Audio: The CO Files

Description

In his book, A Change of Allegiance, Dean Taylor describes the spiritual journey he and his wife Tania undertook once they realized that Jesus’ teachings don’t allow Christians to go to war. However, Dean and Tania were both in the army when they came to these convictions. So they had to apply as conscientious objectors (CO’s) in order to leave the army and present their case in a formal hearing. In this hearing the task of the interrogating officer is to ask any question he desires to test the sincerity of the applicant. A lot of the decision of whether the applicant is accepted is determined in this interview.

Recently, while going through their attic, Dean found the actual tape recordings of their hearing from over 20 years ago. Dean and Tania were only converted for less than 8 months when the hearing was conducted. However, their freshness and enthusiasm of their responses makes these interesting recordings. Many topics were raised: the two kingdoms, nonresistance, “What if. . .” questions, and the relationship of economics to war.
65 minute audio message