This is really a GQ, but given the subject matter I’ll put it here to avoid it having to be moved later. As mentioned in the “Christian Military” thread, this is something I have wondered before.
These are just a few of the quotes that would seem to advocate non-violence from the words of Christ Himself. It’s not meant to be rhetorical or argumentative but curiosity when I ask "How do devout (even Fundamentalist) Christians rationalize this with a military career where you could easily be required to kill somebody who has done you no harm?
Thanks for any answers.
ETA: I am not arguing for the necessity of war- I admit it is sometimes necessary. This is strictly a question about those from a Christian perspective joining the service.
Some don’t (Quakers & JWs IIRC)
But generally, I imagine it’s because they can easily find other Bible verses that justify the opposite view (From JC scourging the Temple to stuff from the OT, I guess). The Bible isn’t known as a model of consistency.
I’ve had it justified by saying that Jesus’ teachings in the quoted passages were limited to individual conduct.
As a soldier in an army - especially a non-volunteer force - you are not making the decisions based on your personal morality, but from a position in a collective.
There are also Christians who would argue that turning the other cheek conflicts with a duty to protect the weak from harm.
Or that Christ’s words are for a perfect world, and we need to compromise in an imperfect world.
I disagree with this approach - I cannot imagine Christ bayonneting an soldier or slitting a sentry’s throat, or coodinating a bombing run.
Mark Twain wrote an excellent short essay on this:
Only love can conquer fear, and perfect love conquers all fear. Start teaching love at all levels of society. That would work eventually, but I think only a very few posting here would agree with this.
Can you explain how that would work specifically? Let’s say that Poland had learned perfect love, how would that have stopped the Nazi invasion or at least stopped the Poles from feeling any fear?
If the Poles had learned perfect love they would not fear, they would meet the Germans with open arms, gifts, and hugs. The Germans would not have to kill anyone to get what they wanted. The German leaders would have a hard time keeping an army together in that atmosphere.
Ghandi said to put all the things you value most out in the open in your house, so if a robber breaks in he will not have to tear up your home looking for them.
The Germans would still have to kill to get what they wanted because they wanted the Jews wiped off the Earth. And I am sure they could have kept their army together if the Poles had just rolled over. They could have invaded Denmark and Norway even faster.
Maybe the Jews should have put their children on the front porch?
Actually, Gandhi is it. He was into X-treem pacifism. The kind where you run at the enemy shooting at you an try to give him stuff before he kills you. And then he kills you.
I think you have now made your point, but as noted, above, this is not really germane to the topic of this thread which asks how Christians currently justify military service.
If I may try to pull the thread away from the lekatt sidetrack, the peace message of Christianity works for undermining existing power structures, but once it became part of the structure, it was forced to adapt the same military methods to stay in that position, hence no social stigma of the contradiction inherent in the warrior Christian.
As Bryan points out, pacifism hasn’t been a part of mainstream Christianity since late antiquity. It’s not like these Fundamentalist Christian soldiers are defying the teachings of their community, since their particular religious community has supported war, soldiery, and conquest since the Protestant reformation.
Which brings up the question: if there isn’t a particular war going on when a Christian enlists, but his enlistment might well require his participation in an unjust war that we get involved in during that period of enlistment, how then can the Christian justify enlisting?