How Should A Christian Think About Potential War With Iraq

Throughout the history of Christianity, churches and wise Christian leaders have helped their congregations to "think Christianly" about the issues of their day. It is not enough for us to merely apply our Christianity to the private realms of life: our marriages, our families, our friendships, or our employment. Even worse, it is entirely insufficient for us to merely apply our Christianity to "the spiritual realm" of life: church attendance, devotions, fasting, or worship. It has often been said that either Jesus Christ is Lord of all, or he is not Lord at all. The Lordship of Jesus Christ extends to the great issues of our day: issues of war and peace, issues of racial and economic justice, male/female relations, to name just a few.

This past Sunday I was asked by a sometime attender at Vineyard, "What is the Vineyard's perspective regarding war?" I answered, "The Association of Vineyard Churches doesn't have any official position regarding war. Each local church forges its own direction regarding issues outside of our association's statement of faith."

He then said, "I've never had a pastor answer the following question: can you imagine Jesus Christ going to war?"

So I said to him, "Well, I'll answer the question for you."

In a sense, this email is a more extended answer to the question asked by this gentleman. I must state at the outset that I have several dear Christian friends who come from a pacifist tradition and are Quakers or Mennonites. As you will see, my own perspective follows a "just war" Christian tradition. I use a Q&A structure for thinking about the crisis with Iraq.

1. Would Jesus Christ ever go to war or support a war?

   The simple answer is "yes!" Moses said, "The Lord is a warrior (a man of war); the Lord is his name" (Exodus 15:3). Jeremiah declared, "The Lord is…a dread warrior" (Jer. 20:11). The prophet Zephaniah declared, "The Lord is a warrior who gives victory" (Zeph. 3:17). God is often referred to as "the Lord of Hosts," a commander of great armies. David said of Yahweh, "The Lord trains my hands for war" (Ps. 18:34). Remember the Son of God (Jesus) is the Lord.

2. Is the Old Testament view of God as a warrior acceptable for New Testament Christians?

   Many people, especially from a more pacifist position, suggest that the concept of "the Lord as warrior" is a perspective that must be abandoned by New Testament Christians. An early Christian heresy taught by the heretic Marcion suggested that the God of the Old Testament was an inferior being who was not good in the same sense that the God and Father of Jesus Christ (the God of love and grace) was good in the New Testament. The church rejected Marcion and other Gnostic teachers for so radically separating the Old and New Testament revelation of God.

   Throughout the church's history, orthodox Christian teachers have taught the unity of the Bible. In other words, Jesus Christ did not reveal to us a new God, or a new conception of God. Indeed, the entire New Testament presupposes its consistency with the Old Testament. As one great Reformer, John Calvin, once said, "The difference between the Old and New Testaments is not a difference in kind, but a difference in clarity." The Old Testament functioned by way of shadow and type. The New Testament offers us substance and fulfillment.

3. Is Jesus Christ ever portrayed as a warrior?

   The answer is yes. In Revelation 19:11 the apostle John writes, "I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. …He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations." "He will rule them with an iron scepter" [quoting from Ps. 2]. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty" (Rev. 19:11-15).

4. Does God engage in physical battles (slaying people) or is His warfare confined to the spiritual realm (dealing with the demonic)?

   There are many occasions in the Old Testament where God assists human warriors to fight, kill, and win battles. For example, in the book of Joshua (Joshua 10:12-27) God held the sun in place so that Joshua and the nation of Israel could win a great victory against their enemies. On occasion, God himself slays the enemies of his people directly from heaven (Ex. 14:24-29; 15:1-18). On other occasions, the Lord uses human agents to achieve his will of military victory (see Joshua 8).

5. Doesn't the New Testament requirement that Christians "love your enemies and pray for those that persecute you" (Mt. 5:43) forbid Christians from ever engaging in war?

   Historically, Christians have been divided about the proper scope of Jesus' command in the Sermon on the Mount. Christians coming from a pacifist position, such as John Howard Yoder, believe that Jesus is laying out a political injunction that forbids the use of force or violence by any Christian. For other Christians, such as St. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, and John Calvin, Jesus was forbidding personal retaliation and the seeking of personal vengeance. For them, a Christian always ought to be willing to lay down their personal right to seek vengeance or retribution (see Romans 12:19, 20). But this commandment does not extend to the duty of protecting the lives of the innocent or restraining evil even if such protection involves the use of military force.

6. Isn't it true that the entire early church was pacifist and that Christians did not join the army until after the Roman Emperor Constantine became a Christian in the 4th century?

   Many Christians believe that this reading of early church history is inaccurate and that the pacifist claim of the unanimity of early church opposition to military service has been exaggerated. (see e.g., Darrell Cole, When God Said War Is Right (2002)). Recent historians suggest that early believers were not opponents of warfare and military service per se, rather, they objected to military service because of the role of pagan religious practices in the military. Even so, many early church fathers offered positive perspectives about military involvement including Clement of Alexandria (AD 150-215). Clement claimed that Jesus, through the mouth of John the Baptist, commanded soldiers to be just, but he never commanded soldiers to quit soldiering (Lk. 3:14). Unlike prostitution, which is inherently immoral, apparently John the Baptist believed that soldiering could be a moral and, indeed, an honorable profession.

7. Why would a Christian ever engage in war?

   The law of love - love of God and love of his fellow man ultimately binds a Christian. Out of love for God, a Christian works to achieve justice in the world, that is, to check evil and to bring about good. Because of the love of our neighbor, a Christian acts to defend the weak, innocent, and defenseless. As the early church father, Ambrose, suggested, "The Christian who stands idly by while his neighbor is attacked is not a virtuous person." Indeed, Ambrose said, to allow one's neighbor to be attacked, and to fail to use force in his or her defense suggests that the individual may not even be a Christian. So we read from Ambrose, "Thus, holy Moses feared not to undertake terrible wars for his people's sake, nor was he afraid of the arms of the mightiest kings, nor yet was he frightened at the savagery of barbarian nations. He put to one side the thought of his own safety so as to give freedom to the people" (On Duties, 1.135).

8. How has the church historically determined which wars were legitimate for Christians to support or to fight in?

   The Christian just war tradition has formulated a number of criteria to help Christians make decisions about when a Christian is allowed to fight. The goal in using these criteria is to figure out where justice lies when a conflict is proposed. Should a conflict fail to meet these criteria, a Christian must say "no" to entering that particular conflict. It is an absolutely impermissible position for a Christian to suggest "my country right or wrong!" For a Christian, our citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20). Our loyalty is ultimately not to our nation, our president, or our government, but to our Lord Jesus Christ.

   The Christian tradition has typically settled on several criteria for determining whether a war is just.

   1. Just Cause - Augustine listed a number of specific just causes including self-defense against an aggressor, restoring what has been unjustly seized, etc. The Christian must say "no" to proposed wars in which the people being attacked do not deserve to be attacked.

   2. Right Intention - Right intention means that our use of force is to advance the good and to suppress evil. In applying these criteria when we combat the enemy, this principle constrains us both to never intentionally kill the innocent, and to do all we can to avoid killing the innocent. Non-combatant immunity is a demand of Christian just war theory. The loss of innocent life must never be minimized merely as "collateral damage."

   3. War is the Only Way to Right the Wrong - Because warfare brings such enormous human suffering, we should try to right wrongs by means other than warfare, if we can. Christians have always said that if wrongs can be righted by negotiation, let's negotiate. If wrongs can be righted through sanctions, let's apply sanctions. On the other hand, for just war theorists, by the time WWII erupted, there simply was no other way to overcome the evils of Hitler and Nazi Germany other than waging war against them.

   4. A Reasonable Hope of Success - There is simply no point in sacrificing many lives and causing much suffering if we have no chance of succeeding in the fight. This requires us to have a clear definition of what success will amount to and how we will measure "success."

9. What is our responsibility as Christians in the current crisis?

   1. We Christians are responsible to think Christianly about our country's engagement in something so momentous as a war. Thousands of people will likely be killed. As you listen to the arguments for and against a potential war with Iraq, apply the traditional criteria of a just war to what you are hearing from the Administration and its opponents. Again, the issues are not merely political, whether you are a Republican or Democrat, conservative or liberal, a veteran (or have a family member in the military), or have never served in the Armed Forces. This issue is to have each one of us think Christianly.

   2. We Christians have a responsibility to pray:

      1. That our leaders (the President, his Cabinet, and all others in a decision-making capacity in our country) would have wisdom and submit to God's will for our government.

      2. That Christian mission around the world would continue to go forward during the coming crisis.

      3. That Christian brothers and sisters around the world would be protected from retaliatory attack from non-Christian neighbors.

      4. That innocent non-combatants would not be killed or injured in a war.

      5. That family members, friends, and fellow countrymen that are serving in the Armed Forces would be protected from harm.

May the Lord Jesus Christ Himself assist you to have a discipled mind while He inspires your prayers and your service to Him and to your fellow man!

With much affection,