Defined by Jesus and NT scripture.And what is the new role?
How can they? Paul says not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers. This rules out military and police involvement. Loving enemies can be judged as treason. Etc., etc.In this new role does it say a Christian is never allowed to fight a war?
How can they? Paul says not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers. This rules out military and police involvement. Loving enemies can be judged as treason. Etc., etc.
How do you comply and follow Christ?And this is the same Paul that said Romans 13:1 .That being the case, what happens if a government conscribes people into the military? You going to defy the authorities?
Well you either live with non-believers or you work towards screening them out in a non-violent method to create a Christ centred community. I favour this method as it helps to avoid a boiling point or all or nothing situation,like wars.
Living in a multicultural society but accepting and excluding ones responsibilities sounds like what the JW do, rather than be fully convicted in Christ and build a Christ centred community for his followers and keep out non-believers.
How do you comply and follow Christ?
What's there to debate about loving enemies instead of killing them for money?You're a horrible debater Dave LOL.
Every time I make a point you just ignore it completely and move onto something else.
The Bible is authoritative Dave, God works through his word.
What's there to debate about loving enemies instead of killing them for money?
It depends on who you put first, God or Caesar.I think you just proved my point. At no point have I defended the idea of reckless wars for territory, only against oppressive religious rivals who seek to stamp out the light of Christ.
I also drew a distinction between a personal enemy and a combatant but this point has also been missed apparently.
Anyway, I don't think I have much more to say on the matter, maybe you want to have the last word.
I think you just proved my point. At no point have I defended the idea of reckless wars for territory, only against oppressive religious rivals who seek to stamp out the light of Christ.
Haven't had one of those wars for quite some time, nor is one on the horizon.
Notice that the US, for instance, is aligned with Saudi Arabia against Iran--and it's much better to be a Christian in Iran than one in Saudi Arabia.
And I've been a Christian in Saudi Arabia. The compromises required by the US military of Christians was disgusting.
There is NOT one on the horizon? Well maybe but there probably is.
If an Islamic nation like Iran attacks Israel,the retaliation from Israel will cause a Islamic dog-piling on Israel and it will lead to a global war extending to all nations when Israels allies enter to deal with Islamic attackers and their allies. Also, Europe is undergoing a transitions where Muslims have been let in by the millions and continue to do so. This is not a healthy choice as Muslims have proven throughout the ages the inability to co-exist with Christians and indeed in this era subject our Christian brothers to extreme persecution. So it's almost inevitable that civil wars at some point will break out as the Muslim population increases within Christian nations. People who deny this are delusional.
Saudi Arabia is only friendly on the surface with the US because of strong business ties. This can be easily broken at anytime.
The US has been embroiled in continuous war in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2003, and then we can count the Persian Gulf war in 1990.
Why was the US there?
Because back in 1972, the Nixon Administration had detached the value of US dollar from the gold standard to allow it to float against other world currencies. But Nixon hedged his bet to retain the superiority of the dollar by an agreement with Saudi Arabia that the US would provide for Saudi Arabia's military defense as long as they accepted only US dollars for Saudi oil.
So any country that wants to buy Saudi oil must first buy US dollars to pay for it. Therefore the value of US dollars is artificially boosted on the world economy.
The reason the US rushed to Saudi Arabia in 1990 when Iraq invaded Kuwait is because US intelligence actually believed the Iraqis intended to roll all the way through tiny Kuwait on into Saudi Arabia. Payback for the petrodollar deal.
The US retained military forces in Saudia Arabia to continue to protect them from Iraq. That aroused the ire of Osama bin Laden, who constantly demanded that the US remove its military from the Islamic holy land. The first attack (which failed) on the World Trade Center in 1993 was bin Laden's first warning, with bin Laden saying, "Get your troops out of our holy land." The attacks on the USS Cole and American Air Force troops housed in Khobar Towers were also warnings--Bin Laden said so, repeating, "Get your troops out of our holy land."
(Incidentally, a few weeks earlier, and I would have been in Khobar Towers when that bomb went off. As it was, one of my own troops was awarded a Purple Heart from it.)
Why were US troops in Saudi Arabia? To protect Christians? No, we were there to protect money. Protecting money led to the US invasion of Iraq--which caused incredible misery to Iraqi Christians. Why are US forces in Afghanistan? To protect money (or because the US was so intent on protecting money that it stupidly remained in Saudi Arabia to the danger of its own citizens).
And this goes to a point that Dave L made: When you have sworn an oath of enlistment or commission into the US armed forces, you don't get to decide which deployments you'll accept according to your own morality. You have made yourself their slave.
And it's extremely unlikely you'll be deployed in this world to defend Christians.
Congratulations Kirk, you've mentioned a few incidents with Islam spanning the last 40 years. Islam has existed for 1400 years,so perhaps your vision on this is a little short sighted. Try looking up some history.
From what I understand, Iran is also not a good place to be a Christian. Many members of house churches get arrested. But it is, at least on paper, legal there. Knowing that the Islamic Republic is slightly more lenient than the Islamic Kingdom, I wish we didn't have to ally with Saudi Arabia for the sake of oil.Haven't had one of those wars for quite some time, nor is one on the horizon.
Notice that the US, for instance, is aligned with Saudi Arabia against Iran--and it's much better to be a Christian in Iran than one in Saudi Arabia.
And I've been a Christian in Saudi Arabia. The compromises required by the US military of Christians was disgusting.
From what I understand, Iran is also not a good place to be a Christian. Many members of house churches get arrested. But it is, at least on paper, legal there. Knowing that the Islamic Republic is slightly more lenient than the Islamic Kingdom, I wish we didn't have to ally with Saudi Arabia for the sake of oil.
What "compromises" did they make you do in Saudi Arabia?
As far as I know, all the countries will /do/ harass, arrest, beat, imprison, and kill "Christians" when it suits the ones in power in that country. The leaders (any exceptions?) of all the nations, as written in Scripture, have (already, for centuries) committed <spiritual> fornication with the beast, and have no love for Jesus, nor for Jesus' followers.And it's extremely unlikely you'll be deployed in this world to defend Christians.
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