how can a Christian serve in the military?
Hi, SCOTT
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God bless you, howsoever He pleases
I do believe that we need a military for defense and I also believe that God wants everyone to be a believer, so following that logic it would make sense that God would want some form of defense for our country that could comprise of Christians. But I also know that Jesus was a non-violent person who said thos who live by the sword will die by the sword.
@SCOTT DIAMOND > I think what Seventh Fisher says here is a basic way that a number of Christians understand this. We understand how God can use ones of secular authority to resist evil > Romans 13:4, with James 4:6 and 1 Peter 5:5. But we know how Jesus says the one who draws the sword will perish by the sword (Matthew 26:52).
For a number of us, this is a contradiction or a conflict.
For others, we resolve that when there is authority over the military killing, this is not the same as personal killing. Ones in secular roles consider ourselves to be God's instruments for fighting evil and resisting evil. But on a personal level, we might believe in turning the other cheek, but there are ones who would see things differently if it is a matter of a child being kidnapped or harmed.
But what can work is if a person simply trusts God; God can have things work out so he or she does not get into a situation which could seem to justify killing someone who really is a threat and evil. Someone willing to not kill might be protected by how God has things work out. But the one getting fully committed to killing for some justification might indeed get into such a situation . . . or a person training to be violent could then vent that on a pet or a loved one.
We have seen this happen, while Detroit was called the murder capital of the world . . . I was told > ones bought guns in order to protect their families, but then had fights and did a family murder-suicide thing. So we need to prayerful about how we really are preparing, because what we trust and how we prepare ourselves could be what comes out on our loved ones.
You did not mention about if police can be Christians. Well, there is info out that police can have domestic violence problems. There could be a connection, between training to use and depending on violence, and then this venting at home. Of course, this in my opinion is not the case for every officer > I understand there are ones who appreciate how they are so trusted, often the first ones to help people in isolated and vulnerable situations, and this is more common than using force. And military people could find themselves in very important humanitarian action. So, this certainly would be good for Christians.