In my Worldview Integration Class (aka one-sided discussion of popular topics class), we are discussing Christianity and warfare. This class is extremely one sided. Both books we read for this topic are written by pacifists. One book, Mere Discipleship by Lee Camp, I can completely disregard because it is full of heresies: pelagianism and lordship-salvation to name a few. The other, I thought made a very compelling argument, and made the position of pacifism very appealing, at least in light of looking at the War on Terror (the title of the book also). The pacifist position basically argues that Christians are supposed to love their enemies as a reflection of the character of God and are prohibited from taking revenge or killing, and therefore the American government should not engage in warfare. But as I thought and examined it, I found that there are a number of things wrong with that statement.
First, this statement presupposes that Christianity = America. I am not saying that something that would be sin for Christians is not sin for unbelievers. However, I am saying that the Church and the Government are fundamentally different and fulfill fundamentally different roles in society. Not all of the constraints that apply to the Church apply to government. For example, Romans 13 says that the government does not bear the sword in vain, but is God's minister for good, order and peace. The government is allowed to kill.
Secondly, this statement presupposes that love is the only true reflection of the character of God. This seems to be the latest neo-hippy-Christian fad. However, we must remember that God is first and foremost a God of holiness and everything, including His love, flows from that fundamental characteristic: holiness. He is just as much a God of justice, wrath and judgment as He is a God of love, grace and mercy. So what of justice? I would argue that the Church's reaction to wrongdoing must always be one of love, grace and mercy. We must not repay evil for evil, but rather reach out with the gospel of the kingdom. That means, yes, even reaching the terrorists and the communists with the gospel of Jesus Christ. But the government is called to reflect the character of God in providing justice. Justice must be served, that is the message of the cross! The great contradiction in pacifism comes when you ask about the death penalty. Most will agree, that if someone commits premeditated murder, they should die. That is justice. What about terrorists? If a terrorist murders or is an accomplice to murder or is planning to murder, justice must be brought against him. The second book I read used the example of Brian Nichols to defend its position. The lady he held captive, read to him from the Purpose Driven Life, shared with him the gospel, etc., and he was saved. She showed love, he responded in surrender to Christ. However, he still had to face justice. When the lady left, she called the authorities and he turned himself in. That was justice in action. So, that example is actually a great defeater to the pacifist argument. Justice must be served.
Now some would argue: who's justice is right? We think what we're doing in the war on terror is right, they think what they're doing is right. This is an argument that flows from post-modernistic relativism, to which I do not subscribe, and neither does the Bible or Christianity, so it has no place here. We are arguing from biblical presuppositions. So what if they think their doing justice? The terrorists are wrong! We are right! To say that in this day and age screams exclusivism, but someone has to be right if we approach this from biblical presuppositions.
There is also the argument concerning the terrorists' claims. The U.S. supported al-Qaida years ago in their fight against Russia and then we kind of abandoned them and now they have turned on us. The book we read actually makes the argument that Osama bin Laden's demands are reasonable (apparently the author missed the part about converting the world to Islam), and that if we addressed some of these demands all this might go away. False. Look at what al-Qaida said in response to Obama's election. Obama is probably going to reverse almost all of Bush's war policies, something the Middle East should be cheering. What did al-Qaida say? They said: no, things are going to get worse, we must fight harder. And they called for a resurgence of holy war. That to me shows the unreasonableness of terrorists. You cannot negotiate with them. I would argue that they probably have psychological issues.
What about interventionism? What would the pacifist say to the genocide in Darfur? Or the massacring in Georgia? In order to be consistent with their argument, they would have to say we cannot intervene militarily. So we should let innocent people die? Should we have not intervened in WWII and allowed Germany to cleanse the planet of Jews and gypsies and slaughter all of Europe? If we are to be loving at all, we must intervene!
I am a just war theorist. I believe war is okay as long as it is waged in correct ways and for just reasons (i.e. punishment of the guilty and protection of the innocent). I would say that the war on terror is correct, though I do not completely agree with how it has been executed. I do believe there should be limits on war, certain guidelines. War should never harm civilians or target the innocent, but bring justice to those who have committed injustices. As human beings created in the image of God, we have a natural longing for justice, which is why we have established human rights, the U.N., etc. (though I'm not supporting a position of humanism). The government has been established by God for justice, law, order, peace and protection.
If we are to be truly biblical though, we must extend the gospel and the offer of reconciliation with God to those who are hunted by justice. Who is reaching the terrorists with the gospel? You might ask the question, how will they accept the gospel if America is fighting them? Poor question. Do you not believe God is mighty to save? Do you not believe in His omnipotence and sovereignty? If He will save, He will save.
