Do you honk your horn in anger at the “Visualize World Peace” bumper sticker on the Volkswagen bug in front of you? Does Toby Keith’s song “The Angry American” cause you to roll your eyes in disgust? These pop culture expressions may be the closest many Americans come to wresting with the ethics of war and peace. But they-and your reaction to them-point to an ancient and important conversation: When, if ever, is it right for a government to kill people?
As you sort out the ethics of war, the stakes are high for your spiritual formation. Sure, you probably won’t single-handedly decide whether the United States should invade Canada. But the way you think through the rightness or wrongness of military action tells you something about how you see your own personal story in light of the bigger story of the kingdom of Christ. Unbalanced and unbiblical attitudes about war often point to distorted views we hold about the meaning of peace, and even the gospel itself.
Make Love, Not War?
Chad thinks the war and peace issue is easy. Didn’t Jesus settle this on the Sermon on the Mount? What’s hard to interpret about “turn the other cheek” and “love your enemies”? Wasn’t Jesus essentially telling us, “All I am saying is, give peace a chance?” Chad participates in candlelight vigils outside his campus’s ROTC building. He tears down Army recruiting signs, humming Neil Young antiwar ballads as he does so.
In one sense, pacifism has biblical warrant. The New Testament does command us to live peaceably with all people and not to seek vengeance from those who do us wrong (Rom 12:18-21). This means revenge of any sort-whether through physical violence or through office gossip-reveals that we truly don’t believe that God will avenge his people at the Judgment Seat of Christ (Rom 12:19).
On the other hand, in the very same flow of thought that Paul tells the Christian not to seek revenge, he gives the state the power to “carry the sword” against evildoers (Rom 13:4 HCSB). Paul’s admonition is consistent with the rest of the Bible. The Old Testament is, among other things, the story of a warrior people triumphing over their enemies and finding rest in the land of promise. Moreover, Jesus never commanded those in the military-even though these soldiers were serving a pagan Roman Empire-to walk away from such service, though he was quite willing to command prostitutes to abandon their unseemly employments.
Pacifism is problematic because it is utopian. Yes, the Bible affirms the way of peace. And the ultimate vision of peace is that of a restored creation in which there is no more war (Isa 2:4). And yet, the Bible also tells us that this shalom comes when all Jesus’ enemies are subdued, when, as the old gospel song says, “every foe is vanquished and Christ is Lord indeed.” The Bible tells us that day is not yet here. We do not yet see all things under Jesus’ feet (Heb 2:8). In the meantime, governments must some times, though only carefully and as a last resort, go to war in order to protect the innocent and to restrain evil. Pacifists are right to tell us that war is always tragic. They are right to tell us to long for peace. But they are wrong to think that such peace can come by avoiding conflict. Passivity in the face of Hitler means a murderous Europe under a Nazi flag and, quite possibly, the extinction of the Jewish race. This is not peace, but horror.
Bomb Them to the Stone Age?
Jessica also thinks the war and peace issue is an easy one. She has no sympathy for pacifists, and supports military action against any and every rival to the United States. She cheers when she sees televised images of bombs dropping on CNN, and makes jokes about killing Arabs overseas. Jessica’s first response to news of unrest overseas is to say, “Nuke them.” She thinks the United States has a unique responsibility to open up the world’s mission fields, by bringing freedom and democracy everywhere through the force of American military power.
Militarism also has a seemingly biblical point of view, at first glance. After all, one of the preeminent metaphors of the Christian life is that of battle. The gospel itself is a bloodbath, with Jesus triumphing over the occupying forces of the cosmos through a violent invasion (Rev 12). Jesus tells us that he didn’t come to bring peace but a sword (Matt 10:34).
But, like pacifism, unbridled militarism is also utopian to the core. Yes, military action is sometimes necessary. But Christians have always seen war of any kind as a tragedy-even when it is the least bad of the alternatives before us. Christians also recognize that a concept of “perpetual war for perpetual peace” is an illusion. Jesus rebuked Peter for believing the answer to Jesus’ arrest was the declaration of a violent counter-action (Matt 26:52). Sure, there will be a “war to end all wars,” but it will be fought at Armageddon-and it won’t be planned by the Pentagon.
Another Way
In truth, questions of war and peace are never easy this side of the New Jerusalem. This is why Christians through the centuries have avoided both pacifism and militarism: holding to a “just war” concept that killing is never good but is sometimes best. This “just war” concept limits such action to duly constituted governments, and strictly contains the bounds of such warfare. The intentional killing of innocent non-combatants, for instance, is wrong and outside the parameters of just war.
There are times when the alternative to war is clearly more bloodshed, more violence. Think about what would have happened around the world if the United States had taken no action after the attack on America on September 11, 2001? There are other times when the issues are much more complicated, and good Christians may disagree about whether military action is biblically warranted, even as we remember to pray for our leaders to make wise decisions.
In truth, the guy with the “Visualize World Peace” bumper sticker is partly right. And so is Toby Keith when he talks about justice raining down with vengeance on the enemies of what’s good and true. Both are grasping at something that can only be found in the gospel story of Christ Jesus. War is sometimes necessary, and we as Christians should be willing to support, fight, and die for our country in those times. But every time we see a war-even a just and necessary one-we should be reminded that it means we’re still living in a world groaning under the weight of sin.
We shouldn’t tie dye our shirts and pretend a United Nations enforced peace can end bloodshed. But neither should we callously cheer the violence of war, as if it were a video game. Yes, we should visualize peace-but only a real peace, when the true Emperor of the universe rules over a world so pacific that we cannot even imagine the violence we once saw on CNN, or on Animal Planet. On that day, and maybe not until that day, there won’t be the sound of rattling swords, firing guns, or bombs bursting in air.
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