I'm nervous, sick as I sit on my stool in front of a room of 6th graders. It's only 9:23 am, there is far too long of a day left for me to put the answer off until they leave. Why couldn't this come up at 3:15 pm? The question was raised, "Can a Christian go to war?" I admit it, I walked into this line of questioning, even encouraged it, but how do I answer? Sadly, there was no easy answer to give then, and I'm not convinced there is one now either.
We have been studying the book of 1 John, and I mean we have really been studying it. We have looked deeply at each verse, and not moved forward until we have turned the verse every way possible and drained from it all of the marrow that we can obtain, and so questions invariably arise. How can one look at verses that say, "Anyone who loves his brother knows Christ and anyone who does not love his brother does not know Christ", or, "This is love, that Christ laid down his life for us, and so too should we lay down our life for our brothers", and not question war?
The point can and has been made, many times by me, that God sent Israel to war many times, and the civilian casualties were great in those instances as well, but I question that logic in light of my most recent studies. God sent Israel to war for a specific purpose, that his kingdom might be established and mainained, but I do not see this in modern war, particularly Iraq.
Can a preemptive strike be justified, when there is no immediate threat or prompting. Let us be frank, we ravaged Iraq under the pretenses, whether true or false, that they had weapons of mass-destruction that might have been used against us or others at some point. The murder of others in the name of peace does not correspond to what John writes so clearly in his letter.
I am not one to protest against the government for this, because their job is to protect national security at whatever cost they deem necessary, but I do take issue with the right-winged-Christian-rally-cry that Bush is acting as some sort of angel of mercy, sent from God to liberate the people of Iraq.
Tell me how this is not incongruous with the pictures of war? "Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No onehas ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us." (1 John 4:11-2) Or, "if anyone says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Woever loves God must also love his brother." (1 John 4:20-1)
We have been studying the book of 1 John, and I mean we have really been studying it. We have looked deeply at each verse, and not moved forward until we have turned the verse every way possible and drained from it all of the marrow that we can obtain, and so questions invariably arise. How can one look at verses that say, "Anyone who loves his brother knows Christ and anyone who does not love his brother does not know Christ", or, "This is love, that Christ laid down his life for us, and so too should we lay down our life for our brothers", and not question war?
The point can and has been made, many times by me, that God sent Israel to war many times, and the civilian casualties were great in those instances as well, but I question that logic in light of my most recent studies. God sent Israel to war for a specific purpose, that his kingdom might be established and mainained, but I do not see this in modern war, particularly Iraq.
Can a preemptive strike be justified, when there is no immediate threat or prompting. Let us be frank, we ravaged Iraq under the pretenses, whether true or false, that they had weapons of mass-destruction that might have been used against us or others at some point. The murder of others in the name of peace does not correspond to what John writes so clearly in his letter.
I am not one to protest against the government for this, because their job is to protect national security at whatever cost they deem necessary, but I do take issue with the right-winged-Christian-rally-cry that Bush is acting as some sort of angel of mercy, sent from God to liberate the people of Iraq.
Tell me how this is not incongruous with the pictures of war? "Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No onehas ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us." (1 John 4:11-2) Or, "if anyone says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Woever loves God must also love his brother." (1 John 4:20-1)
I finally found your blog and have enjoyed very much hearing your mind. Since I am not really a thinker and philosopher, I'm awed that you are both. You are very much like Stan, like it or not. He's all the things I am not. I don't know how I really feel about the war. I know we didn't go to war because we hate our brothers in Iraq. I think it was for a greater good, like "liberating" the Iraq people from a horrible dictator Sadaam, and I think there was the possibility of WMDs. I remember well when the Kurds were massacred. I think it is wonderful how you teach, getting those kids to THINK. I always accepted what I was told and just didn't question it. You and Jim question it, and I think that is very healthy. I am who I am and probably won't change much, but Stan is helping me to examine things more and become maybe less "lala land." He's really a great guy and I hope you know him someday. Anyway, I love reading your rantings and I think a teacher you were born to be. God bless you, and I love you so much.
Oh yeah. I've personally never met an Iraq vet who thought we shouldn't be there. The soldiers are for Bush, and I think that says something very loud.