitutional right. Many Canadians feel distinctly uncomfortable to visit the US where deaths as a result of firearms are astronomical as compared to most countries of the world, as the following chart shows.

According to a Statistics Canada report from 2012, which is the most recent year available, the US suffered a total of 8,813 murders involving the use of firearms that year. Canada, in the same year, recorded just 172 firearms-related homicides. In 2015, about 13,000 such death were reported in the US, with more than 300 deaths as the result of mass shootings. No wonder may Canadians conclude that they would prefer not to reside in such a violent society.

There are many differences between Canadians and Americans where all of us, regardless of nationality, can exclaim, Vive la différence!  But there are others where the difference is profoundly disturbing, especially from a Canadian perspective.

The differences between the two countries have been homogenized by proximity. Most Canadians live within 500 km (300 miles, as a concession to Americans) of the border. They watch American TV and movies, read American books, and attend American schools. Therefore, it is not surprising that Canadians are up on American politics, whereas Americans are typically ignorant of Canada and the rest of the world.

Not surprisingly, Americans don’t really care much about Canada, except when they intend to immigrate there as happened during the reign of Bush Jr and may happen again if Trump is elected. Cape Breton, a part of Nova Scotia, is already welcoming Americans on its websites. Some Americans are so disgusted with the current slate of presidential candidates that they approached Trudeau on a recent visit to New York City and implored him on bended knee to become president.

Canadians look anxiously at the US, which some regard as a self-centered, imperialistic, gun-toting country, and where politicians who would be considered certifiable in Canada are allowed to run for the highest office in the land. Many ask, is this the best the US can produce? Toronto had Rob Ford, its crack-smoking mayor, but even he is not as unsuitable to hold public office as Donald Trump. Sad, but true!

      

Beating swords into plowshares

"The LORD will mediate between nations and will settle international disputes. They will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore." Isaiah 2:4 (NLV)

War should not be necessary! War involves death, destruction, rape, conquest, and other atrocities War is wasteful not only of lives but also of financial resources. Why do we still have war in 2016? Surely we should be able to outgrow it by now. But, no! The war machine continues its deadly business unabated. It doesn't want to slow down at all.

The eight-century Hebrew prophet Isaiah, and his contemporary Micah who delivered a similar prophecy foresaw a day why there would be no more war. Clearly, that day has not yet arrived. Just look at how much the world spends on war.

The Costs of War Project attempted to tally the cost of the war that the US began in Afghanistan in 2001, soon expanded into Pakistan, and then the invasion of Iraq in 2003, These wars are stark examples of wars where an official accounting has never yet been made.

According to the report of this project, those costs can be counted in people killed, injured, and sickened as a result of these wars, and the people dislocated from their homes. The costs of the wars are also financial. Some of the project’s main findings include the following:

• Over 370,000 people have died due to direct war violence, and many more indirectly
• 210,000 civilians have been killed as a result of the fighting at the hands of all parties to the conflict
• 7.6 million — the number of war refugees and displaced persons
• The US federal price tag for the Iraq war is 4.4 trillion dollars and counting
• The wars have been accompanied by violations of human rights and civil liberties, in the US and abroad
• The wars did not result in inclusive, transparent, and democratic governments in Iraq or Afghanistan

This is a summary only of the costs of these wars, largely to the US; it does not cover the costs of all recent wars to all the nations of the world. The latter is difficult to measure. The following chart does illustrate the military spending of the US as compared to the largest spenders in the rest of the world (all these charts are maintained by the National Priorities Project). As you can see, that of the US is almost the same as all these nations put together.

The 4,4 trillion dollars and counting that the US federal government has already spent or is obligated to spend on the wars in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq since 2001 includes not only direct war appropriations but also war-related increases to the military base budget; veterans care and disability costs, increases in the homeland security budget, interest payments on direct war borrowing, foreign assistance spending, and estimated future obligations for veterans’ care. But it does not include other costs to the economy which are more difficult to quantify.

The current wars have been paid for almost entirely by borrowing. This borrowing has raised the US budget deficit, increased the national debt, and had other effects, such as raising consumer interest rates. Unless the US immediately repays the money borrowed for war, these future interest payments are estimated to total over $7 trillion by 2053, according to the Cost of War Project.

These charts give a breakdown of the discretionary spending of the US government alone for 2015:

In 2014, more than 14 trillion dollars was spent on international conflicts in the past year, according to a report by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), which found that Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan were responsible for a surge in war deaths. This spending represents 13% of global GDP and is roughly the combined value of the economies of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada, Spain and Brazil.

The IEP insists that reducing conflict would be one way to help the world's economic recovery: "If global violence were to decrease by 10% uniformly, an additional $1.43 trillion would effectively be added to the world economy."

Per capita spending for 2015 by the 15 biggest spenders. The biggest spender by far is Saudi Arabia. Canadians please note that Canada is not listed among these 15. 

Rank	Country	Amount in USD$
1	Saudi Arabia	6,909
2	Singapore	2,385
3	Israel	1,882
4	United States	1,859
5	Kuwait	1,289
6	Norway	1,245
7	Greece	1,230
8	United Kingdom	1,066
9	France	977
10	Bahrain	912
11	Australia	893
12	Brunei	866
13	Luxembourg	809
14	Denmark	804
15	Netherlands	759

Some of the same countries are also among the biggest arms suppliers. Again, the US supplies almost as much as the other countries on the list combined. When I was a student in the sixties, everyone talked about the military-industrial complex. The phrase had been immortalized by President Dwight Eisenhower. He warned that the US must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.

This complex is still relevant today as the next chart shows. The relationship between government and the defense industry can include political contracts placed for weapons, general bureaucratic oversight and organized lobbying on the part of the defense companies for the maintenance of their interests. The cohabitation of the government and the defense industry must stop if these humungous expenditures on war are to cease. This must end!

2014 rank	Supplier	Arms exports
1	United States	10194
2	Russia	5971
3	China	1978
4	France	1200
5	Germany	1110
6	United Kingdom	1083
7	Israel	1074
8	Spain	824
9	Italy	786
10	Ukraine	664
11	Netherlands	561
12	Sweden	394
13	Switzerland	350
14	Turkey	274
15	Canada	234

This does not mean that the US and the other countries that spend so much money on war have to become pacifists. We must make distinguish between pacifism and antimilitarism. Although I, personally, espouse pacifism, I realize that antimilitarism is a more immediate and realistic goal. Yet they are not mutually exclusive.

Pacifism is the belief that disputes between nations can and should be settled peacefully. It is the opposition to war and the use of violence as a means of settling disputes. It can include the refusal to participate in military action. 

In contrast, antimilitarism does not reject war in all circumstances but rejects the belief or desire to maintain a large a strong military organization in aggressive preparedness for war.

Like Martin Luther King, I have a dream. My dream is of a world where nations no longer resort to warfare to settle disputes but can find peaceful means instead. Antimilitarism is a crucial step in a long, tedious process. Antimilitarism will never achieve universal endorsement but is necessary if the world is ever to achieve a world that enjoys peace.

I reject the violence that is associated with the parts of the Plowshare Movement that encourage the destruction of government property as a way to protest nuclear arms. Such violence is ethically questionable.

Rightwing antimilitarism is equally questionable because of rejection of the role of government, and the tendency to individualize the regulation of weapons. The Militia movement is the product of an ideology that urges the use of violence in order to prevent the supposed rise of a tyrannical government.

Any use of violence even for peaceful ends is intolerable for those who espouse pacifism. I too find it unacceptable. Ways need to found to achieve peace using peaceful means. Thus, the proposals of some Republican candidates to bomb ISIS out of existence leads me to question whether these men are ethically challenged and qualified to become president. Please keep them far away from the nuclear button!

Imagine a world where the money saved from fighting wars would be used for other purposes such as eradicating poverty . . .

Or providing an education for the children of the world . . .

Or many other appropriate and much-needed causes.

Let's get our priorities straight! People are more important than guns! Is our need for security more important than the necessity of eradicating poverty or the many other needs there are in the world? Security does not lie in how many weapons a nation has or how many soldiers it can raise. If we could eradicate poverty and eliminate these other needs, then war may no longer be necessary.

We must head the biblical injunction to beat our swords into plowshares by stopping the funding of war. The musical Les Misérables closes with these memorable words that echo the prophets Isaiah and Micah:

They will live again in freedom
In the garden of the Lord.
They will walk behind the ploughshare,
They will put away the sword.
The chain will be broken
And all men will have their reward.

Peace will be the reward of the entire world when we finally put away the sword!

If you want to know what to put in the place of war, the answer lies in peaceful negotiations between nations. As Isaiah and Micah remind us, these negotiations will be mediated by God. Faith requires me to add that his involvement is necessary to make worldwide peace a reality.

Then, finally, one day war will be no more. I am under no illusion that this will happen anytime soon. But it will happen. Let's begin the process by stopping the funding of war.