Scripture reading: Ecclesiastes 3:1–8

To Fight or Not to Fight, That is the Question

We do not wage war as the world does. (II Corinthians 10:3)

 

Jesus’ birth was heralded by angels singing “peace on earth, goodwill to men.” And yet conflict and violence all around us force the question:

When is it appropriate for a follower of Christ to take up arms with the intent to kill? Should Christians go to war? If so, under what circumstances? On the one hand, we are called to love our enemies, to turn the other cheek, and to repay evil with good. But on the other hand, we are called to do justice, to protect the innocent, and to be wise as serpents. Few ethical dilemmas are more challenging than this. Christians through the centuries have responded to the question posed by war by choosing one of three camps:

,. Activism: It is always right to obey your government. (Rom. 13:1–7)

,. Pacifism: It is never right to kill. (Ex. 20:13; Matt. 5:38–48; Rom. 12:14–21)

,. Selectivism: It is sometimes right to fight . . . when the cause is just.

Proportionately, most Christians have opted for some form of the third alternative. Finding the activist approach too blind (“My country, right or wrong!”) and the pacifist approach too naïve (Do nothing while innocent people are murdered?), these believers have found a way to support war but only when certain conditions are present. In his book Human Rights and Human Wrongs, John Stott summarizes the criteria that must be met for a war to be considered “just”:

 

1. The cause must be righteous. It must be defensive and not aggressive, aiming to secure justice, remedy injustice, and protect the It must be undertaken only as a last resort, after all attempts at diplomacy and negotiation have failed. There should be a formal declaration of war by a legitimate authority. The motivation must never be hatred or thirst for revenge.
2. The means must be controlled. There must be no unnecessary violence or wanton The force used must be proportionately less than that which it was intended to remedy. The war should be directed against enemy soldiers and military targets, not civilians.
3. The outcome must be predictable. Like the king in Jesus’ parable who “counted the cost” before going to war (Luke 14:31–32), there must be a calculated prospect of victory, and thus a high probability of achieving the just cause for which the war was begun.

 

A dramatic illustration of someone who struggled with this issue was Dietrich Bonhoeffer. As a Christian and a pastor, Bonhoeffer lived and preached the ethics of love as outlined by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. But as a German living under the murderous tyranny of Hitler, he could not be passive. After a great struggle of conscience, he became involved in a plot to kill the Führer. He was caught, imprisoned and executed for treason. To justify his actions, Bonhoeffer famously used the following example: If a drunken driver were swerving down a main street in Berlin killing pedestrians left and right, would it not be the responsibility of everyone to do all they could to stop the driver from killing more people?

 

Many of us may one day find ourselves facing this ethical dilemma: to fight or not to fight. In a fallen world like ours, the issues are seldom a simple matter of right or wrong. To do the right thing, great moral courage will be demanded as well as the divine gift of discernment. Jesus promised the gift of the Holy Spirit for times such as these: When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth (John 16:13).

 

 

The only defensible war is a war of defense.—G. K. Chesterton

 

 

point to ponder • How would you respond if your nation called you to military service?

 

prayer focus • Soldiers who work tirelessly to defend our country.