Should Christians Go To War?

[lared]

Jehovah's Witnesses practice Christian neutrality and you will not find them wearing the army uniforms of Germany, Russia, Iraq, Egypt, North Korea, or China. They do not want to inflict harm upon people in other countries and especially their spiritual brothers and sisters that live in other countries.

They are in the world but no part of the world.

When driving through Los Angeles on your way to Disneyland, you observe several gang warfares taking place. Do you jump out of the car and get involved even if one claims to be more honorable then the other?



Or are you in the city, but no part of the city? On your way to your destination.

 

[MDTyKe]

In the sense of driving through LA.. I'd be in the city, but no part of the city.

However, I wouldn't judge the soldiers out there fighting for their/our country, and accept they may be Christians. However, me, personally.. I don't think it's the best thing you could do, especially if you kill people. But remember, war doesn't mean you will go out and kill people.. you may be out field repairing things, for example. But when it comes to killing people, ie: innocents, then I think it goes too far. That is breaking the morals set out in the Bible.


Matt

 

[nadroj1985]

However, me, personally.. I don't think it's the best thing you could do, especially if you kill people. But remember, war doesn't mean you will go out and kill people.. you may be out field repairing things, for example.

But you are still aiding in the killing of people, are you not?

But when it comes to killing people, ie: innocents, then I think it goes too far. That is breaking the morals set out in the Bible.

But what if killing innocents leads to fewer casualties in the end (i.e. the atom bombs dropped on Japan)?

 

[gort]

Jehovah's Witnesses practice Christian neutrality and you will not find them wearing the army uniforms of Germany, Russia, Iraq, Egypt, North Korea, or China. They do not want to inflict harm upon people in other countries and especially their spiritual brothers and sisters that live in other countries.

What about the American uniform?


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[Bulldog]

lared,

Can you give me a verse in the Bible that would be against Christians going to war?

 

[Der Alte]

Jehovah's Witnesses practice Christian neutrality and you will not find them wearing the army uniforms of Germany, Russia, Iraq, Egypt, North Korea, or China. They do not want to inflict harm upon people in other countries and especially their spiritual brothers and sisters that live in other countries.

They are in the world but no part of the world.

When driving through Los Angeles on your way to Disneyland, you observe several gang warfares taking place. Do you jump out of the car and get involved even if one claims to be more honorable then the other?

Or are you in the city, but no part of the city? On your way to your destination.

And if everyone practiced this so-called "Christian neutrality" we all would have been loaded on trains, taken to camps, gassed, and our bodies burned to ashes, years and years ago. either the Communists, the Nazis, or some other totalitarian system, such as Islam, would have taken total control of the world. There would be no Jehovah's Witnesses pointing their self-righteous, hypocritical fingers at Christians because there would be no JWs to point and no Christians to point at.

And if God doesn't want you involved in the world, joining the military forces which protect freedom, etc. why were you crying and whining on this forum not too long ago about how many JWs were killed during the holocaust? If it is God's will that JWs do nothing when the soldiers come to take them away to be killed, why would a faithful JW complain about God's will?

 

[Henaynei]

May I suggest a VERY good movie about *just* this topic??

Sergeant York and it is a *true* story.....

One viewer comment:


One of the greatest of all time...

I think this is one of the greatest movies of all time. Not a 'corny' movie at all.


The acting by Gary Cooper was great. Walter Brennan was good, also. Joan Leslie was a hottie back then, to me. And June Lockhart was just starting out (as Sergeant York's sister).

This movie to me is about achieving goals set out in life. The good the bad, and the in-between's.

It is #1 on my top ten list, and it has been for about 10 years.

Pusher is a good character, and so is Bird, E. And for one man to do all that, mainly on his own, is just a triumph. A movie based on a true story that has a lot of heart.

This is a 10 out of 10 to me.

Just a great piece all a-round.
​

 

[KnightOfChrist]

I don't think any Christian should go to war; the sole intent of war is violence against another people; Jesus told us to "love one another." Not to love fellow Americans, or fellow Christians, or fellow heterosexuals--everyone.

And it is war that caused war. Would Nazi germany have ever come to power if World War I had no occured how it did? I say no. If no one resorted to violence for things like money, land, oil, or revenge, in Hitler's case, violence wouldn't spread.

 

[Bulldog]

May I suggest a VERY good movie about *just* this topic??

Sergeant York and it is a *true* story.....

One viewer comment:


One of the greatest of all time...

I think this is one of the greatest movies of all time. Not a 'corny' movie at all.


The acting by Gary Cooper was great. Walter Brennan was good, also. Joan Leslie was a hottie back then, to me. And June Lockhart was just starting out (as Sergeant York's sister).

This movie to me is about achieving goals set out in life. The good the bad, and the in-between's.

It is #1 on my top ten list, and it has been for about 10 years.

Pusher is a good character, and so is Bird, E. And for one man to do all that, mainly on his own, is just a triumph. A movie based on a true story that has a lot of heart.

This is a 10 out of 10 to me.

Just a great piece all a-round.
​

Henaynei, I like that quote:

"If the Palestinians laid down their weapons today,
there would be no more violence.
If the Israelis laid down their weapons today,
there would be no more Israel."

 

[Der Alte]

I don't think any Christian should go to war; the sole intent of war is violence against another people; Jesus told us to "love one another." Not to love fellow Americans, or fellow Christians, or fellow heterosexuals--everyone.

And it is war that caused war. Would Nazi germany have ever come to power if World War I had no occured how it did? I say no. If no one resorted to violence for things like money, land, oil, or revenge, in Hitler's case, violence wouldn't spread.

And which war caused the 1st world war, and the war before that, etc.? Here is what happens when Christians do nothing.

Martin Niemoeller was a Protestant pastor born January 14, 1892, in Lippstadt, Westphalia. He was a submarine commander in World War I. He was anti-communist and initially supported the Nazis until the church was made subordinate to state authority.

In 1934, he started the Pastors’ Emergency League to defend the church. Hitler became angered by Niemoeller’s rebellious sermons and popularity and had him arrested on July 1, 1937. He was tried the following year and sentenced to seven months in prison and fined.

After his release, Hitler ordered him arrested again. he spent the next seven years in concentration camps in “protective custody.“ He was liberated in 1945 and was elected President of the Protestant church in Hesse and Nassau in 1947. He held the title until 1964. He was also a President of the World Council of Churches in the 1960’s.

Niemoeller was a pacifist who spoke out against nuclear weapons. He is best known for his powerful statement about the failure of Germans to speak out against the Nazis:

“First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Socialists and the Trade Unionists, but I was neither, so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew so I did not speak out. And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me.”​

He died in Wiesbaden on March 6, 1984.
​

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[Henaynei]

Henaynei, I like that quote:

"If the Palestinians laid down their weapons today,
there would be no more violence.
If the Israelis laid down their weapons today,
there would be no more Israel."

Thank you young sir!! Sincerely

 

[True Believer]

But if our trust is truly in God, would we go to war? Even if all of the people who profess belief in God died who would win? Jesus said he conquered the world by dying faithful and sinless. Are we afraid to die in support of God and a nonviolent world? If we have faith in the ransom sacrifice of Jesus does death have a hold on us? I think it is lack of real faith and reliance on God to make things right that causes people to go to war. Things to think about and my perspective.
Agape',TB

 

[leeuniverse]

It is not wether we Live or Die, for we ALL Die.... It is how we LIVE that determines what is of God and what is not.

When the Strongest and most skilled of us don't buck the odds and Fight against Evil, then there is NO SAFETY for ANYONE, ANYWHERE, or at ANYTIME.

God commands us to do Good and to help LIFT our Brother. As such, those who do not lift a hand to help his brother in need, though he give his life, is nothing but something and deny's the Grace, Goodness, and Love of God.

John 15:
13 Greater love• hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends

 

[Rescued One]

Mennonites and Amish are also non-resisters. The police and soldiers protect them from evil people.

 

[True Believer]

Are we not to live by Jesus example? Did he not show his disapproval of fighting even to save ones own life He rebuked the Apostle Peter for using a sword and said those who live by the sword will die by the sword. The world is passing away and so is it's desires, do we desire the things of this world so much that we will kill for them or kill to protect the riches that are worthless to God? Jesus said to turn the other cheek and to love our enemies how can we do that and take up arms against them?
Agape',TB

 

[leeuniverse]

Are we not to live by Jesus example? Did he not show his disapproval of fighting even to save ones own life He rebuked the Apostle Peter for using a sword and said those who live by the sword will die by the sword. The world is passing away and so is it's desires, do we desire the things of this world so much that we will kill for them or kill to protect the riches that are worthless to God? Jesus said to turn the other cheek and to love our enemies how can we do that and take up arms against them?
Agape',TB

Good questions....
Peter was an Apostle of the Lord, it wasn't His MISSION to protect the innocent and die by the sword.
The Righteous do not "kill to protect riches". The righteous kill in obedience to God and to the proliferation of His Righteousness onto the hearts and minds of men.

Do we not show "Love" by bringing Peace....?
The entire world was destroyed by God because of it's wickedness, so that righteouness and truth might again flourish, and it will be again, for the Righteous and Pure who inherit the Millenium Peace free from the Evil One.

Thus, it is true we are to love our enemy's and turn them the other cheek, but as with Iraq, that other cheek had been turned for sometime, and it was now time to make things right and try to do something about it. Sadly most of the rest of the World follows not Gods Will, but their own selfish one.
So, given the Faithlessness of the World, who knows if we will succeed this time.
His Will be done.... for even Israel failed at times.

 

[Rescued One]

Good questions....
Peter was an Apostle of the Lord, it wasn't His MISSION to protect the innocent and die by the sword.

The Righteous do not "kill to protect riches". The righteous kill in obedience to God and to the proliferation of His Righteousness onto the hearts and minds of men.

When did Jesus teach us to kill people?

Do we not show "Love" by bringing Peace....?
The entire world was destroyed by God because of it's wickedness, so that righteouness and truth might again flourish, and it will be again, for the Righteous and Pure who inherit the Millenium Peace free from the Evil One.

Do we show love by going to war simply because the governments of the world choose war?

Thus, it is true we are to love our enemy's and turn them the other cheek, but as with Iraq, that other cheek had been turned for sometime, and it was now time to make things right and try to do something about it.

But this was a decision by our government not a revelation from God.

Sadly most of the rest of the World follows not Gods Will, but their own selfish one.

:o Are you saying the United States follows God's will?

So, given the Faithlessness of the World, who knows if we will succeed this time.
His Will be done.... for even Israel failed at times.

Americans are not God's chosen people, are they?

 

[Henaynei]

Mennonites and Amish are also non-resisters. The police and soldiers protect them from evil people.

True, in THIS country. And how many of them are believers?? Are you really willing to entrust your protection to the good will and morality of non-believers?? Isn't that what Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia and Maoist China were??

 

[Henaynei]

Are we not to live by Jesus example? Did he not show his disapproval of fighting even to save ones own life He rebuked the Apostle Peter for using a sword and said those who live by the sword will die by the sword. The world is passing away and so is it's desires, do we desire the things of this world so much that we will kill for them or kill to protect the riches that are worthless to God? Jesus said to turn the other cheek and to love our enemies how can we do that and take up arms against them?
Agape',TB

Jesua/Yeshua is the self same G-d who also commanded the killing of thousands of people, including in several cases women and children. Even in Yeshua's eyes war has a purpose and G-d's people are better equiped to conduct a war with morality than anyone else.

 

[Henaynei]

G-d has told us to resist evil - and to defend the defensless - you really think He was talking about using words??