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The Conscientious Objector 18x21, 2002, oil on canvas. Available for Purchase
Origen, the Alexandrian Theologian, urged, "We no longer take up sword against nations, nor do we learn war any more, but are become the children of peace. The Yale historian Roland Bainton also notes that Christians abstained from military activities for the first three centuries. In the painting, the protagonist, torn between masculine instincts and pacifistic ideals that elude ephemeral justice, brandishes a pitchfork (Matt. 5:44; 6:14). Will he relinquish his violent instincts, hoping to deter the fiend peacefully? The ethical debate becomes even more complicated when the physical threat is immediate and personal. The sexual deviant behind the bush displays no redeeming behavior and has already violated the woman. Was good will meant to extend to such depravity? One might even argue that one might extend charity best to this adversary by severing his tormented mind from his lower extremities. On the horizon, a mushroom cloud blooms. Life and death are but covered dishes at the mortality potluck. Its fearful aroma can quickly drive away the faithful from a routine diet of brotherhood and forgiveness. It is probable that radical Christian charity was largely abandoned after the first three centuries because a commitment to it was deemed too difficult to honor.
EMAIL TO THE ARTIST:
The church and community I grew up in was riddled with sexual sins; generational molestation and rape. The Conscientious Objector painting really touched a nerve with me. I understand the painting fully and am not disputing its meaning. Your painting depicts sexual invasion by a monster from outside the Mennonite community. I myself have been a survivor of molestation and attempted rape. The women in my family that I know who have endured such things, with the exception of one, were abused by someone within the Conservative Mennonite church. Hence, therein lies the irony of the painting for me.
(anonymous woman from Mennonite background)