Editor’s Note: Originally published on TownHall.com, used with permission. Frank Turek is a speaker and author, and a leading Christian apologist. Learn more at his website www.CrossExamined.org
I like to strike up conversations with people I meet while traveling. Last Tuesday, on the way back to San Francisco airport, I asked the driver where he was from. “Jordan,” he replied.
In an effort to make a connection, I mentioned that I haven’t gotten to Jordan, but I went to Iran in 2006 and served in Saudi Arabia with the Navy twenty years ago.
“What do you do?” he asked.
“I’m a writer and a speaker. I co-authored a book defending the truth of Christianity called I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist.”
“I’m a Christian too,” he said. Then, just as we were pulling into the terminal, he asked, “What do you think about the Iraq war?”
With less than 90 seconds left in the ride, I quickly said, “I think it was the least bad choice we had. Saddam used WMD, invaded Kuwait, and then violated 17 straight UN resolutions and the cease fire. What other choice did we have in a post 9-11 world?”
He didn’t answer the question. Instead, he claimed that Iraq had nothing to with 9-11, and that we just should have gone after the bad guys in Afghanistan. He then said, “Jesus told us to love our enemies.”
Leaving the issue of 9-11 aside, was his inference correct? In light of what Jesus said about loving our enemies, should Christians be pacifists?
I don’t think so. In fact, sometimes the use of force is not only justified, it can be a dereliction of duty not to use force.
First, “loving your enemies,” like “turn the other cheek,” is a command for individuals in personal relationships. It is not a command for governments or for individuals put in grave bodily harm. As individuals we should pray for our enemies and “turn the other cheek” instead of returning insult for insult. Such behavior demonstrates supernatural love aimed at securing the offender’s conversion to Christ. But those commands do not mean that we have no right to personal self defense, nor do they mean that a nation shouldn’t protect its people from other hostile nations.
With regard to self defense, not only does the Old Testament affirm the right to self defense (Ex. 22:2), Jesus himself told his disciples to sell their cloak and buy a sword (Luke 22:36). Jesus later told Peter “put your sword away” so Christ’s sacrifice would go forward and the scriptures would be fulfilled (Mt. 26:54). But the very fact that Jesus told Peter and the other disciples to buy a sword shows that its use for personal protection is appropriate. (By the way, Jesus never condoned the use of the sword as a means of religious conversion. It’s impossible anyway. Genuine conversion, by definition, is freely accepted. It cannot be coerced.)
With regard to war, the New Testament does not order newly baptized soldiers to get out of the military. Instead, John the Baptist told them not to abuse their power and to be content with their pay (Luke 3:14). Soldiers are needed because, as Paul pointed out in Romans 13, governments have a God-given responsibility to use “the sword” to protect their people from harm. In fact, Paul himself accepted military protection when he was in danger (Acts 22:25f), and Jesus affirmed the right of governments to impose capital punishment, saying that such a right was given by God (Jn. 19:11).
Second, “love your enemies” cannot mean that all use of force is prohibited because such an interpretation would contradict the passages just cited and result in absurd conclusions. It would be absurd to say that “love your enemies” means “allow them to kill your family.” How would that be loving to your family?
It would be absurd to say that “love your enemies” prohibits all wars. What about the war against Hitler? Not justified? Please. How would that be loving to the Jews or the countries overrun? (Notice that even my driver friend isn’t against all wars. He thinks that the war in Afghanistan is justified. But if “love your enemies” meant you could never use force, then how can Afghanistan be justified?)
With such an absurd interpretation, we couldn’t even have police protection, a court system, or prisons. Why believe that police can use force but not Armies? There’s not much of a difference. Police use force to protect people from enemies inside a country. Armies use force to protect people from enemies outside a country.
Without the proper use of force, we’d have anarchy, and innocent people would be hurt or killed. That’s why complete pacifism is not only unbiblical, it is a dereliction of duty. Individuals have a responsibility to protect themselves and their families from harm, and governments have a similar responsibility to protect their citizens.
Christians can and should, of course, oppose specific wars that don’t meet what theologians call “just-war theory.” As I mentioned in my last column, I believe the Iraq war is just. But I didn’t get enough time with my driver friend to hear his complete case against the Iraq war. Maybe he knows something I don’t, but it didn’t seem so.
One thing is for certain: Christians contradict scripture and common sense when they say no war or use of force can ever be justified. As terrible as it is, War is sometimes the least bad choice available. In other words, it’s not that Christians are for war; it’s that we’re against the alternative—the oppression and death of the innocent. And in a fallen world like this, sometimes the use of force is necessary to protect the innocent. Without it, we wouldn’t even be able to love our friends.
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Dear Fran Turek,
Interesting perspective. You remarked, “I believe the Iraq war is just. But I didn’t get enough time with my driver friend to hear his complete case against the Iraq war. Maybe he knows something I don’t, but it didn’t seem so.”
Our late Holy Father, Pope John Paul II made a very good case against the war in Iraq before it started and his successor still believes it was an unjust war. I would encourage to read http://www.zenit.org/article-5398?l=english
You might also find this article, written nearly five and half years ago, which outlines the “Just war” criteria that our Church uses…and again the Iraq war did not fit nearly into that theory.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1141/is_1_39/ai_94079348/
I firmly believe that given that our Church was established and is renewed throughout the centuries by those who do not live by the sword, that ultimately anytime we use force, we walk away not towards the light of Christ.
Peace be with you and your search for the truth.
Mark Armstrong
Dear Frank,
Personally I do not think the iraq war is a just war. For one thing, to say that it is just because Saddam had wmd’s is not a good place to start. America has used them before and in fact has a very large arsenal of them. As christians I personally am weary when we attempt to justify bloodshed on moral grounds of “just war theory.” Our mandate here as christians is not to war against flesh but against spiritual principalities, which is what Our Lord and God; Jesus the Messiah did at calvary. We are to make disples of all nations. Going to other nations in order to bring down the evil dictators is not exactly part of the Gospel message. There is a time when the kingdoms of this world shall become the Kingdom of our God and His Anointed One, until then lets still to His plan for us being on this planet.
Saddam may have been a murderous killer, but lest we forget we must ask what of the U.S. which has been responsible for the destabalization of numerous countries in the world? Yes it has done some good also, but let us look at the facts. America has killed loads of innocent blood such as the millions of aborted infants that have died in their mothers wombs.
We are here to point people towards Christ so that they live as sheep amongst wolves. This whole idea of having a gun in one hand and a rifle in another is not part of our mandate. Sure Jesus in Luke tells his discples to arm themselves, but thats because He is their Lord and they should be willing to protect Him and understand they are in the midst of conflict. He is the same one who had his discples disarm!
Think of the millions of broken families in Iraq, think of the thousands who have died never knowing God. Some of which were sent to Hell with bullets from a “christian” soldiers rifle. Christians murdering other people.
Hitler as evil as he was is not an excuse for people to arm up and go to war. As christians we are not of this world. If the american gov’t wanted to fight in Iraq, it could have gone. Christians however should have never been part of it. Christians should have refused to fight, let the heathens go to fight other heathens. Not the holy ones meant to be meek as sheep. When Hitler was spreading terror in Europe, the heathens could have gone to fight Him. We could prayed to God that he send angels to remove the bloodthirsty regime of Hitler from power; which he could have. He once sent an angel to defend Israel and in a night 185,000 died at the hand of the angel! Let God excute his justice, not we ourselves. He has given us another mission.
The idea that if people were pacifists there would be no police system of court system is abusd. We assue every one in the country is a true believer. If every one in the country was a true believer, there would be no need for the police because the people would be upright and just. If every one in the country was a true believer there would be no criminals! However that is not the case. So there is a need for courts, police and the army because not every one is a believer. We are not part of the world. We can’t do every job people of the world do. If we quarrel amongst ourselves the apostle Paul commanded us to settle it amongst ourselves and not have the courts of the world involved.
You can not solve oppression by the barrel of the gun! Neither is it our place to do so. When Jesus walked in Nazareth, The Romans were oppressing the Jews. Did He say overthrow these heathen oppressors? No! Let that be God’s job that he will do according to his own purposes. If people are oppressed, give them hope in the Gospel. Not false hope that they could be “free” like America which is a slave to the devil in its love of money and power!
Even if self defense is allowed, which it is. Why defend when yourself when you can believe that God will, and that if he chooses not to. He will be glorified in you allowing yourself to be shamed in order to show Love. You are slapped and you offer the other cheek and forgiveness. You are insulted and you bless. You are attacked like the amish and instead collectively like the amish you forgive. Rather than cause more bloodshed.
In world war 1 we had christians fighting other christians! German christians fighting their Anglo brothers! Killing each other and for what? Land? Power? 9-11 happens, its sad yes. But 3000 dead American’s are not worth more than the thousands more of dead innocent Iraqi’s and Afghanis. Are they just part of the collateral damage of a just war? Are they not souls for whom Christ died? If non-christians want to go to war, let them. Our job is to preach to them in hopes that they will turn to Messiah and be peace lovers living quietly amongst the peoples.
I’m not saying lets not have wars. I’m saying christians should not go to war, not support war. We should acknowlege that God does use nations to judge other nations. But let Him use heathens, not we whom he has given the responisiblity of being ministers of the gospel of peace. In the OT God did not have Israel take up their swords and go half war around the world perhaps from Israel to Germany/ Gaul so that they could take down a heathen king who pillaged and raped surrounding kingdoms. He had Israel wipe out the Caananite, but that hit was ordered by Him directly and was part of his judging those 7 nations. God will do the same at the second coming with the armies of anti-christ. He will be the one unleashing his wrath and waging war.
There is precedent for christians fighting wars in the scripture, I believe its when Jesus comes back to earth with the armies of Heaven (all sitting on white horses). The other precedent is fighting against demonic powers. Other than that, every other time in history christians have waged war, the results have been bad.
Another great article from Frank. I think one of the key points missed by Christian pacifists is that God gave a different mandate to the church to that of the state. As Frank put it, individual Christians are commanded to love their enemies, but the state has a mandate to restrain evil, reward the good and to punish evil.
And with respect Mwiya, your attempt to argue the opposite I found quite pathetic. You are in effect saying that we should leave all the dirty work up to the heathen so they can go to war and fight and die on our behalf so we Christians can stay home in relative peace, safety and comfort.
Ewan, the very reason you support the “just war” theory, is the very reason I disagree with it. Clearly the church is different from the State. The state is made of persons both christian and non-christian, the church is made up of every believer. There are things the church and its members can do and have authority to do and likewise there are things it can not do, asking those who are in it to go to war is just one thing it can not do. The church as such has a ministry of peace; the Gospel. The State has a ministry of the sword. One that I believe christians can not partake of. God judges the states of the world for how they execute judgement and uses them to execute justice at various times as well as keep order. But collectively christians are not here to execute judgement. Jesus said He came not to destroy, so why should we being less than him start going around the world dropping bombs because we believe its part of our job as citizens of our respective states.
A christian’s ministry and earthly citizenship are put at conflict in war, and his heavenly citizenship takes precedence. I’m not saying the heathen should fight and die on our behalf. If they choose to go to war, its their choice. They could choose to surrender and avoid bloodshed for example. They go to war using carnal means. When a country becomes aggresive towards the one we live in (where our earthly citizenship is from) we can choose to pray that God protects us by His Divine power or causes that nation to stop being violent. It happened in the past in Israel, whole armies turned back towards their own nations because of God’s intervention (Assyria when fighting Judah). Other times God sent an angel to wipe out 185,000 soldiers. God had chariots of fire protect Elisha from the Syrian army. God sent an angel to rescue Peter from prison, Jesus said he could ask for legions of angels to come forward to protect Him; as such if we ask in His name we can receive the same as He is Lord over the Hosts of heaven. I simply do not understand why christians must be so unbelieving that they resort to taking up carnal weapons. We fight not against flesh and blood.
Just like I don’t believe one can be christian and condemn a man to die, I do not believe one can be christian and be an active soldier with a headcount. If a christian is going to be in the army he should be a chaplain or perhaps a doctor (using that as a ministry to reach out to sick enemies also). Not killing people because some human state says so. So the heathen can shoot to kill, we’ll stay loving our enemies and blessing as well as praying for them. We’ll stay asking God to intervene in his own ways, for better or worse for the enemy.
Let the state go to war, let the church of God stay out of these wars. It doesn’t really matter if one’s country gets invaded, blood is only shed because of patriotism. One can choose to simply submit to the new authority and continue blessing God as he continues his pilgrimage on this earth. Preaching the Gospel and shining the Light of Christ. If the invaders want to restrict evangelism etc through banning our faith, we continue to preach we don’t fight with guns we fight with the word of God.
As long as there are no NT commandments regarding “just war” for christians the idea remains theoritical. The Torah has laws regarding how the Israelites were to wage war etc. The NT has no such commands, all we have is Paul talking about the different ministries of State and church, Jesus telling his disciples at one point in time to arm themselves and John the Immerser telling a soldier to do no violence to any man and the balance of giving to Caesar what is His, and yet at the same time giving to God what is His also. Most wars are fought for two reasons, self defense or territorial expansion. For christians both are redundant because we trust in God to defend us and even if an army invades its wiser to surrender than to kill. Regarding territorial expansion that is redundant also, because our priority here on earth is not to expand empires that are destined to fall but to bring people into the everlasting Kingdom of God and His Messiah.
Christian pastors and leaders who have supported various wars should at least consult reliable prophets in the church to hear God’s will concerning the issue. Because we can debate our different perspectives. But at the end of the day, in ancient Israel prophets gave God’s will regarding various conflicts. Until a prophet(s) come up and give us a confirmable word from God in the context of the scriptural “Thus saith The LORD or the Holy Spirit..” the issue remains debatable. A war is a big deal. When Paul came to Jerusalem and was about to be imprisoned a man came with a verifiable word from The Holy Spirit. We need that sort of confirmation to say for sure if its ok to shed blood in the name of the state at the expense of the Gospel.
The occasions in the OT where God supernaturally defended Israel against her enemies was not the norm, it was the exception. Many times Israel fought wars in the conventional sense. Think of Joshua and the conquest of Canan for example. God certainly aided their efforts such as with the walls of Jerico but they still had to fight. So the argument that Christians should be pacifist because God defended Israel, fails. Also, the church is not Israel, and God has a different relationship to the nation of Israel than he does to any other nation including what we might call a ‘Christian’ nation.
“<i>As long as there are no NT commandments regarding “just war” for Christians the idea remains theoretical.</i>” I might just as easily say that <i> as long as there are no NT commandments against ‘just war’ the idea remains valid.</i> The concept of ‘just war’ was not pulled out of thin air but carefully constructed by church fathers based on implied and explicit concepts in Scripture such as love of neighbour. For example, how is it loving our neighbour if we stand idly by if it is within our power to use force to prevent our neighbour (near or far) from being unjustly killed?
Sure the occasions in the OT where God protected Israel were not the norm, but that does not mean that we could believe in Him to protect us in ways he didn’t do to the nation of Israel. As you have said we of the church are not Israelites, we are the church. Thats true, and its what makes so much of the just war theory in my view redundant. Take world war two, it could almost be seen as a pseudo civil war amongst Christians. Those of German birth and those who were from allied states. People who are one race and nation fighting each other. If Christians in Germany and on the allied side had refused to fight perhaps there would have been no war to begin with. And had allied Christians trusted in God to take down Hitler perhaps as he did Agrippa, there might have been less bloodshed.
Just because God did not always protect Israel does not mean he will do the same to us. After all we have all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies and whatever we ask in Jesus Name, he will give us (providing its in His will).
Who is our neighbor? Is it only the oppressed or also the oppressor whom we seek to bring into the kingdom. You said that the ministry of the sword is the office of the state government. I agree with you. But I disagree when you say Christians can hold this office also in the context of killing in war. If your neighbor far away is suffering pray that God provide his needs. Its not your job to stop suffering in this world. Its our job to bring people into the kingdom. Ideas like the just war theory can so easily be used by countries that masquerade as Christian nations for imperialist purposes such as pre-emptively invading countries on the basis that their leader is an oppressive dictator and must be deposed. When christian leaders like Peter were put in prison, God sent an angel to rescue them. He would do the same today.
Yes we are not Israel, she is still mostly in bondage at this time. We are of the heavenly Jerusalem, in that city God has soldiers called angels whom he uses to strike nations. Our purpose here as soldiers is to fight the evil spiritual principalities and rulers in this world. To spread the Kingdom. If countries want to bring down dictators and leaders they are not happy with, let those of the world deal in worldly issues of this regard.
The only Holy War we fight is against the devil, and the word of God is our weapon. The only other time I can see us in another crusade is when Christ returns with the armies of heaven which are dressed in white linen.
Ewan,
I was just thinking actually. Isn’t it a case of improper division of the word of truth to apply the concept of the “ministry of the sword” (which refers to the governments use of force or law to keep order within its borders) as a theological basis for war.
Yes Adonai has used wars to discipline Israel in the past as well as other nations such as Babylon (via Medo-Persia). However the nations he used as a means of discipline always acted out of self-interest, in his sovereignty he used their self interest for his own purposes. The ministry of the sword as such can not be used as a basis for just wars or any such theory. It can be used as a foundation for national self defense against aggressors in order to maintain peace within the borders of a state. But as for going to foreign countries in order to give them peace through war, that is questionable.
And even within the body of Messiah, we are commanded to lead quiet lives. To handle legal issues amongst ourselves etc. As such I see no problem in thinking that a believer can be a soldier, given he does not go into combat but serves in non-combatant roles.
Adonai also let Israel have war to conquer the pagans whom He allowed to be killed by the sword for their pagan practice. He also gave them the land that was fought on. As with MOST things that happen in our lives we can choose for ourselves how we wish to serve our Lord. When someone comes in to kill, rape, sodomize etc. your children or family and friends(as was being done in Iraq) it can change your perspective rapidly. Not protecting your family with your dying breath is a cop out. Like all cop outs it doesn’t stop evil from occuring. The old belief that God means for someone to die so perhaps someone else will “believe” is pernicious and one of many cop out “beliefs” that continue to promote agnosticism, aetheism, buddhism etc. If I don’t do anything it’s God’s fault. Who’s fault is it if the perpetrators don’t come to belief? Jesus said to be careful how you HEAR in the parable of seeds falling into different kinds of soil. He didn’t blame it on the sower. We could discuss this eternally, in the end you work out your salvation with fear and trembling. I have been thankful for those who have been willing to die for our ability to have this discussion. In China we would not be allowed to have any disagreement with our government policies. Pacifism hasn’t helped them there or in Russia, Saudi Arabia, Cuba, Venezuela, the list goes on. Thank you to the US military. In the pacifist mind I suppose Israel should just let themselves be pushed into the sea….
And what if the U.S. army were to fight in a country in which perhaps there are a minority of christians and they choose to fight in their national army just like christian american do. And christian americans end up fighting with their foreign brethren and vice versa. Killing each other. Would that be ok?
Israel only fought nations that fought it or nations that it had to fight in order to get the Land God commanded it to. The Mosaic Covenant allowed for this. So using Ancient Israel’s wars as justification for the wars that secular governements fight is incorrect. Israel had direct permission from God to act as they did as written in the The Law which came from God. Secular nations do not.
The issue is more complex that one of being a cop out or not. Christians have greater weapons than guns, we have prayer to God. Further more, David would always ask God for direction regarding fighting wars, God would send a prophet to speak to ancient Israel. I don;t see secular nations doing this. People just assume God’s okay with it. That sort of presumption is wrong.
Frank, Jesus told his disciples at a certain point to buy swords to fulfill prophecy, “that they be numbered among the transgressors,” certainly not about self defense at all. I agree that pacificism is not to be blindly embraced, nor should we embrace blind interpretations of what Jesus statements meant.
So, Jesus died for all, for his disciples that took up swords, for his accusers, for the Nation, for the Gentiles, for those who fight and die in wars, and for those who stay home from wars. Thank you Lord, for we are not offended in you.