Is killing in war a sin?

[ONEGod]

The Bible, even in the New Testament, indicate death is proper for the wicked and enemies.

Acts 5
1But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
2And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet.
3But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
4Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
5And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.
6And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.
7And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.
8And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.
9Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.
10Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.

Christians being only pacifist is a false teaching to encourage Christians to not defend themselves and/or faith. Bewary of those that exhort such things.
There is also scripture given for soldiers to properly fulfill their duties.​

 

[Trainwreck]

IIRC Tertullian, one of the early christian apologists made it clear that those who were soldiers and wanted to became christians had to leave the army, and any christians who went to become soldiers were put out of the church.

Good thing we are to follow Jesus and the Bible and not some loony who came along a few hundred years later, huh?

 

[CatsandCradles]

Christians being only pacifist is a false teaching to encourage Christians to not defend themselves and/or faith. Bewary of those that exhort such things.

So I guess loving your enemies and doing good onto them means nothing for you. Is that correct?

Or do you specify and make catagories as to who's your neighbor and what not? What do you think of the apostle and disciples who were dragged away by the Romans, beaten, tortured, and executed? Are they all false? Was Christ wrong for going up on the Cross then? Should he have picked up a sword and killed the Roman soldiers?

I think that both sides can make thier case and we cannot readily dismiss the one side or the other on a whim.

I find the entire pacifism vs militarism debate to be similar to the slavery debate.

The North picked this this and this from the Bible to support their cause.

The South picked this this and this from the Bible to support their cause.

Both sides said the other were heretics and followed a wrong interpretation of Scripture. Both invoked God's name. Both said the other side was the army of Satan.

I am reminded of a quote by Voltaire:

"When you have one church, that is tyranny. When you have two churches, you have a civil war. When you have many churches, then you have peace"

So to the original poster who asked if killing is a sin...

Well, your screwed. Cause the pacifist are in one church. And the militarist are in another church.

Both think they are on God's side and both think the other are on Satan's side.

And both sides aren't going to cave in any day soon.

I minored in theology and trust me, I have seen this whole issue turn into a fist fight among college professors. Sadly, both of these professors were orthodox evangelical Christians to the tenth degree.

My advice to the original poster:

1) Pray for your enemy.
2) Pray for innocent people who get hurt in war
3) Pray for your fellow soldiers in arms
4) Have a healthy respect towards being against
war. Avoid violence, but if deadly force is
neccessary then you know what to do.
5) Fear God
6) Remind yourself that it was through Christ death by
which sins are forgiven. Avoid making a mockery of
Christ death.
7) Meditate carefully on Scripture
8) And don't be one of those trigger happy soldiers who
are more numerous than the sand.

 

[Yusuf Evans]

I'm soon to be an MP in the National Guard and I know that theres a good chance I will go to Iraq. My question is would it be a sin if I killed a terrorist who was trying to kill us?

As an MP, you will be taught both lethal armed and un-armed techniques; however, you will be taught non-lethal compliance techniques as well. The latter is what you will be utilized more often. As an MP, your job is pretty much the same as a civilian police officer. You may or may not have to kill someone, but you will most likely be brought in for riot controls and also police protests. This is where you will be tested in regards to patience and tolerance. Most people will leave you alone if you utilize the non-lethal moves, and lethal techniques will always be a last resort. Belive me, when they are done properly, the perpetrator will either be crippled or dead.

 

[ONEGod]

SopranoCapo2006

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Quote
Originally Posted by: darknights
it is not a sin to kill in war time. or to serve your country by killing in war. as long as the reasons are right. abviously hitler killed in war but i think it will count against him.






I have family that have all served in the Combat Arms.

Any soldier that is in Infantry, Spec ops..etc.

Is a mercenary...Plain and simple

That are paid to kill

Regardless is it's Bush, Hitler, Saddam running the show, murder is still murder.

I have a question myself.... Who decides what reasons for murder are right?

Just playing Devil's Advocate

Personally, I don't believe taking a life is the worst thing in the world.

ONEGod:
To say who decides what reasons for murder is right is to intentionally proclaim defense, duty and just judgment of the wicked are unjust, and therefore an attempt to get away with falsely posturing the situation.
The Lord has been explaining the "justness/righteousness" of the wicked receiving due just compensation for thousand of years, you must not be paying attention. Pick up the Book ! It explains and reveals a lot ! ! !​

 

[daveleau]

Mod hat on>

This thread was contrary to the purpose of this forum, but since it was started and maintained by military folks, I let it go. Now that non-military people are coming in and posting inflammatory remarks, I must again more strictly enforce the purpose statement of this forum. Any discussion of the politics or Christianity of military personell is strictly for their appropriate forums: namely the Philosophy forums, political forums and congregational forums.

daveleau
CF Staff
<Mod Hat Off