Christians in the Military, Pt 2

Last week we talked about the strong historical evidence of Christians in the military, the reasons why modern-day Christians believe that Christians should be in the military, and that the earliest recorded Christians were unanimously against Christians being the military or committing any violent acts.  This week we’ll look at scriptures that talk about how Christians should conduct themselves in times of war. Let’s begin.

We all know that Christ had two Advents (when he would appear to the world and save it).  The first, obivously, was when God came in human form and died on the cross.  The second will bring an everlasting peace, and when that everlasting peace will come, is more debateable.

All Christians believe that there will be an “End Times”, and that during this period people will live in harmony with each other.

He will judge between the nations
And will settle disputes for many peoples
They will beat their swords into plowshares
Nation will not take up sword against nation
Nor will they train for war anymore.
Isaiah 2:4

The wolf will ive with the lamb,the leopard will lie down with the goat,
The calf and the lion and the yearling together
And a little child will lead them.
Isaiah 11:6

And we also know that after Jesus left for the first time, that there would still be conflict.

You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed.  Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.  Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
Matthew 24:6-7

So for right now there will be war, but later on there will be peace.  What should a Christian do during times of war?

You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’  But I tell you the truth, do not resist an evil person.  If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other also.
Matthew 5:38-39

Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.
Matthew 26:52

Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world.  If my kingdom were of this world, my servant would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now my kingdom is not from here.
John 18:36

Most perplexing though, is that before Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, he asked his disciples to sell their cloak (a most precious possession if you tend to live outside most of your life) to buy a sword (Luke 22:36-38).

Whether this was to allow Jesus to later heal a man who was harmed by Peter so he could say “those who live by the sword will die by the sword”, or that Jesus gave permission for his follows to arm themselves, is not clear to me.  Personally, I’d rather not have to give an accounting to why I killed someone, especially if God holds all life to be sacred.

Next week I’m going to talk about Ruth.  See you there.

Christianity and Military Service

There seems to be a popular view that the Christian thing to do in America is to join the military.  I don’t agree on that.

Let me perface this by saying that two of my uncles (one a drill sergeant, the other a chinook mechanic), an aunt (military police), two cousins (army engineer and medic), my father (twenty years as a forward air controller), my brother (175th and 82nd, airborne/air assault), myself (four years as a navigator), and my great uncle (Marine jet mechanic, and survivor of the Pearl Harbor attacks) were in the military.  I know I’m not the most qualified when it comes to talking about the military, but I think it’s fair to say that I know a thing or two about it.

I think a lot of people believe that Christians can or should join the military because of the culture they grew up with than from an actual biblical basis.  Granted, there are exceptions to this rule (much like any rule being applied to people), and there are some reasonable arguments for Christians in the military, but from my experience it seems like the majority of people who believe this haven’t been exposed to either: they just assumed that’s the Christian thing to do.

There’s also a historical basis to this concept too: the ancient Israelites went to war with many peoples, God is described as a warrior (Exodus 15:3), America decided to violently cede from England because rights “Endowed by Our Creator” were not being recognized, and the Union forces believed that the Civil War was a righteous battle to free the slaves (listen to “The Battle Hymm of the Republic” in this context and you’ll get a deeper understanding to this concept).  Kings, queens, and other royalty believed that they were given permission to rule because of God, and thus spoke for God (hence why they used to the “royal we”), adding another piece of historical evidence of Christians participating in the political process.

It is also worth noting that Mormons accept members of the military (Joseph Smith even died while escaping jail and firing his pistols, and the “Saints and Soldiers” franchise was funded by many Mormons), and CS Lewis stated in Mere Christianity that military was appropriate and that if two Christians killed each other, then because they were obeying the orders above them, they would not be blamed for killing, and would eventually meet each other up in heaven.

The problem, and the main reason why I don’t believe that Christians should participate in the military, is that if you go far back enough, the majority of the Christian writers during the early portion of the Church’s history were unanimously opposed to Christians in the military.  Here’s a list that I’ve found:

• Justin Martyr in 160 CE
• Athenagoras in 175 CE
• Irenaeus in 180 CE
• Clement of Alexandria in 195 CE
• Tertullian in 197 CE (and again in 200 CE and in 207, 211, and 212 CE)
• Origen in 248 CE
• Cyprian in 250 CE
• Lactantius 304-313CE
• Arnobius in 305 CE

Nine different church fathers, across two and a half centuries (longer than America has existed), all of them the closest to the people who heard the words of Jesus himself, all in opposition to war.  David W. Bercot mentions that while Christians DID exist in the military early in the church’s history, they were either converted while serving, and then vowed to not take up the sword, or tried to leave the service shortly after conversion.  If anything, there is an even older tradition of Christian acting as pascifists than as soldiers.

The real crux of the problem is whether or not Jesus felt that the battle for the souls of the world was JUST spiritual, or spiritual AND physical.  The scriptures, unfortunately, are not completely clear on this matter.  And we’ll talk about that next week.  See you there.