I am amazed at the depth of perspective you bring to Biblical topics. It always gives me food for thought. I also believe the Just War view is closest to God’s Word.
1) I don't think you can use Jesus' saying about bring a sword as any kind of justification of war. That's not the context...He's talking about how believe in Him will be divisive among families.
2) Why didn't the early Christians join the Jews in their fight against Rome? It seems like from all we know that they explicitly took Jesus' teaching to mean they shouldn't be involved in resisting governments, even oppressive governments. Rome was certainly oppressive. Why wasn't part of the early Christian messaging about using just war to stop that? Paul instead says to pray for those in government. The focus seems to be completely elsewhere.
3) I've heard it said that Just War Theory is often used as a way for governments to justify wars they want to fight anyway. Are there cases where the church in a country has declared their own country's war as an unjust war?
Thanks for the comment. These are good questions. First, Jesus’ relationship to the “sword” is multilayered and complex, as I tried to show in the article. Your point is valid, but could there be more to it? Second, maybe there was a more pacifist stream but we can’t assume that the behavior of earlier Christians automatically validates or invalidates our beliefs. If this were the case, we would be beholden to any number of problems in the earlier generations. Third, the abuse of something doesn’t negate its proper use. Just War theory can be abused but that doesn’t make it wrong. Also, I think the Barmen Declaration in Nazi Germany might be a good example of a church rejecting a national war.
I am amazed at the depth of perspective you bring to Biblical topics. It always gives me food for thought. I also believe the Just War view is closest to God’s Word.
Thanks, Pat! I’m glad it was helpful!
A couple thoughts:
1) I don't think you can use Jesus' saying about bring a sword as any kind of justification of war. That's not the context...He's talking about how believe in Him will be divisive among families.
2) Why didn't the early Christians join the Jews in their fight against Rome? It seems like from all we know that they explicitly took Jesus' teaching to mean they shouldn't be involved in resisting governments, even oppressive governments. Rome was certainly oppressive. Why wasn't part of the early Christian messaging about using just war to stop that? Paul instead says to pray for those in government. The focus seems to be completely elsewhere.
3) I've heard it said that Just War Theory is often used as a way for governments to justify wars they want to fight anyway. Are there cases where the church in a country has declared their own country's war as an unjust war?
Thanks for the comment. These are good questions. First, Jesus’ relationship to the “sword” is multilayered and complex, as I tried to show in the article. Your point is valid, but could there be more to it? Second, maybe there was a more pacifist stream but we can’t assume that the behavior of earlier Christians automatically validates or invalidates our beliefs. If this were the case, we would be beholden to any number of problems in the earlier generations. Third, the abuse of something doesn’t negate its proper use. Just War theory can be abused but that doesn’t make it wrong. Also, I think the Barmen Declaration in Nazi Germany might be a good example of a church rejecting a national war.