This is a great question from Jennifer Lloyd: "Jews Muslims, and Christians all worship the same God, yet throughout history, we have witnessed countless wars waged over religion. Why do people fight and kill each other in the name of God, and how can he allow this to happen." It's a great question (and a bit of a loaded question too . . . For instance, I think I know what you mean when you say we "all worship the same God" but I would probably say it a bit differently . . . but I might get into that in a later post).
So what does the Bible have to say about war. This is actually a tough one because there isn't really a broad consensus among Christians when it comes to the subject of war. There are some who advocate the use of military under certain conditions. There are places in the Bible where God commands Israel to go to war with other states, and where Israel is forced to defend herself against outside aggressors. Of course the criterion for entering war with an enemy (barring a direct command from God) is not entirely clear. So around the 13th century, Thomas Aquinas (and Augustine a bit earlier) began talking about a moral code people refer to as "Just War Theory." This theory provides a moral checklist to determine if a nation can morally engage an enemy in battle (I.e., is innocent life at stake? Are they the aggressors or am I? etc.). Just War theory later laid the foundations for the Geneva Convention which guides (supposedly) wartime activity today. But among Catholic Christendom, Just War theory gave the "when" and the "how" to war for centuries. And among many Christians today, war is understood as an unfortunate, but sometimes necessary factor of life in a fallen world, I think primarily because of Aquinas' work on Just War Theory.
Of course, some have argued that Just War Theory served a purpose for a medieval Christian audience, but the reality of Jesus' teachings should lead us more toward an ethic of pacifism rather than war. In Jesus' sermon on the mount, he says a person who's struck on one cheek should turn the other toward his enemy to allow it to be struck as well (Matt. 5:29). When Peter chops off the guard's ear, Jesus tells him to put his sword away (Lk. 22:50-51; Jn. 18:10-11) . So, Jesus' example has led many to adopt a pacifist stance on war. Jesus nor any of the New Testament writers directly abolish war, but one could argue that the redemptive direction of the New Testament leads us toward one of pacifism rather than Just War Theory.
But like I said before, there is not an overwhelming consensus when it comes to whether or not Christians should engage in or support war under certain circumstances. But I believe where we can all agree is that whether or not war is permissible today, it was never intended to be part of God's good creation. War is a result of sin entering the world. War will one day be eradicated from God's creation. And I think if we were to ask God "why would you allow war to happen?" he'd look down at us from heaven and say, "why would YOU allow way to happen?!?!?!?" It's a sad reality, but war is a human creation, not a divine creation. God gives us the freedom to obey him, to love him, to live peaceably with each other, or to hate him, disobey him, and fight with each other. He could force us to obey and to love each other unconditionally, but that wouldn't really be love would it? So war is the result among selfish, greedy people who often choose to do evil rather than follow God.
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