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Location:
6425 Jefferson Rd. For
directions, click here.
WAR
& THE CHRISTIAN
FAITH From Although
Jesus was not a pacifist, a primary
thrust of his life and ministry was
against violence and war. He said:
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they
will be called sons of God" (Matthew
5:9). However,
the biblical mandate for national
leaders differs from the biblical ethic
for individuals. Jesus
said: "If someone strikes you on the
right cheek, turn to him the other
also." We Christians, acting as
individuals, are not supposed to
retaliate. Indeed, we are supposed to
return good for evil. President
Bush as a head of state has a different
responsibility, spelled out in Romans
13:4. He is "God's servant, an agent of
wrath to bring punishment on the
wrongdoer." The Bible recognizes that
if there were no enforcers of justice,
chaos would prevail. The national ruler
is clearly authorized to use force.
As an
individual Christian, I should relate
to other individuals with kindness
rather than force. But if I am in the
United States armed forces, acting
under the President's command, I become
his means of delivering justice to the
evildoer. The
two kinds of behavior exist in tension,
reminding us that even when the
national leader must use lethal force,
this is not God's ideal plan.
Necessity
does not make something good or right.
Even when war is necessary, it is a
tragedy. Still,
on rare occasions, the alternatives to
war are worse than war. The
prophets of the Old Testament were not
always anti-war. Their question to
kings was this: "Is war your idea or is
it approved by God?" In
the 5th century, St. Augustine offered
these six guidelines for a just war.
In
addition to St. Augustine's guidelines,
there are special considerations in the
conflict with Iraq. United Nations
Resolution 1441 demands that Iraq prove
it has disarmed. Where
are the 25,000 liters of anthrax the
Iraqis had before 1998? Where are the
30,000 Iraqi munitions capable of
delivering chemical or biological
weapons? How
long can the international community
wait? What is a sensible midpoint
between a rush to war and an
irresponsible flirtation with disaster?
If
the United States, Britain and the
other allies were to bring their troops
home tomorrow and trust economic
sanctions alone to cause Hussein to
behave, would that promote peace? Or
would it simply convince Hussein and
other dictators that they can defy the
UN with impunity? President
Bush and other national leaders must
answer these questions. We must pray
for them. The
job of sheriff has been thrust on
President Bush, as it was on Gary
Cooper in the classic movie, High
Noon. We are like the citizens in
church in that movie: We must
prayerfully decide how big a threat the
outlaw is, and what we should do about
it. May
God grant us wisdom and
courage.
Gateway
Church gathers
for worship
Sundays
at 10:30 a.m.
(Hwy. 129) in Athens,
Georgia.
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WINTER
2003
When
is the alternative to war worse than war
itself?
Senior Pastor, Christ UMC, Memphis,
Tenn.
I have a friend who believes that
Christians should always oppose war.
The pacifist position has always been a
respected minority position among
Christians. A classic pacifist is one
who opposes any violence. Many
Christians have been pacifists over the
last 2,000 years, but the majority
hasn't held that view.
What is a 'just war'?
Not an easy task
This article first appeared in
The (Memphis) Commercial
Appeal. Used by
permission.